Fort Worth Opera Announces Paula Parrish As The Company's New Director Of Development

Fort Worth Opera (FWO) is pleased to announce today the news that Paula Parkman Parrish, a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), has joined the company as the new Director of Development. During her tenure as the Executive Director of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth Advancement Foundation, she advanced and inculcated a philanthropic culture throughout 90 parishes in 28 counties, managing the Board of Directors and overseeing assets of $125 million. Parrish comes to Fort Worth Opera with around thirty years of experience in fundraising, education, marketing, and communication. As the company prepares for its exciting 2019 Festival and looks towards its 75th Anniversary Season in 2020-2021, Paula Parrish's appointment as a development leader, further strengthens Fort Worth Opera's reinvigorated spirit and celebrates its great legacy.

"I am absolutely thrilled to be serving the Fort Worth Opera," says Parrish. "I have a passion for the performing and visual arts, so helping the Opera company that has so brilliantly been resurrected by the new general director, Tuomas Hiltunen, is a real honor. Fort Worth holds my heart dear. And between the Cowboys and Culture personas that permeate this city, I find that Fort Worth has it all! The Opera here is a classic example of the value Fort Worth brings its residents.

It's a privilege to work with the staff of the Fort Worth Opera. These are dedicated, warm and talented individuals who care deeply about the incredible, world-class musical art they produce. I'm humbled by their passion and devotion. And I'm thrilled to help this dynamic organization reach new heights."

Parrish is a seasoned veteran of numerous successful Capital, Annual, Endowment, Marketing, and Planned Giving Campaigns. She has created alumni, community/media relations, volunteers, and board development programs in several nonprofit organizations. She has also designed and directed fundraising programs for institutions serving the arts, education and healthcare. She is an alumna of Leadership Fort Worth (LFW), Class of 2008, and has chaired the Texas Commission on the Arts Grants Panel for two years. Parrish is an active member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) having served as President of the Greater Fort Worth 10-Star Chapter in 2010. A native of Fort Worth, Texas, she is proud to serve the arts community in her hometown as the Director of Development for this 73-year-old cultural institution.

Founded in 1946, Fort Worth Opera is the oldest continually-performing opera company in Texas, and one of the 14 oldest opera companies in the United States. The organization has received national acclaim from critics and audiences alike for its artistic excellence. Beginning in 2017, FWOpera launched the second phase of its landmark, 10-year Opera of the Americas initiative with Noches de Ópera (Nights of Opera), a groundbreaking campaign which introduces powerful operas, each reflecting the diverse cultures of American audiences.

Fort Worth Opera is sponsored in part by awards from The Arts Council of Fort Worth & Tarrant County, The City of Fort Worth, and the Texas Commission on the Arts. Additional Fort Worth Opera sponsors include: the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; the Amon G. Carter Foundation; American Airlines; Visit Fort Worth; Texas Commission on the Arts; Townplace Suites; Autobahn; Crystelle Waggoner Charitable Trust, Bank of America, Trustee; The Pangburn Foundation, J.P. Morgan Chase, Trustee; and the Sid W. Richardson Foundation.

To post a comment, you must register and login.