Media Contacts:
Saul Markowitz, President, Markowitz Communications
saul@markowitzcommunications.com | 412-977-8517 (cell)
Derek Scalzott, Senior Director, Communications & Marketing Management, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
scalzott@TrustArts.org | 412-471-8715
Headshot Kendra Whitlock Ingram
PITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUST
NAMES NEW PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER:
KENDRA WHITLOCK INGRAM ASSUMES ROLE FEBRUARY 1, 2023
PITTSBURGH, PA, November 1, 2022: Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Board Chair Richard Harshman announced today that Kendra Whitlock Ingram has been named the Cultural Trust’s new President and Chief Executive Officer, replacing retiring President and CEO J. Kevin McMahon.
A Duquesne University graduate and current President and CEO of the Marcus Performing Arts Center in Milwaukee, WI, Ingram has held senior roles in performing arts management at some of the country’s most venerable arts institutions. Ingram will be the second female President & CEO and first person of color to be at the Cultural Trust’s helm in its 38-year history.
“Kendra’s boundless enthusiasm and breadth of experience managing a broad range of art forms have made her the number one choice to lead the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust at this important time in its history,” states Harshman. “There are so many exciting Trust projects launching now and on the horizon for which she is uniquely suited. We look forward to welcoming Kendra back to Pittsburgh to help lead the Cultural District as the Trust continues to revitalize Downtown and bring audiences back in large numbers to our theaters, galleries, public art installations, and festivals.”
David Holmberg, Highmark Health President and CEO, Cultural Trust Board Trustee, and the Chair of the search committee adds: “We were very fortunate to attract a highly qualified pool of candidates from around the globe. Kendra’s authenticity and vision especially stood out. She is going to be a hands-on leader who is positioned extraordinarily well to amplify areas where the Cultural Trust has excelled including collaboration, creativity, and innovation.”
“The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s growing regional, national, and international reputation for employing the arts as a community builder and economic catalyst is just one of the many reasons that I’m heading back to my college town,” states Ingram. “The Trust is a dynamic and truly impactful organization with a proven track record of accomplishment and leadership. I am honored and excited to have this opportunity to start a new chapter and build on the incredible story of Pittsburgh’s Downtown and vibrant Cultural District.”
Ingram brings more than 20 years of senior management performing arts experience to the role. Prior to her work at the Marcus Performing Arts Center, she served as Executive Director of the Newman Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Denver, as well as Vice President of Programming and Education at the Omaha Performing Arts Center. Ingram has also held leadership roles with the Shenandoah Conservatory, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony Orchestra and Tulsa Philharmonic. She holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from Duquesne University, a master’s degree in business administration, from the University of Nebraska – Omaha and is an alumna of the League of American Orchestras’ Orchestra Management Fellowship Program. In 2021, Ingram was named to the Milwaukee Biz Times Notable Minority Executives List and was recently named as an honoree for the 2022 Milwaukee Business Journal’s “Women of Influence.”
Ingram serves on the Board of Governors for The Broadway League as well as the Board of Directors for Arts Midwest, National Arts Strategies, LACNA Foundation, and Black Arts MKE. She recently served as Co-Chair of the Arts and Culture Advisory Council for America 250, the U.S Semiquincentennial Commission established to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the founding of the United States. Ingram is a Full Tony-Voting Member of The Broadway League.
A Scranton, PA, native, Ingram and her husband Ben, a surgical oncology physician assistant, will be relocating to Pittsburgh for her new role with their two cats Larry and Lil Mama. In her spare time, she enjoys training for and participating in triathlons, practicing Handel piano suites, and attending a wide variety of performances. She begins her tenure at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust on February 1, 2023.
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The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has overseen one of Pittsburgh’s most historic transformations: turning a seedy red-light district into a magnet destination for arts-lovers, residents, visitors, and business owners. Founded in 1984, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a non-profit arts organization whose mission is the cultural and economic revitalization of a 14-block arts and entertainment/residential neighborhood called the Cultural District. The District is one of the country’s largest land masses “curated” by a single nonprofit arts organization. A major catalytic force in the city, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a unique model of how public-private partnerships can reinvent a city with authenticity, innovation, and creativity. Using the arts as an economic catalyst, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has holistically created a world-renowned Cultural District that is revitalizing the city, improving the regional economy, and enhancing Pittsburgh’s quality of life. Thanks to the support of foundations, corporations, government agencies and thousands of private citizens, the Trust stands as a national model of urban redevelopment through the arts.
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