SAN FRANCISCO: Golden Thread Productions, the first American theatre company devoted to the Middle East, announced that Wynne Chan will serve as their next managing director. Chan began her duties in August and will work with managing director Michelle Mulholland to transition leadership through the end of the year.
“I am thrilled to welcome Wynne as my co-leader for this exciting new chapter at Golden Thread,” said executive artistic director Sahar Assaf in a statement. “As we deepen our political and social justice engagement and align our programming with our strategic plan, Wynne’s partnership is invaluable. Her expertise in the nonprofit world, her artistic sensibilities as a director and performer, and her lived experience as a child of immigrants from Hong Kong bring a vital perspective to our community-focused mission.”
Wynne Chan is a Hong Kong American director and theatre artist with 10 years of nonprofit experience. Most recently, she was the head of Candid’s Seals of Transparency program and managed the U.S.’s largest self-contributed nonprofit database with over 100,000 nonprofit participants. Previously, she led GuideStar’s revenue budgeting, strategic planning, and impact evaluation. She helped coordinate the formation of Candid (from Guidestar and Foundation Center) and facilitated cross-organization workstreams on strategic vision and culture and change management. Wynne also directs, vocal directs, produces, and performs regularly in the Bay Area. She is the co-founder and artistic director of SDC Productions, a collaborative theatre and cabaret group. As a director and performer, she’s worked with various theatre companies around the Bay Area, including San Francisco Playhouse, Shotgun Players, The Pear Theatre, Hillbarn Theatre, Berkeley Playhouse, Plethos Productions, and 3Girls Theatre.
“Theatre is meant to be provocative, challenge the status quo, and reflect the world around us,” said Chan in a statement. “I’ve long admired Golden Thread’s commitment to producing theatre that boldly supports these ideals. I’m humbled to join the brilliant Sahar Assaf, Golden Thread’s hard-working staff, and committed board, to further this mission. I am also thankful to Michelle Mulholland for her leadership in the past decade. I’m grateful for her guidance as I step into this role and I am honored to work alongside her as we produce Golden Thread’s essential Season for Palestine.”
Chan follows outgoing managing director Michelle Mulholland, who has served Golden Thread in her role for nearly a decade and a half. “I am deeply grateful to have found a home at Golden Thread these past 14 years, both as a managing director and as a costume designer,” said Mulholland in a statement. “It has had a profound impact on me personally and professionally, offering one of the high points of my career and helping to shape me into the person I am today. I am honored to have worked alongside both Sahar Assaf and Torange Yeghiazarian, all our artists, staff, board, donors, funders, volunteers, and community members, and I am full of pride for all the work we have accomplished together, especially this year’s Season for Palestine. Wynne is a strong, compassionate, knowledgeable, and talented theatremaker, and I am thrilled to be leaving Golden Thread in her capable hands!”
Founded in 1996, Golden Thread Productions is the first American theatre company devoted to the Middle East. Their mission is to produce passionate and provocative plays from or about the Middle East that celebrate the multiplicity of its perspectives and identities. As of 2022, the theatre had a budget of approximately $612,000.
