Arts Presenter's CEO Steps Down

(March 21, 2011) - The President and CEO of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP), Sandra Gibson, announced today that she will step down at the end of this fiscal year (June 30, 2011) after eleven years at the helm of the nation's leading service organization for the performing arts presenting field. Gibson has served the Association since 2000 and is the fourth chief executive of the organization since its founding in 1957.

"Everyone who knows me also knows that I view my role in leading Arts Presenters as one of the great opportunities in my career," said Gibson. "What started out some thirty years ago as a first job in the arts has been topped off by the privilege of leading Arts Presenters for more than a decade, and has become my life's work. I feel quite fortunate to have been at Arts Presenters, particularly during what has been an amazing time of change and evolution for the performing arts and for the presenting field, and I look forward to exploring new leadership opportunities to serve the arts and nonprofit sector. My thanks and gratitude goes to our board of directors, terrific staff team, and those partners, supporters and colleagues who form the foundation of our work at Arts Presenters and our efforts to advance the presenting field."

"The last decade has been one of dramatic change for our field. On behalf of the board of directors, I celebrate and thank Sandra for her extraordinary accomplishments and dedicated service to the Association -- and for her intelligent, passionate voice of advocacy for our field -- during this momentous decade," said Mike Ross, chair of APAP's Board of Directors and director of the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "We look forward to working closely with Sandra in the months ahead to ensure a successful leadership transition."

Gibson will stay on at the Association as a special consultant in the months following the close of the fiscal year. The APAP Board of Directors is working on transition plans to move the Association to its next phase. The board has established the "APAP Future Working Group," a steering committee that will work closely with board, staff and members to guide the Association's pathway of change and advancement. A search committee is also in formation to select Gibson's successor and will be led by board vice chair, Josh LaBelle. An Interim President and CEO will be put in place on July 1 if the search has not concluded by that date.