Lisa Beth Vettoso Joins Literature to Life as Executive Director

The Board of Directors of the Literature to Life has announced that Lisa Beth Vettoso has joined the organization as its new Executive Director, overseeing all aspects of Literature to Life, including strategic planning, programmatic development, and fundraising initiatives.

Selected earlier this year through an extensive search by a committee composed of Artistic Director Elise Thoron, Board members, Company members, and staff, Ms. Vettoso joins Literature to Life with almost 20 years of non-profit experience in the arts and cultural sector, most recently serving as the Executive Director of The Art School at Old Church in Demarest, NJ.

Ms. Vettoso received her B.A. (Communication) from Villanova University and her M.A. (Educational Theatre) from New York University. Her professional experience includes positions at renowned arts institutions such as The New York Pops, American Repertory Ballet, and Carnegie Hall. Ms. Vettoso was also the first Managing Director of the New York City Arts in Education Roundtable, devoted to strengthening and promoting arts education in the New York metropolitan area. In 2011, Ms. Vettoso founded Aspire Performing Arts Company, which provides theatre opportunities to youths in northern New Jersey. She was recently named "Arts Educator of the Decade" in the 2020 Broadway World Regional Awards.

"I have been following Literature to Life's work for more than 15 years and have been consistently impressed and inspired by this tremendous company," Ms. Vettoso said. "I know that we can expand on that pathbreaking work and broaden our reach to engage, educate, and inspire students and audiences across the country through the power of literature and performance. I am thrilled to lead the organization into this next chapter alongside our incredible Artistic Director Elise Thoron and all of our talented artists and staff."

"We are thrilled to have Lisa Beth Vettoso at the helm of Literature to Life," Ms. Thoron said. "Her intrepid spirit, breadth of experience leading diverse arts organizations, and her passion for books, theater, and education make her a perfect fit with our mission. In her capable hands, Literature to Life will build on its 25-year history, growing out of The American Place Theatre and flowering as an independent company. I look forward to collaborating with Lisa for many years to come."

Literature to Life is a performance-based literacy program that presents professionally staged verbatim adaptations of American literary classics. Its mission is to perform great books to inspire young people to read and become authors of their own lives. Founded as the educational program of the American Place Theatre more than three decades ago, LTL carries forward the legacy of founder Wynn Handman, who championed American writers of diverse backgrounds as "voices worth hearing." Now under the leadership of LTL co-founding Artistic Director, Elise Thoron, this mighty collective of artists and educators brings the voices of diverse authors to thousands of students and audiences nationwide, giving them the tools to become the empowered "voices worth hearing" of our future.

To learn more about Literature to Life, visit literaturetolife.org or find LTL on social media @lit2life.