Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Adds Eight Industry Voices to its Board of Trustees

The Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Board of Trustees voted unanimously on October 10, 2024, to add eight renowned industry leaders, all with a shared commitment to the lifesaving impact of Broadway Cares.

Joining the board are Kristin Caskey, executive vice president, content and creative at Ambassador Theatre Group; production stage manager Julie DeVore; Tony Award-winning actor Jonathan Groff; Jason Laks, interim president and general counsel at The Broadway League; production stage manager Johnny Milani; Erik Piecuch, senior vice president, entertainment banking at City National Bank; actor and Black Theatre Coalition co-founder T. Oliver Reid; and Actors' Equity Association president Brooke Shields.

“These eight luminaries are essential voices across our industry,” said Robert E. Wankel, president of the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Board of Trustees and chairman and CEO of The Shubert Organization. “Their expertise and unique perspectives will play a critical role in ensuring the continued success and future growth of Broadway Cares' fundraising and grant-making. The Broadway Cares board is excited and proud to continually bring new, fresh voices to the table.”

Stepping off the board after years of distinguished service are Chris Boneau, Linda Duncombe, Adam Krauthamer, Stephen Lewin, Kate Shindle and Charlotte St. Martin. The Board and staff also lovingly acknowledged the extraordinary contributions of Trustees Chita Rivera and Gavin Creel, who passed away in the last year.

About the newest trustees:

Caskey is the executive vice president of content and creative for Ambassador Theatre Group North America, where she oversees the producing department and regional programming for ATG's North American venues. Caskey has produced a number of celebrated Broadway shows, including The Wiz, Gutenberg! The Musical, Parade and Thoroughly Modern Millie. She received an Emmy Award nomination as an executive producer for the filmed version of David Byrne's American Utopia.

DeVore has served as a stage manager on six Broadway shows across the last decade. Most recently, DeVore acted as production stage manager at A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical. She also has been a passionate supporter of Broadway Cares, serving on its National Grants Committee, volunteering at events and leading the fundraising charge at her shows during #RedBuckets seasons.

Groff is one of stage and screen's most beloved actors. He gained early acclaim for portraying Melchior Gabor in Spring Awakening, earning him his first Tony Award nomination. Most recently, Groff won a 2024 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as Franklin Shepard in the acclaimed revival of Merrily We Roll Along. Groff is also renowned for his appearances in TV's Glee and Looking, as well as for voicing Kristoff in Disney's Frozen. Before he became the illustrious star he is today, Groff was a #RedBuckets volunteer with Broadway Cares.

Laks is the interim president and general counsel for The Broadway League, the national trade association for the Broadway industry. In his role, Laks leads 700-plus theater owners and operators, producers, presenters and general managers in North American cities. He previously served as general counsel and EVP, labor relations, at The Broadway League, as well as holding legal positions at NBCUniversal, The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company and more.

Milani began his Broadway career in 2013 as assistant stage manager for Kinky Boots, and has since been lighting up the Great Bright Way as a stage manager across nine Broadway shows. Currently, he serves as production stage manager at the revival of Sunset Boulevard. Milani is a passionate advocate for the organization, acting as a stage manager at countless Broadway Cares events, and playing a vital role in driving #RedBuckets fundraising at his shows.

Piecuch is the senior vice president, entertainment banking at City National Bank, serving a range of entertainment clients spanning the film, TV, music, sports and theater industries. Piecuch was named a 2022 Notable LGBTQ Leader by Crain's New York Business, due in part to his spearheading of the bank's support of Broadway Cares. Piecuch has also served on Broadway Cares' Leadership Council and as a steering committee member for Hudson Valley Dance Festival. Prior to City National Bank, Piecuch served key financial roles at Gibraltar Private Bank & Trust, US Trust, Citigroup and more.

Reid's prolific career on Broadway has spanned more than two decades, starring in productions including Dreamgirls, La Cage aux Folles, Once On This Island and Thoroughly Modern Millie, among many others. Most recently, Reid both performed in and served as the associate choreographer in Hadestown. In addition to being a luminary onstage, Reid is a co-founder of the Black Theatre Coalition, an organization dedicated to building a sustainable ethical roadmap that will increase employment opportunities for diverse theater professionals.

Shields, one of entertainment's most committed actors, models, writers and entrepreneurs, was elected president of Actors' Equity Association in May 2024. She initially gained fame as a child model and for her early portrayals in the films Pretty Baby, The Blue Lagoon and Endless Love. She has graced the covers of hundreds of magazines, most notably Time Magazine as the "Face of the Eighties,” and starred in numerous television series, including Suddenly Susan and Lipstick Jungle. Shields has appeared on Broadway in The Addams Family, Cabaret, Chicago, Grease and Wonderful Town.

The full list of the members of the Board of Trustees can be found at broadwaycares.org.

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the philanthropic heart of Broadway, is one of the nation's leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the American theater community, since 1988 Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has awarded more than $300 million for essential services for people with HIV/AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States.

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is the major supporter of the social service programs at the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors Fund), including The Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts, the HIV/AIDS Initiative and the Phyllis Newman Women's Health Initiative. Broadway Cares provides annual grants to more than 450 AIDS and family service organizations in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., providing lifesaving medication, healthy meals, counseling and emergency assistance. At times of crisis, Broadway Cares also awards one-time humanitarian grants to provide emergency aid across the US and around the world.

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