Dallas Symphony Orchestra Announces First Cohort of its New Leadership Development Program

Dallas Symphony Orchestra Announces First Cohort Of Its
New Leadership Development Program

Program Designed to Attract and Build Arts Leaders of the Future
Sixteen Dallas Leaders Selected as First Class

Dallas, TX (April 23, 2021) – The Dallas Symphony Orchestra today announced the first cohort of members in its Leadership Development Program. With a curriculum tailored to meet the needs of today’s young professionals and featuring behind-the-scenes access to the Dallas Symphony, the Leadership Development Program is a new, 12-month program featuring workshops and meetings, including music and arts 101, that is designed to expand the experience of the next generation of business and nonprofit leaders, designed in collaboration with cultural anthropologist, Dr. Sharon Washington.

This first group of leaders reflects the many facets of Dallas’s thriving business and arts industries and come from diverse backgrounds and experiences.

Participants are: Nicole Bernard, Texas Instruments, Employee Communications Manager for the Analog Signal Chain; Patricia Blasquez, Dallas Regional Chamber, Director, Regional Marketing & Talent Attraction; Jesse Bultongez, RSM US LLP, Senior Associate, Business Tax Services; Adriana Castaneda, City of Dallas, Director of Office of Bond & Construction Management; Rachel Cernosek, TWU, Music Therapy Masters Student; Angela Chapman, Bright Legacy Enterprises, LLC, CEO; Juan Galván, Downtown Dallas, Inc., Manager, Community Engagement; Glyne Griffith, SiriusXM / Pandora / Stitcher, Senior Manager, Diversity & Inclusion; Morgan Hunt, Roberts Law Firm, Associate Attorney; Ashley LaFrance, PNC, Assistant Vice President, Credit Products Group; Patrick Means, Vice President – Branch Manager, Dallas Park Cities; Dr. Kelly Rinehart, Roberts Law Firm, Associate Attorney; Tyler Rucker, PNC, Treasury Management; Chelsea Sánchez, UTD, Graduate Researcher; Sarah-Michelle Stearns, Greenberg Traurig, LLP, Associate; and Danielle Woolery, TWU, Coordinator of Instrumental Studies.

Program participants will have networking opportunities with Ross Perot President & CEO, Kim Noltemy, and the members of the Dallas Symphony Board of Governors. The program will feature speakers from around the country who are experts in their field. Participants will also have the opportunity to attend concerts, meet DSO musicians and network with key DSO constituents. Topics for discussion will include Dialogue, Deliberation, Debate and the Art of Powerful Questions; Adaptive Leadership and Board Leadership; Implicit Bias and Race & Racism; Backstage at the Performing Arts and more.

“We are delighted to launch this program with these incredible leaders here in Dallas,” said Kim Noltemy, Ross Perot President & CEO of the Dallas Symphony. “Whether someone hopes to join a nonprofit arts board in the future, or are simply interested in taking the next step to be an inclusive leader in their corporation, we hope the inaugural class of the Leadership Development Program will work to build a devoted, inclusive board and audience, one leader at a time.”

“In the past four decades, Dallas has been transformed by demographic shifts. That remarkable change has put Dallas at the forefront of a call to build something that has not existed before: a truly inclusive and equitable arts network. This program is an important first step toward that goal,” said Dr. Sharon Washington, cultural anthropologist and designer of the program.  “I look forward to the continuing growth of this program as it creates new opportunities for the future of Dallas.”

ABOUT THE DALLAS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra, under the leadership of Music Director Fabio Luisi, presents world-class orchestral music at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, one of the world’s top-rated concert halls. As the largest performing arts organization in the Southwest, the DSO is committed to inspiring the broadest possible audience with distinctive classical programs, inventive pops concerts and innovative multi-media presentations. In fulfilling its commitment to the community, the orchestra reaches more than 243,000 adults and children annually through performances, educational programs and community outreach initiatives. The DSO’s involvement with the City of Dallas and the surrounding region includes an award-winning multi-faceted educational program, community projects, popular parks concerts and youth programming.

During the pandemic, the Dallas Symphony was the first major U.S. orchestra to present socially distanced concerts with live audiences during the 2020/21 Season. Furthermore, the orchestra has offered more than 200 outdoor chamber concerts in neighborhoods throughout the Metroplex since the summer. The DSO continued online music lessons to more than 200 students as part of its Young Strings and Young Musicians programs and increased its online dissemination of concerts through a newly designed website and on social media.

The DSO has a tradition dating back to 1900 and is a cornerstone of the unique, 118-acre Arts District in Downtown Dallas that is home to multiple performing arts venues, museums and parks – the largest district of its kind in the nation. The DSO is supported, in part, by funds from the Office of Arts & Culture, City of Dallas.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Denise McGovern | Vice President of Communications | Dallas Symphony Orchestra d.mcgovern@dalsym.com | 214.718.7094

Kristen Turner | Communications Manager | Dallas Symphony Orchestra
k.turner@dalsym.com | 214.871.4063