Lookingglass Announces New Board Leadership

Lookingglass Theatre Company announces new leadership positions. Joining Artistic Director Heidi Stillman and Executive Director Rachel L. Fink to lead the theatre, the Board has elected Nancy Timmers, a prominent civic leader and philanthropist, as Board Chair and Richard Chapman, Member of Counsel at Clark Hill PLC, as Board President. Lookingglass has also appointed Hilary Odom as the company's new Director of Development.

"The Lookingglass Ensemble and staff are thrilled to enter a new season-and a new chapter for the Company-working in partnership with our committed Board of Directors," comments Executive Director Rachel L. Fink. "With Nancy's appointment as Chair, she brings invaluable experience as a civic leader and creative entrepreneur that will be instrumental in realizing the Company's ambitious artistic vision."

Fink began her tenure as the Executive Director of Lookingglass on February 19, 2018. She came to Chicago from the Bay area of California, where she was Managing Director of Theatre Bay Area and, before that, spent 16 years at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Joining her team as Director of Development is Hilary Odom, who comes to Lookingglass Theatre from Chicago Shakespeare Theater where she was a senior member of the Advancement department.

In addition to newly elected Chair Nancy Timmers and President Richard Chapman, new Board members for the 2018-2019 Season include Michael E. Harrington, Private Equity Investor, Peter Marino, Chief Communications Officer and President, Tenth and Blake, Christian McGrath, General Counsel and Managing Director of Golder Thoma Cressey Rauner, Patrick Rule, Private Wealth Management at William Blair & Company, and Catie Walsh, Director of Sales and Marketing for Park Hyatt Chicago.

The Lookingglass Board of Directors are Nancy Timmers, Chair, Richard Chapman, President, Jon Harris, Vice President, Jill Reznick Meier, Vice President, Brenda Robinson, Vice President, Diane Whatton, Vice President, Steven Weiss, Treasurer, Charlotte B. Whitaker, Secretary, Heidi Stillman, Artistic Director, Rachel L. Fink, Executive Director, Ernie Arias, Gerry Barad, Leigh Buchanan Bienen, Allegra E. Biery, Executive Committee Member at Large, David Catlin, Lester N. Coney, Al DeVaney, Richard A. Ditton, Executive Committee Member at Large, Edward Filer, Kathleen B. Fanning, Charles Frankel, Lee Golub, Paul Gray, Lisa Naparstek Green, Michael E. Harrington, Lindsay D. Hearn, Elena Kamel, M.D., Lindsay Knight, Associates Board President, Peter Marino, John McGowan, Christian McGrath, Marla Mendelson, M.D., Tom O'Neill, Bob Palffy, Abbie Roth, M.D., Peter Roth, Patrick Rule, Philip R. Smith, Darren Snyder, Thomas Stat, William A. Vainisi, Catie Walsh, and Andrew White.

Nancy Timmers (Board of Directors, Chair) began her career as a model at age 15. She progressed into acting and received her SAG card starring in an Oprah Winfrey Show commercial...before Oprah became Oprah. Nancy is an award-winning feature filmmaker as a writer, producer and director. Her film Everything He Touched won a gold Remi award from WorldFest Houston 2001. Nancy is also on the Development Board of PAWS Chicago. She and her husband Michael co-chaired the 2011 Fur Ball and served as Honorary Co-Chairs of the 2015 Fur Ball. Nancy co-chaired the Lookingglass gala gglassquerade for three years in a row with her dear friend and fellow Board member, Ernie Arias.

Richard Chapman (Board of Directors, President) is a member of the Litigation Practice and Labor and Employment Groups of the law firm of Clark Hill PLC. He has had more than 34 years of successful experience as a trial lawyer concentrating in complex and highly contested business, trust and estate, and employment litigation on behalf of individuals and business entities in a wide variety of industries. Richard also frequently presents the Mindy Chapman and Associates LLC "Workplace Training that Clicks & Sticks" to employees, managers, and c-suite leaders of closely-held and public corporations. Richard has been selected to be an "Illinois Super Lawyer"; (Top Five Percent) in Business Litigation, Law and Politics - Illinois Super Lawyers (2005-2017) and as member of Super Lawyers Top 100 List (2012), as well as an "Illinois Leading Lawyer" in Commercial Litigation (2006-17) and Employment Law (2017) Illinois Leading Lawyers Network), and has received Martindale Hubbell's highest peer review rating of "AV Preeminent." He has previously served as the co-chair of the Lookingglass Governance Committee and Development Committee. Along with his family and many friends, he has created the Mindy Chapman Memorial Fund to support the sustained development of new work through the Theatre's "gglassworks" initiative.

Rachel L. Fink (Executive Director) joined Lookingglass Theatre in February 2018. She was the Managing Director of Theatre Bay Area, one of the largest regional performing arts service organizations in the nation, serving more than 300 theatre companies and 2,000 individual artists across the region. Prior to her time at Theatre Bay Area, Rachel Fink spent 16 years at Berkeley Repertory Theatre where she founded and grew the School of Theatre into a nationally-recognized learning hub which incubated programs exploring global citizenry, active advocacy, professional development, arts skill-building, leadership training, and community engagement-all using the lens of theatre. A strong advocate of arts leadership development and cultural policy, Rachel was recently one of four steering committee members of the inaugural Berkshire Leadership Summit, a national convening of arts leaders designed to address the lack of gender parity in executive level theatre positions. She was chosen to be the first US delegate for the British Council's Cultural Leadership International Programme and was selected for the inaugural class of the American Express/Aspen Institute Fellowship for Emerging Nonprofit Leaders. She is a member of the 2016 artEquity cohort and has served on the board of Theatre Bay Area, chaired its Theatre Services Committee, and planned numerous professional development convenings for emerging arts leaders. Prior to moving to the Bay Area, Rachel was the managing director of the Yale Cabaret and had worked at theatres across the United States including the Yale Repertory Theatre, International Festival of Arts & Ideas, Long Wharf Theatre, and the Cleveland Play House. She has taught at Berkeley Rep, Case Western Reserve University, and the Cain Park School of the Arts. Rachel received her B.A. in Theatre Arts from Case Western Reserve University and her MFA in Theater Management from the Yale School of Drama.

Heidi Stillman (Artistic Director) has been an Ensemble Member with Lookingglass for 29 years and became Artistic Director (for the second time) in 2016. She recently directed the return of her adaptation of Hard Times. She has both written and directed productions for Lookingglass, including: Cascabel (with Tony Hernandez and Rick Bayless,) The North China Lover, Hephaestus (with Tony Hernandez), The Brothers Karamazov (2009 Raven Award), and The Master and Margarita. Additional writing credits with Lookingglass include: The Last Act of Lilka Kadison, The Old Curiosity Shop (Jeff Award for Adaptation), and The Baron in the Trees. Directing work with Lookingglass includes: Death Tax, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Trust, The Wooden Breeks, and Hillbilly Antigone. Heidi's adaptation of The Book Thief premiered at Steppenwolf Theatre Company. She directed Minita Gandhi's Muthaland for Silk Road Rising Solos and Victory Gardens Theater's Ignition Festival, CAATA/ConFEST, and at 16th Street Theatre. In 2016, she co-wrote and directed The Year I Didn't Go to School at Chicago Children's Theatre. For Lookingglass' 2018-19 Season, she will direct Ensemble Member Kareem Bandealy's world premiere of Acts of God.

Hilary Odom (Director of Development) brings ten years of experience in nonprofit fundraising and strategic partnerships to Lookingglass Theatre Company. Previously, Hilary spent seven seasons at Chicago Shakespeare Theater as a senior member of the Advancement department, where she managed institutional giving, departmental operations, and the annual Gala. During her tenure, she played a key role in growing the company's annual contributed revenue during a $55 million capital and endowment campaign that culminated in the 2017 opening of the company's third theater venue, The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare. Hilary has also held fundraising positions at Steppenwolf Theatre Company and Reading In Motion, an organization that uses an arts-infused approach to improve early childhood literacy skills. Hilary currently volunteers as Board President for The Neo-Futurists and has previously served on grant panels for the Illinois Arts Council Agency and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. She holds a BFA in Musical Theater from Millikin University and a Postgraduate Diploma in Community Arts Practice from DeMontfort University in Leicester, England.

About Lookingglass Theatre Company

Inventive. Collaborative. Transformative. Lookingglass Theatre Company, recipient of the 2011 Regional Theatre Tony Award, was founded in 1988 by eight Northwestern University students. Entering its 31st Season, Lookingglass is home to a multi-disciplined ensemble of artists who create story-centered theatrical work that is physical, aurally rich and visually metaphoric. The Company has staged 66 world premieres, received 151 Joseph Jefferson Awards and nominations, and work premiered at Lookingglass has been produced in New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle, Berkeley, Philadelphia, Princeton, Hartford, Kansas City, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Louisville and St. Louis. Lookingglass original scripts have been produced across the United States. In 2016, Lookingglass received the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions.

The Lookingglass Theatre in Chicago's landmark Water Tower Water Works opened in June 2003. In addition to developing and presenting Ensemble work, Lookingglass Education and Community programs encourage creativity, teamwork and confidence with thousands of community members each year.

Lookingglass Theatre Company continues to expand its artistic, financial and institutional boundaries under the guidance of Artistic Director Heidi Stillman, Executive Director Rachel L. Fink, Producing Director Philip R. Smith, Connectivity and Engagement Director Andrew White, General Manager Michele Anderson, a 24-member artistic ensemble, 23 artistic associates, an administrative staff, and a dedicated board of directors led by Chairman Nancy Timmers and President Richard Chapman. For more information, visit lookingglasstheatre.org.

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