OPERA America Announces 2024 National Opera Trustee Recognition Awards

OPERA America has announced the recipients of the 2024 National Opera Trustee Recognition Awards, which honor outstanding trustees of North American opera companies for their exemplary leadership and service on behalf of their respective organizations.

The 2024 recipients for U.S. opera companies are:

• Maria Lagios, Chicago Opera Theater
• Claire Liu, Houston Grand Opera
• William Miller, Opera Columbus
• Leah Solat, Annapolis Opera
• Jennifer Suh Whitfield, HERE Arts Center

The Association for Opera in Canada selected Brian James Dawson of Tapestry Opera as the Canadian recipient of its Best in Governance Award (formerly the National Opera Directors Recognition Award).

See below for full biographies of the honorees.

All OPERA America Professional Company Members are invited to nominate one board member for recognition each year. Nominees are evaluated based on their contributions to their company’s overall success, board effectiveness, and community impact, as well as their support of their company’s pandemic recovery and commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

U.S. nominees are reviewed by a committee of prior trustee honorees. The 2024 committee was chaired by Ruth Orth of Pensacola Opera and included Arlene Ferebee, Opera Carolina; Elizabeth Hernandez, Opera Cultura; Sarah Moulton Faux, American Opera Projects; John Nesholm, Seattle Opera; and Stacey Hunt Spier, El Paso Opera. The Canadian recipient was selected by a committee from the Association for Opera in Canada. 

“The 2024 National Opera Trustee Recognition Award recipients exemplify excellent nonprofit governance,” stated Marc A. Scorca, president and CEO of OPERA America. “We recognize their significant contributions to the companies they serve and the field at large.”

OPERA America will present the National Opera Trustee Recognition Awards at the OPERA America Salutes awards dinner on Friday, March 7, 2025, in New York City. The event will include cocktails, dinner, and musical performances by singers from the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.

The OPERA America Salutes awards dinner generates essential support for OPERA America’s professional development programs. Proceeds underwrite the organization’s Leadership Intensive, New General Director Roundtables, and Mentorship Programs. For more information and tickets to OPERA America Salutes, visit operaamerica.org/OASalutes in fall 2024.

OPERA America believes that good governance is critical to the success of opera companies. In addition to the National Opera Trustee Recognition Awards, the organization offers a series of programs to support board members, including Essentials of Opera Governance, a webinar series; Across the Board, a semiannual newsletter for opera company trustees; and the National Trustee Forum, a multi-day gathering focused on good governance that includes OPERA America Salutes and the celebration of the National Opera Trustee Recognition Awards.

The National Opera Trustee Recognition Awards are made possible with the generous support of Bank of America.

For more information about the National Opera Trustee Recognition Awards, including past recipients, visit operaamerica.org/NOTRA.