Jul 8, 2019
Anne is the Executive Director of The Academy of Children’s
Theater. Anne is a self-proclaimed musical
theater nerd, possibly a musical theater buff! Her dream came true
when a trivia question came up in a
game and she knew the answer because of a musical!
Anne runs the local children’s theater and is an alumnus of the
theater as well. She was in their very first
production. She decided during a performance, and her instructor
congratulated her on making a good
choice. That was a defining moment when knew that the Children’s
Theater needed to be in the Tri-
Cities. When she was in college, she created an internship at ACT
and was then offered a position right
out of college. She’s done everything from teaching classes to
fundraising. She then moved away to the
city for 5 years and moved back to take care of family. It was at
that time the position opened at ACT.
When she was ready to move to Seattle, she decided to move to LA
instead. The risk she took was saying
yes to housing opportunities, job offers, etc. Working at the gym
in LA equipped her with the tools to be
effective in fundraising, donor relations, and non-profit
administration in her current position.
The team at ACT comes from all her amazing volunteers. There are
currently 70 adult volunteers who
average 70-100 hours of volunteer work. Currently she emphasizes
that she has the best board. She
looks for passion and commitment when selecting volunteers.
Providing clarity to avoid conflict is
essential.
Once she is surrounded with her amazing team, they often have
“counter meetings” where they stand
around the counter and catch up. By doing this, it ensures everyone
has been heard and prepared for
what is coming up next. They celebrate Wednesdays because they all
know that everyone will be there.
They also have celebrations to honor their volunteers.
Anne makes time to dream, because goal setting and planning is what
helps everyone achieve their
greatest potential. She often travels to California to spend a long
weekend to get perspective with a
great group of support. She enjoys being in the airport all alone
to check email without distractions. She
feels that her active travel gives her a breath of fresh air.
Vacation is meant to see a different
perspective.
She organizes herself with making lists! Her lists even have lists.
She also keeps a very detailed Google
calendar. She creates a short list of things that need to be done
more immediately.
Her mentor Dr. Eva Frank is one of the most influential people in
her life. Her predecessor moved to
Florida and they make it a point to sit on the beach once a year to
rejuvenate and brainstorm. When she
is driving, she listens to a lot of podcasts. Her go-to is “Wait,
Wait don’t tell me!” She leads with humor
while still maintaining professionalism.
One of her leadership secret weapons is not asking anyone to do
anything that she is unwilling to do.
She volunteers with her volunteers as often as she can. One of her
greatest challenges as a leader is her
youth. Time must pass to gather experience. Her advice to a young
leader is ask everyone they know lots
and lots of questions and advice. Her greatest reward is
watching 60 kids performing or kids taking
classes--seeing the kids grow in self-confidence.
Join Leadership Tri-Cities! Get involved and connected. Volunteer
to be on a board of a non-profit.
Whatever you do, do it with commitment and passion.
You can connect with Anne on social media,
www.theacademyofchildrenstheater.org or call at 509-943-
6027