ZACH Hires New Managing Director

Zachary Scott Theatre Center has hired a new managing director, Elisbeth Challener, who will serve as the organization’s chief operating officer, lead the development of a new theatre, and oversee production, education, fundraising, marketing and financial management.

As executive director of Montalvo Center for the Arts, Challener helped transform a California estate into a major concert producer and artists residency program with international stature. She moved to Austin in 2005 and has served as a nonprofit arts consultant and part-time executive director of One World Theatre. A search committee comprised of ZACH board members hired her last week following a national search.

“We could not have designed anyone better than Elisbeth to grow ZACH into its next stage,” says Eric Groten, president of the theatre’s board of directors. “She has the skills, the experience, the vision and passion to lead ZACH’s staff and board as we grow to meet Austin’s needs for excellent, home-grown performing arts productions and education programs.”

ZACH is in the first stages of a capital campaign to raise $25 million to support a new, 500-seat theatre and education facility and to double the size of its audience. Last November, Austin voters approved Proposition Four, allocating $10 million in bond money for a new theatre. Coupled with private capital campaign contributions to date, ZACH is about halfway toward its goal of $25 million for funding the theater, an educational and creative center, and an endowment.

Challener succeeds Ann Ciccolella, ZACH’s longtime managing director whose resignation was announced in January. Ciccolella will continue consulting with ZACH through the transition. Challener’s first day on the job will be July 9.

ZACH’s Artistic Director Dave Steakley is “excited to welcome Elisbeth as my collaborating colleague, and into the great family of ZACH staff, artists and supporters.

“Elisbeth brings extraordinary talents and a very successful arts management record to ZACH at a critical juncture of our growth,” Steakley says. “These transitions in the life of an arts organization can be tricky, and I couldn’t be happier than to have found such a capable colleague. Her expertise and management style align perfectly with ZACH’s needs. I know we’ll make a dynamic team, and I look forward to introducing her to our patrons,” Steakley says.

Challener led Montalvo Arts Center’s growth from a small, community-based organization with an operating budget of $600,000 into a major presenting venue and home to an internationally acclaimed artists residency program with a budget of $9 million. She was responsible for the vision and oversight of a range of programs encompassing performing, literary and visual arts and an extensive arts education program. Other accomplishments during her tenure included growing ticket sales from less than $500,000 to more than $4 million, expanding the patron base from 6,000 to 80,000; and raising more than $20 million for capital projects.

Former colleagues praise Challener’s management style, citing her fundraising, leadership, listening and consensus-building skills.

Challener began as Montalvo’s development director in 1986 and became executive director two years later, spending nearly 20 years with the organization. Earlier in her career, Challener served as administrative director for the San Francisco Boys Chorus, education/outreach director of the Fairmount Theatre of the Deaf, and as department chair and faculty member of the performing arts department of the Purnell School, a private boarding high school for women.

Challener graduated from the Boston Conservatory of Music with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts in drama and musical theatre. She attended the Harvard Business School Executive Education Program for non-profits and the Center for Excellence in Nonprofit Management inSan Jose, California.

Challener says she has always had a passion for the theater and did many years of summer stock, dinner theater, and semi-professional theater on the east coast and in California. She has called her own performing background in musical theatre “extraordinarily valuable.

“I may have decided to go into the business management side of the arts, but I think I understand the psyche of a performer and I think it makes me better able to do my job,” Challener says.

She looks forward to building on ZACH’s strong foundation, Challener says. Having met nearly 30 staff members, actors and board members during the interview process, Challener says: “I can tell that this is a group of people who are committed for the right reasons—passion, artistic vision, and care.”

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