NEW YORK CITY: Theatre Communications Group (TCG) has named Harold Steward the new chair of their board. Steward suceeds Nikkole Salter, who served as board chair from July 2020 to July 2023.
“It is our joy to welcome Harold Steward to the role of board chair at a time of both challenge and opportunity. Their perspective as a cultural strategist, theatre leader, and now funder will be invaluable as we meet this moment of crisis and chrysalis for our theatre ecology,” TCG executive director and CEO Teresa Eyring said in a statement. “Harold has brought vision, joy, and care to their work as a TCG trustee, and I look forward to working with them and the whole of the board in my final year at TCG.”
Steward is the executive director of the New England Foundation for the Arts. They previously served as the executive director and cultural strategist at the Theater Offensive and the manager of the South Dallas Cultural Center. In 2009, Steward founded the Fahari Arts Institute in Dallas. They are a member of the theatre faculty at Emerson College and a founding member of NextGen National Arts Network.
Steward was previously the co-chair of the TCG board’s diversity, equity, and inclusion committee. They will be joined by vice chairs John Fontillas, Arena Stage artistic director Hana S. Sharif, and Merrique Jenson.
“It is a great honor to serve in this leadership role at TCG at this time,” Steward said in a statement. “TCG has been instrumental in my understanding of myself as a theatre practitioner since high school. This is a critical moment in our field and our society, and the board of TCG feels poised to help advance our field’s desires and opportunities.”
Over the past year, TCG has changed its governance structure to share power at the board level. The Viability Board is the main governor and works alongside four task forces: Next Generation, Breaking Barriers, Global Connectivity, and Capitalization.
Theatre Communications Group leads for a just and thriving theatre ecology and represents over 700 member theatres and affiliate organizations. Through its programs and services, TCG reaches over one million students, audience members, and theatre professionals each year. It is also the publisher of this magazine.
