Longevity Strategies, Crowd Funding and Patreon

2:30 – 3:30 PM Profiles in Successful Organizations
Weinberg Center Executive Theater Manager Stephanie Chaiken interviews Tad Janes – Producing Artistic Director, Maryland Ensemble Theatre and Duane Doxzen – CEO, The Delaplaine Arts Center

Tad Janes is Producing Artistic Director and Founder of Maryland Ensemble Theatre and Program Manager for the Frederick Community College Drama Department. Tad grew up in Fairmont, WV, holds a BFA in Theatre from WV University, an MA in Arts Administration from Goucher College, and is currently working on a Phd at the University of Kent in Canterbury, UK. Janes lived in Chicago from 1988-1993 and worked at Baliwick Theatre, Arts Lane, Big Pig Productions, Musical Repertorie Theatre, with Second City offshoot They Must Know Somebody, and many self-produced projects both as an actor and director. Tad worked for the Contemporary American Theatre Festival in 1991 & 1992 and performed in the plays Shepard, Static, and The Baby Dance and was part of the comedy troupe The Less Than Professional Players. In MD, Janes founded The Comedy Pigs (longest running sketch comedy/improv troupe in the Mid-Atlantic region).

Duane Doxzen is the CEO of The Delaplaine Arts Center in Frederick MD and has served in the position for three years. Formerly the Director of Development & Communication at the Delaplaine for seven years, Duane leads the organization in presenting more than 50 quality exhibitions featuring local and regional artists, 2,000+ hours of engaging classes and workshops in a variety of media for people of all ages and abilities, and dozens of public programs each year. He and the organization remain committed to lowering barriers through initiatives like free gallery admission and programs and expanding the opportunities provided through local nonprofit partners. Duane champions and advises artists and arts organizations through annual professional development programs.

3:45 – 4:30 PM Speed networking roundtables – Individually meet with and ask questions of arts non-profit leaders.
Mary Ellen Mitchell, Allow Me Consulting

Mary Ellen Mitchell is the founder and CEO of Housing Frederick, a nonprofit dedicated to advocating for, educating about, and collaborating on affordable housing solutions in Frederick County. With over 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, Mary Ellen is an award-winning activist and financial educator. She has served on numerous boards and committees, bringing her expertise in event management, fundraising, development, and board and volunteer recruitment to the forefront of her community work.

4:45 – 5:45 PM Board Development: Recruiting, Onboarding & Working with Volunteers
Mary Ellen Mitchell, Allow Me Consulting

6:30 – 7:30 PM Branding, Patreon, and Crowd Funding
Jessica El-Zeftawy – Development Officer, Frederick County Public Libraries & Adjunct Faculty, Hood College

Jessica El-Zeftawy is an adjunct faculty member at Hood College, where she teaches in the George B. Delaplaine Jr. School of Business. She is also actively involved in the community, serving as a Development Officer for Frederick County Public Libraries and as President of the Western MD Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Jessica teaches a nonprofit leadership class at Hood College.

7:40 – 9:00 PM Pricing Your Work

This panel, moderated by Louise Kennelly – Executive Director, Frederick Arts Council and featuring Duane Doxzen – CEO, The Delaplaine Arts Center, Tammy O’Connor – President, Frederick County Art Association, Sue Leveille – Director, Give Rise Studio, and Stephanie Chaiken – Executive Theater Manager, Weinberg Center for the Arts, will look at strategies for pricing your art and performances in the visual and performing arts marketplace.

Louise Kennelly joined the FAC after nearly five years as Executive Director of the DC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative, an organization dedicated to providing access to world class arts for all public-school students which functioned as the formal arts education partner of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. She previously was a Director at the National High School Center at the American Institutes for Research. Ms. Kennelly is a published poet and painter and a recipient of an MSAC Individual Artist Award, a NC State Arts Council Grant, and is qualified as a Maryland Artist in the Schools through the MD State Arts Council Arts in Education Artist-in-Residency program. She was an adjunct faculty member of Hood College and is a graduate of Yale University, the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and has an MFA from the University of NC.

Sue Leveille is the Founder and Director of Give Rise Studio in downtown Frederick, MD. An artist, entrepreneur, and educator, her passion project has grown into a community of artists and wellness practitioners in Frederick. Over the course of nine years, the studio has expanded to include many instructors, workshops, and students, as well as Creative Community Members, who offer everything from art workshops to acupuncture and yoga sessions. Leveille also serves as a Manager at The Common Market, Frederick’s co-op grocery store. With that background, Leveille says Give Rise Studio acts much like a co-op, supported by its Creative Community Members along with the students, customers, and clients it serves. Leveille presents business workshops for artists to thrive, as well as wellness courses.

Stephanie Chaiken is the Executive Theater Manager of the Weinberg Center for the Arts. She is a director with a career in both private sector and non-profit environments. She served as the Director of the New Jersey City University Center for the Arts for 4 years, presenting and marketing international, national, and regional performing and visual arts programs in 7 venues. Previous positions include 6 years as Interim Director of the Berrie Center for Performing and Visual Arts at Ramapo College of NJ, Artistic Director of the Algonquin Arts Theatre in Manasquan, NJ and the Program Director of the Huntington Arts Council in Long Island. Ms. Chaiken has spent thirty years as an entrepreneur operating an entertainment and consulting company in New York City and working with artists, communities, and colleges nationwide.

Duane Doxzen (see bio above)

The Weinberg Center and New Spire Arts believe in the freedom of speech and expression. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in the visual and performing arts presented at our venues or virtually are solely those of the individual artists in their personal capacity and are not reflective of nor represent official policy, position or views of The Weinberg Center, New Spire Arts, or The City of Frederick.