Berkley Rep Announces New Board Officers and Members

Today Berkeley Repertory Theatre announced that its board of directors has elected two new board members as well as two new board officers. These community leaders will guide the Tony Award-winning theatre as it enters its thrilling 41st season this fall. The leadership of Julie Matlof Kennedy and Oz Erickson will benefit Berkeley Rep for the first time, and this season's new officers include Marge Randolph and Scott Haber. Their guidance will be invaluable in the coming season, which features work by renowned directors Delroy Lindo, Sharon Ott, Les Waters, and Mary Zimmerman, as well as award-winning playwrights Martin McDonagh, Sarah Ruhl, and Berkeley's own Itamar Moses.

"We welcome these leaders to our board and look forward to benefiting from their fresh ideas," said Susan Medak, Berkeley Rep's managing director. "The new members and new officers coming to the board this season bring with them compelling new ideas. There is no doubt that they will enhance the excellent work that our board has always accomplished. We are deeply grateful for their time and effort."

The new officers, elected to one-year terms, are as follows:

Secretary: Scott Haber is a corporate partner at Latham & Watkins LLP and office managing partner for the firm's San Francisco office. He has received his BA, MBA, and JD from Cornell Univer­sity. He and his wife Sherry have two children, eight-year-old Benjamin and six-year-old Cam­eron. Mr. Haber enjoys singing, piano, and baseball.

Executive Vice President: Marge Randolph is the senior vice president of human resources and administration for Walt Disney Studios. She is a member of the California Bar and former president of California Women Lawyers. She serves on the National Advisory Panel of the Institute for Research on Women and Gender at Stanford University and is also a board member of the Western Justice Center Foundation and California Trout, an environmental organization. Ms. Randolph currently resides in Los Angeles, but still considers Berkeley her home.

The following officers are continuing their service:
* President: Richard A. Rubin, attorney with Richard A. Rubin Associates
* Vice President: Patricia Sakai, learning and organizational development consultant
* Vice President: Felicia Woytak, managing director of the 65th Street Development Company
* Treasurer: Philip Trapp, vice president of business development for Emeryville's Ravenflow

The new members of Berkeley Rep's board are as follows:

Oz Erickson was born in the Bahamas and grew up on the East Coast, where he attended Harvard College. He received his MBA at Stanford Business School. He and his wife Rina Alcalay live in Berkeley and have two grown children, Benjamin and Jessica. Mr. Erickson is a principal with Emerald Fund, Inc. and has served as chairman of the board for the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association for four years. He is a member of the technical advisory committee for the San Francisco Planning Commission and sits on the board of Friends of City Planning. In 2002, he received the City of Hope's Spirit of Life award.

 

    * Julie Matlof Kennedy teaches negotiation and litigation skills at Stanford Law School and Morrison & Foerster LLP. She graduated from Stanford University and Stanford Law School, and she serves on the Stanford Law School Board of Visitors. Ms. Kennedy is also the immediate past president of Congregation Beth El in Berkeley. She and her husband, Patrick Kennedy, live in Piedmont with their teenage daughter, Alex. They enjoy travel, skiing, and – of course – theatre.

These officers are part of a team that totals 34 trustees, including the following influential local leaders:

 

    * Becky Bleich, community leader
    * David Cox, former president and CEO of Cowles Media Company
    * Thalia Dorwick, an author and editor retired from McGraw-Hill Higher Education
    * William T. Espey, managing director of First Republic Wealth Advisors
    * William Falik, managing partner of Westpark Community Builders
    * John Field, retired chairman of Field Paoli Architecture
    * David Fleishhacker, president of  the Fleishhacker Foundation
    * Kerry L. Francis, partner at Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP
    * Robert G. Harris, director of LECG Consulting
    * Dr. David Hoffman, associate director for external collaboration with the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute at Stanford University
    * Rick Hoskins, managing partner of GenStar Capital LP
    * Wayne Jordan, president of Jordan Real Estate Investments
    * Carole S. Krumland, community leader
    * Dale Rogers Marshall, president emerita of Wheaton College
    * Sandra R. McCandless, partner at Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal
    * Helen Meyer, executive vice president of Meyer Sound
    * Dugan Moore, private investor
    * Laura Onopchenko, managing director of Techfarm Ventures
    * Mary Ann Peoples, president of the Boyd Family Foundation
    * Peter Pervere, retired financial officer for Sybase and Commerce One
    * Len Rand, managing director of Granite Ventures, LLC
    * Patricia A. Scates, senior vice president and regional manager for Wells Fargo
    * Jack Schafer, president of Jack Schafer Associates
    * Stephen Snow, entrepreneur

 

Two Berkeley Rep staff members also serve on the board: Ms. Medak and Artistic Director Tony Taccone.

See tomorrow's plays today at Berkeley Rep. Subscribe now for the 2008/09 Season, which brings brilliant artists back to Berkeley Rep's stage and provides proof of the Theatre's commitment to commission 50 new plays by 2013. The season kicks off when Taccone directs the world premiere of Yellowjackets, a provocative new play penned by Berkeley native Itamar Moses. The next five shows present a parade of our audience's favorite artists: Delroy Lindo stages August Wilson's masterpiece Joe Turner's Come and Gone; Mary Zimmerman presents an alluring adaptation of The Arabian Nights; Associate Artistic Director Les Waters reunites with Sarah Ruhl for the world premiere of The Vibrator Play; former Artistic Director Sharon Ott returns to direct Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment; and Waters tackles Martin McDonagh again with The Lieutenant of Inishmore. This year of fearless theatre is supported by BART and Wells Fargo, the official sponsors of Berkeley Rep's 41st season. Inviting new prices ensure that everyone can join the fun. For more information, call 510.647.2949 or toll-free at 888-4-BRT-Tix – or simply click berkeleyrep.org.

Born in a storefront on College Avenue, Berkeley Rep has moved to the forefront of American theatre – and is still telling unforgettable stories. Founded in 1968 by Michael Leibert, the Theatre quickly earned respect for presenting the finest plays with top-flight actors. In 1980, with the support of the local community, Berkeley Rep built the 400-seat Thrust Stage where its reputation steadily grew over the next two decades. It gained renown for an adventurous combination of work, presenting important new dramatic voices alongside refreshing adaptations of seldom-seen classics. In recognition of its place on the national stage, Berkeley Rep was honored with the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre in 1997. The company celebrated by unveiling a new 600-seat proscenium stage in 2001, the state-of-the-art Roda Theatre. It also opened the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, a permanent home for its long tradition of outreach and education programs. The addition of these two buildings transformed a single stage into a vital and versatile performing arts complex, the linchpin of a bustling Downtown Arts District which has helped revitalize Berkeley. In four decades, four million people have enjoyed more than 300 shows at Berkeley Rep, including 50 world premieres. The Theatre now welcomes an annual audience of 180,000, serves 20,000 students, and hosts dozens of community groups, thanks to 1,000 volunteers and more than 400 artists, artisans, and administrators.