theatreWashington Names New President and CEO

theatreWashington is pleased to announce Amy Austin, the long-time Publisher of the Washington City Paper, a local news and online destination, has accepted the position as President and CEO of theatreWashington.

Along with her 30 years of leadership in the Washington area business community, Austin brings a long-standing involvement in Washington's theatre community, a passion for the theatre arts and a deep respect for the outstanding work of the Washington area theatre community. In accepting this position, she is living up to her strong commitment to raise the visibility of the theatre arts in the nation's capital.

Austin remarked, "It's exciting to be given this incredible opportunity to lead an organization that can catalyze success for one of Washington's most powerful arts communities. We can lift the presence of the theatre arts higher. There are over 90 theatrical companies in the Washington area now and their numbers are growing. They do extraordinary work every night of the week."

Board Chair Kurt Crowl noted, "What Amy is bringing to theatreWashington is unique: impressive success and experience in our region's business community and long time involvement in our region's cultural and theatre communities. She will be an incredible asset in promoting and strengthening our vibrant theatres through innovative programs and services. We are lucky she became available at this important moment in the life of our organization and look forward to an exciting partnership with her."

During her tenure at City Paper, Austin created new revenue streams in digital advertising and grew events and sponsorships including the nationally recognized Crafty Bastards Arts and Crafts Fair. Under Austin's leadership, City Paper was known for their quality journalism in local news and arts, and a powerful alumni group of highly regarded journalists including Washington's own CNN Chief Washington Correspondent Jake Tapper, Politico's media columnist Jack Shafer, Washington Post's media critic Erik Wemple, and Deputy Editor, Mike Madden, and Washingtonian's Editor Michael Schaffer.

Austin succeeds former theatreWashington President and CEO Linda Levy in this position effective September 23, 2015.

Austin served on The Theatre Lab's Board of Trustees for many years including 10 years as Chairwoman. She is a member of the Leadership of Greater Washington Class of 2015, and a recent recipient of the 2015 John Conyers Jr. Advocacy Award given by the D.C. Jazz Festival.

About theatreWashington
Building on over three decades of service as The Helen Hayes Awards, theatreWashington is the unified voice of Washington area theatre and is dedicated solely to promoting, representing and supporting all segments of Washington's professional theatre community - theatres, artists, company members and diverse audiences of all ages.

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