OPERA America Reveals 18 Participants for 2025 Leadership Intensive

OPERA America has revealed the 18 global participants selected for the 2025 Leadership Intensive. The Intensive offers participants an extended professional development experience that builds their leadership capacity and advances their careers. The program exemplifies OPERA America’s long-standing commitment to identify and support the professional growth of leaders who will help move opera forward for years to come. Approximately 10% of all general directors in the field today are graduates of the Leadership Intensive and other OPERA America professional development programs.

The 2025 class includes 12 participants selected by OPERA America and two participants selected by each of OPERA America’s partner organizations: the Association for Opera in Canada, Opera Europa, and Ópera Latinoamérica.

The 2025 Leadership Intensive participants are:

American Participants

Emily Barber, Director of Production, On Site Opera (New York, NY)
Matt Cahill, Founder and Director, Hogfish (Portland, ME)
Megan Carpenter, Senior Manager of Government Affairs and Civic Practice, OPERA America (New York, NY)
Graham Fandrei, Chief Development Officer, Persad Center (Pittsburgh, PA)
Siena Forest, Development Officer, Minnesota Opera (Minneapolis, MN)
Kelsey Holmes, Philanthropy Officer, The Colburn School (Los Angeles, CA)
Branden C. S. Hood, Director of Education, Detroit Opera (Detroit, MI)
Shawn Marie Jeffery, Vice President, Classical and Creatives, UIA Talent Agency (New York, NY)
Joanna Latini, Director of Resident Artist Programs, Palm Beach Opera (West Palm Beach, FL)
Katherine Powers, Executive Director, Pacific Opera Project (Los Angeles, CA)
Seiko, Artistic and Executive Director, Opera on Tap Rochester (Rochester, NY)
Timmy Yuen, Associate Director of Human Resources, San Francisco Opera (San Francisco, CA)

International Participants

Andrew Adridge, Managing Director, Volcano; Co-Founder, Opera InReach (Toronto, Canada)
Marco Ayala, Head of International Strategy, Teatro Real (Madrid, Spain)
Yalilé Cardona-Alonso, Director, Festival Internacional de Música Clásica de Bogotá (Bogotá, Columbia)
Celia Grau, Sustainability and Special Projects Manager, Opera Europa (Paris, France)
Jaclyn Grossman, Performing Artist; Programs Manager, Opera 5; Co-Founder/Creator, Likht Ensemble (Toronto, Canada)
Silvana Moreno, General and Artistic Director, Teatro del Bicentenario (San Juan, Argentina)
(See below for additional information about the participants.)

The 2025 cohort is the tenth since the program began in 2012 and was chosen from a record-breaking pool of 66 applicants through a competitive selection process. Candidates participated in three rounds of review in which they were evaluated based on their career achievements, goals, and leadership potential.

“OPERA America is dedicated to cultivating leaders who will advance opera and drive innovation and excellence in the arts around the world,” stated Marc. A. Scorca, president/CEO of OPERA America. “This 2025 cohort of the Leadership Intensive will continue to strengthen the field into the future.”

Program participants will gather at OPERA America’s National Opera Center from January 31 to February 7, 2025, for a week of seminars and practicums that will address strategic issues, build essential skills, and foster international connections. They will take part in additional professional development activities over the course of the next year, including regular group coaching sessions, webinars with field executives, and roundtable discussions at OPERA America’s annual conference in Memphis in May 2025.

James Barbato, who participated in the Leadership Intensive in 2021 and now serves as the general director of Palm Beach Opera, described the experience with one word: “transformative.” Alexis Pert, a 2023 participant, shared, “I came into the Leadership Intensive seeking support and the tools to help ground me as I navigated leading an opera company during a period of a huge institutional transition. I left the program not only with a strengthened skillset but also with incredible connections and colleagues who have become lifelong friends. It has provided me with an international support network, brought me closer to OPERA America, and empowered me as an administrator in ways I couldn’t have imagined.” Pert now serves as the director of administration at Beth Morrison Projects’ Producer Academy.

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