WNO Appoints Jane Lipton Cafritz To Board Of Trustees, Effective 7/1

Washington National Opera (WNO) today announced that Jane Lipton Cafritz has been appointed Chairman of the company's Board of Trustees, effective July 1, 2009. Mrs. Cafritz succeeds John J. Pohanka, who has served as Chairman for four years, and whose final term expires this month; Mr. Pohanka will remain on the Board of Trustees. A nonprofit organization with an annual budget of approximately $35 million, WNO is among the country's major opera companies and one of Washington, D.C.'s leading cultural institutions. High-resolution images are attached.

In her new leadership role, Mrs. Cafritz will serve alongside President Kenneth Feinberg and Executive Committee Chairman Jacqueline Badger Mars. The trio of officers works closely with General Director Plácido Domingo and Executive Director Mark Weinstein to develop the company's artistic profile, provide broad financial oversight, fundraise and develop the company's community presence.

A member of WNO's Board of Trustees since 2002, Mrs. Cafritz possesses deep experience in nonprofit governance and is an ardent supporter of arts and culture in Washington, D.C. Among her notable achievements, she has been a visible advocate and spokesperson for WNO's Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program, a two-year professional training program which cultivates the next generation of opera talent. Mrs. Cafritz also serves on additional nonprofit boards including the Smithsonian National Board of Trustees, the Blair House Board of Trustees, the National Symphony Orchestra and the Advisory Board of The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation.

Commenting on her appointment, Mrs. Cafritz said, "I am honored to have the opportunity to serve as Chairman of WNO alongside an outstanding group of leaders. WNO is already known as one of the nation's great opera companies, but it is also one of the city's great cultural treasures. As Chairman of WNO's Board, I will work to ensure that all Washingtonians value and support the company's work on and offstage, and are proud of what WNO means to our city."

"In these difficult economic times, more than ever, arts organizations need leaders with passion and experience-qualities that Jane has in spades," commented WNO President Kenneth Feinberg. "Jane understands the vital role that WNO plays in the community, and her appointment as Chairman of WNO's Board is a great boon not only for the Opera, but for the city of Washington."

Mrs. Cafritz is currently developing two large-scale, transportation-oriented, mixed-use community neighborhoods' in the metro-Washington region. Previous professional experience includes serving as an attorney for the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, for the Department of Defense Corps of Engineers Office of General Counsel, as well as a private practice litigator and general practitioner. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Suffolk University Law School and has an L.L.M. degree in taxation from Georgetown University Law Center. She is married to Calvin Cafritz, Chairman and CEO of The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, and is the mother of three children.