Soho Rep Adds Ken Ebie, Aretha Marshall, and Anne O'Grady To Board Of Directors

Soho Rep announced that Ebie Strategies Founder and Principal and Black Enterprises NYC Executive Director & Chief Development Officer Ken Ebie; media executive, communications strategist, and Lincoln Drive Inc. Founder and President Aretha Marshall; and entertainment marketing executive Anne O'Grady have joined the organization's Board of Directors.

Cynthia Flowers, one of Soho Rep's three Directors (alongside Sarah Benson and Meropi Peponides), said, "This moment of growth for Soho Rep and systemic change in the American theater presents an ideal time for us to engage new voices and perspectives to shape our future. Ken Ebie, Aretha Marshall, and Anne O'Grady step onto the Board of Directors with an ardent interest not only in the plays we produce, but also in how we engage and create transformative opportunities for early-career theater artists. We are honored and energized to count them as new collaborators and friends."

Ken Ebie has over a decade of experience in law, politics, government and public affairs, and creates innovative and social impact initiatives at the highest levels of government, arts & culture, and philanthropy. He currently serves as the inaugural Executive Director & Chief Development Officer of Black Entrepreneurs NYC (BE NYC), a first-of-its-kind municipal initiative in a major American city to help address the racial wealth gap through entrepreneurship. Ebie led external affairs at the NYC Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) and previously served as the campaign manager for the late Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson. Ebie has been recognized by Brooklyn Magazine as one of its "100 Most Influential People in Brooklyn Culture"; by the Council of Urban Professionals as a "CUP Catalyst"; and by the NYC Commission on Human Rights as a 2022 "Trailblazer." Ken currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Harvard Club of New York and the Council of Urban Professionals and is a founding member of Beyond #MeToo: A Working Group on Corporate Governance, Compliance, and Risk. He holds a B.A. from Harvard College, where he was elected as a Class Marshal, and a J.D. from Yale Law School, and was a Fulbright Scholar to Cameroon, where he was also a semi-professional basketball player.

Ebie said, "A throughline in my career-whether in corporate law, government, politics, or public affairs-has been identifying opportunities to reimagine systems and structures to maximize human potential and create a more sustainably equitable society. After meeting Cynthia Flowers in 2019 and being introduced to Soho Rep, it was clear to me that this organization is committed to 'walking the walk' in one of the most beloved and important industries in New York City. I love words and stories and fundamentally believe in their power to build bridges, create community and change lives. I am truly excited to join the Board of Soho Rep at this critical time, to advance the visionary and transformative mission of elevating artists to change this important industry and our society."

Prior to launching the content-development and strategic communications company Lincoln Drive Inc., Aretha Marshall was the Senior Vice President and Executive Producer at Peacock Productions, the NBC News in-house production company. Before joining Peacock Productions, Marshall served as a Senior Executive Producer working across multi platforms at NBCUniversal, where she served on the News Division's Diversity Council. She first joined NBC News in 1994 as a Producer with the award winning news magazine Dateline. Marshall's work has received numerous prestigious awards, including News and Documentary Emmy Awards, the Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Award, the National Headliner Award, and an NAACP Image Award Honorable Mention. She has also been honored by the National Association of Black Journalists. Marshall serves on the Board of the Directors for the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania; is the President of The National Smart Set, Inc.; and is a member of The Links, Inc. She earned her BA from Harvard University and her Master's from Northwestern University.

Marshall commented, "As a storyteller, I have sought throughout my career to illuminate issues of importance, and to share the stories of the people in front (and behind) who have been moved to step forward, regardless of the consequences. During my first meeting with Soho Rep Board Chair Victoria Meakin and Co-Director Cynthia Flowers, the organization's mission to empower and encourage emerging voices was clear. It's kismet! I am excited to join the Soho Rep Board as they take on new challenges while building on their mission to present transformative stories and nurture the artistic development of fresh talent."

Anne O'Grady is an authoritative marketing leader responsible for launching and promoting some of the world's best known entertainment brands. In her 30-year tenure (1989-2020) as Executive Vice President of Marketing at CBS, she oversaw brand strategy, experiential marketing, consumer products, special events, local and affiliate marketing, and creative design. She was part of a small group of company executives that provided creative and strategic input about which new shows the network would air each fall. O'Grady authored the business plan that led to the launch of the first iteration of cbs.com, in 1995. She is a co-founder of SURVIVOR Stand Up 2 Cancer, which has raised over $2M to date for research to find a cure for rare cancers.

O'Grady said, "I am honored to join the Soho Rep Board of Directors, and the more I have learned about the organization, the more passionate about its work I have become. Soho Rep's mission to support visionary emerging artists by providing a creative platform and the resources to realize new works for the first time is a gift not only to theater-makers, but to audiences as well. The arts have a unique power to show life from different perspectives, and Soho Rep makes an indispensable contribution to the field."

The appointment of Ebie, Marshall, and O'Grady to the Board of Directors is the latest of several major recent steps Soho Rep has made to grow and evolve. Writer and social commentator Roxane Gay, Global Head of Intelligent Automation at Spotify Sidney Madison Prescott, and artist Carmelita Tropicana joined the Board in July 2022. And, in December 2022, the organization began a national search for two Co-Directors to succeed Sarah Benson and Meropi Peponides, who leave at the end of the 2022-23 season. Benson and Peponides have decided to depart in a time of artistic vibrancy and organizational strength for Soho Rep, so that two new leaders, in partnership with Cynthia Flowers, can chart the future of the company and its contributions to the American theater and the civic life of New York City.

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