The Joyce Theater Foundation Announces 2019 Gala & Honorees

The Joyce Theater Foundation (Linda Shelton, Executive Director) will honor the Vice Chair of its board, Anh-Tuyet Nguyen, and the Australian Consulate General - New York at its 2019 Spring Gala on Wednesday, May 8. The Honourable Malcolm Turnbull, the 29th Prime Minister of Australia will present the honor to Counsul-General Alastair J.M. Walton accepting on behalf of the Australian Consulate-General, New York; and Joyce Theater Foundation Chair Emeritus Kerry Clayton will present to Ms. Nguyen. The Gala will commence at The Joyce Theatre (175 Eighth Avenue) at 6pm on May 8 with a glorious program featuring works performed by members of The Australian Ballet and The Joffrey Ballet, curated by former Australian Ballet dancer Matt Trent. After the performance, the Gala will continue with dinner and dancing at Tao Downtown (92 Ninth Avenue). Tickets - available for the performance and/or the performance and dinner - are available at www.Joyce.org.

"This year, we're thrilled to honor two people whose commitment to the arts - and dance, especially - is unwavering," said Linda Shelton, Executive Director of The Joyce Theater Foundation. "Every board should have a Vice Chair as passionate, supportive and kind as our own Anh-Tuyet Nguyen, a vital member for 12 years. And, what better way to celebrate The Australian Ballet's Joyce debut this spring than by honoring their country's Consulate General here in NYC and enthusiastic arts lover, Alastair J. M. Walton, whose office has been wonderfully supportive of our efforts."

Anh-Tuyet Nguyen (Vice Chair and Chair, Committee on Trustees), had an 18 year career with Fortis Inc. (now Assurant Inc.) in a variety of roles. Highlights include a three year assignment as the first American sent to corporate headquarters in the Netherlands to promote cross company learning. Her last assignment was in the Information Technology department managing cross business technology projects. A native of Vietnam, Ms. Nguyen left her country with her parents and six younger siblings three days before Saigon fell to the communists at the age of 19. Despite not speaking English when she arrived in the U.S., she graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire with a major in Mathematics and a minor in French. In addition, Ms. Nguyen obtained a master's degree in International Management from the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota. Ms. Nguyen is fluent in several languages. Ms. Nguyen has served on the Board of Trustees of the Westfield Symphony Orchestra for three years. She and her husband are still involved in the annual fundraising for the Orchestra. She also served as President of the Board for the New York Opera Society and is on the roster to serve as a mentor for Menttium 100. Since 2013, Ms. Nguyen has served on the board of Directors for Film Forum. Also in 2013 she helped set up a non-profit organization called Dance to Unite to provide after school programs for underserved children in NYC and has served as its President since its founding. In May 2018, she was honored with University of Wisconsin's Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award. Ms. Nguyen is a great lover of the performing arts and she is passionate about traveling, cooking, dancing, reading, and spending time with family and friends.

Alastair J.M. Walton is the Consul-General of Australia to New York. Alastair is a career investment banker who was most recently the Australian Consul-General and Senior Trade Commissioner in Houston, Texas. In Houston, Mr. Walton served on the Board of Trustees of both the Houston Grand Opera and the Houston Ballet, the latter as a member of the Investment Committee. Prior to his diplomatic appointments, Mr. Walton was Chairman of BKK Partners, an independent corporate advisory firm which provides financial, corporate and regulatory advice to companies, governments and institutions in the Asia Pacific region. He is a former Co-Chairman and Managing Director of Goldman Sachs Australia. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Mr. Walton worked with the Credit Suisse group for 14 years in Tokyo, New York, Melbourne, Sydney, London, and lastly in Hong Kong as Managing Director & Head of Investment Banking for Non-Japan Asia. From 2007 to 2015, he served as President and Chairman of the Board of the European Australian Business Council, a peak business association of major companies working closely with Australian and European governments to promote two-way trade and investment and a free trade agreement between Australia and the European Union. In this capacity he has led high-level Business Missions to Brussels and other European capitals with the Australian Governor-General, Minister for Trade and Investment and the Minister for Finance. Mr. Walton is a former Director of the Film Finance Corporation, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation and Australian Business Community Network. He has also served as a member of the Australian Financial Services Advisory Council (FSAC), reporting to the Federal Treasurer. He was a Commissioned Officer (Lieutenant) in the Royal Australian Army Reserve, graduating from the Officer Cadet Training Unit in Melbourne. Mr. Walton has a Master of Business Administration from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business, where he was a Dean's Scholar, a Bachelor of Economics (with specialisation in Accounting) from the Australian National University, and qualified as a Chartered Accountant.

To post a comment, you must register and login.