Sharon Fantl, events manager at the Redfern Arts Center, will be among 14 professionals from the performing arts field chosen to participate in the Leadership Development Institute (LDI), facilitated by the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, and funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the American Express Foundation.

Sharon and her colleagues will work together using a facilitated collaborative inquiry process to investigate the topic of Knowing and Connecting with Community. Over the next eight months, and over the course of five sessions, the participants will meet in Austin, TX; Washington, DC; and New York.

The LDI’s goal is to develop the leadership, knowledge, and capacity required to advance the performing arts presenting field. The Institute will pursue the following goals:

• Consolidate a leadership competency framework for the performing arts presenting field
• Advance the leadership capacity among arts presenting professionals in at least one competency area each
• Produce a presenting leadership development white paper, online tools, and other resources that embody a framework for the leadership demands and challenges in the performing arts presenting field.