Great Lakes Theater Festival Names New Development Director

Great Lakes Theater Festival (GLTF), Cleveland's professional classic theater, announced the appointment of Holly Tomasch as the company's new development director today. As the head of GLTF's development department, Tomasch will oversee all individual, corporate and foundation fundraising efforts for the organization. Approximately $2M of the Festival's $3.6M annual operating budget is generated from contributed income sources each season.

"I am so pleased to join the Festival on the eve of its 50th anniversary year," said Tomasch about her recent appointment. "I have many years of fond memories of the Festival beginning with Macbeth when I was a school child. It is great to be able to work ‘behind the curtain' to help ensure that this wonderful organization continues to enthrall and educate audiences for generations to come."

Tomasch is a long-time Greater Cleveland resident and has spent more than twenty-five years working in the nonprofit sector. She has been heavily involved in cultural arts and higher education organizations, where she has held several senior management positions. From 1995 - 2007, Tomasch served as the Executive Director of the Harbor Heritage Society, which owned and operated the Steamship William G. Mather Museum until 2006, when the Museum merged with the Great Lakes Science Center. Since 2007, she has consulted for a number of regional organizations in the areas of fundraising, board development and volunteer management, and worked at The Lakeland Foundation of Lakeland Community College developing its Next Generation scholarship campaign. Tomasch has degrees in biochemistry from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and nonprofit organizational management from Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School. Holly and her husband Bruce live in Rocky River, Ohio.

"We're absolutely thrilled to welcome Holly to our team," said Bob Taylor, GLTF's executive director. "I am confident that she will contribute to the overall growth of our theater company in significant ways immediately and in the long term."