NEW YORK: Theatre Communications Group (TCG) has promoted Elena Chang to the newly created position of managing director of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) initiatives. Chang has served as TCG’s director of EDI initiatives since August 2018.
“For years, Elena has brought unwavering leadership to TCG’s EDI work, and we’re thrilled that she’s accepted this new role,” TCG executive director and CEO Teresa Eyring said in a statement. “I look forward to working closely with her on our strategic plan’s priorities of fostering a healthy workplace culture and prioritizing BIPOC and BITOC in our programs and services.”
In her new role, Chang will report directly to and work in partnership with Eyring to advance and execute TCG’s commitment to EDI values across the organization. She will also oversee the development and launch of TCG’s inaugural Theatre for Activism series, an initiative of theatre activists committed to developing and sharing new practices that prioritize accountability and abundance.
“It’s been an honor to work with TCG’s dedicated staff and board, and I’m thrilled to bring even greater intention to that work through this new role,” Chang added in a statement. “The progress we’ve made over the past seven years, both within TCG and our theatre ecology, is only possible because of the collective action of so many theatre workers and activists. I look forward to strengthening those relationships and shifting resources toward truly radical change.”
In her previous role, Chang led the launch of Cohort 4, the first cohort comprised of networks of theatres of color as part of TCG’s EDI Institute and initiated community events and collaborations, including TCG’s first Disability Theatre Roundtable, celebrations of theatres of color, and this magazine’s issues centering disability and trans and gender non-conforming artists. She began at TCG at 2016 and previously served as the program director of the Asian American Arts Alliance, an organization dedicated to ensuring greater representation, equity, and opportunities for Asian American artists and cultural organizations.
Additionally, Chang is on the advisory council for both the API Rainbow Parents and the Asian Pride Project, and has served on the steering committee of the Korean Queer & Trans Network. She was a director of family is still family, the first multilingual campaign featuring stories of Asian and Pacific Islander LGBTQ+ individuals and their families. Her work has been recognized by the Stonewall Community Foundation and through the White House’s Champions of Change initiative.
Chang holds a BFA from Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts and is an executive masters candidate in industrial-organizational psychology at the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences at Baruch College. As part of the executive team, Chang will manage key initiatives to establish a strong internal EDI culture where staff feel empowered to achieve TCG’s mission to lead for a just and thriving theatre ecology.
Theatre Communications Group is the national organization for theatre and leads for a just and thriving theatre ecology. Through its programs and services, TCG reaches over one million students, audience members, and theatre professionals each year. They are also the publisher of this magazine.
