leadership & staff
tiffani gavin, executive director
Tiffani Gavin brings more than 25 years of experience in theater administration and producing to her new position as Executive Director of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. After beginning her career in general management at The Public Theater in NY and as a company manager at Blue Man Group, she went on to hold leadership positions in both nonprofit and commercial theater organizations, including Clear Channel Entertainment and the American Repertory Theater. She's been the Manager of the Marquis Theatre on Broadway and has managed productions such as the National Tour of The Phantom of the Opera. As an Executive Producer for Clear Channel Entertainment and later as the General Manager/VP of Production at Martian Entertainment she commissioned and developed new work by emerging artists across the U.S. and internationally.
While producing at Clear Channel, her broad portfolio included Broadway and off-Broadway productions as well as national tours. Among them were Ragtime (National Tour), The Producers (Broadway, National Tour), Hairspray (Broadway, National Tour), Sweet Charity (2005 Broadway Revival), Gumboots (National Tour, European Tour), Squeezebox (Off-Broadway), and Contact (National Tour). She was also the Sr. Director of Professional and International Licensing for Theatrical Rights Worldwide where she acquired and licensed secondary performing rights for musicals such as Monty Python’s Spamalot and The Color Purple. Tiffani is a native of East Norriton, PA, and has a B.A. from Brown University in both Sociology as well as in Modern Culture and Media with a focus in Mass Media and Cultural Representation.
carolyn greenspan, board chair
Carolyn Greenspan has been a trustee of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center for over 15 years. She co-founded and was the CEO of Blue State Coffee, a socially-conscious roaster of fairly traded, organic coffee that had 9 retail locations in three states and donated over $1,000,000 to local nonprofit organizations. She is a principal in her family real estate investment company, HHH Properties. She also currently serves on the board of the United Theatre in Westerly, RI, and is a member of the Dean’s Council of the Yale School of Architecture and the Leadership Council of the Yale Peabody Museum. She is the former board chair of Amistad Academy, a public charter school in New Haven, CT and served on the board of Hampshire College in Amherst, MA. She graduated from Brown University (1982) and Columbia Law School (1985). She and her husband, Marshall Ruben, live in Wallingford, CT and Watch Hill, RI and have four adult children.
george c. white, founder
George White’s career includes not only his 37 years as Founder and Chairman of the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, but also numerous activities and accomplishments in theater throughout the world. The son of Nelson and Aida White, George was raised in Waterford, Connecticut, and was graduated from Yale with a BA from Yale University and an MFA from the Yale School of Drama.
In addition to his responsibilities at the O’Neill, George served as Co-Chairman of the Theater Management Program at the Yale School of Drama, and regularly directed plays in such venues as the Actors Theater, the Guthrie Theater, the Hartman Theater, the Annenberg Center, and the Hedgerow Theater. He was the Founding Chairman of
the Sundance Institute, served as a member of the Tony Awards Nominating Committee, and served on the following boards: National Arts Council, Metropolitan Opera Guild, Arts and Business Council, New Dramatists, Center for Inter-American Relations, International Theater Institute, Connecticut Commission on the Arts, and American Soviet Theater Initiative, Camargo Foundation, and Save Venice.
George’s contributions to theater extend beyond the borders of the United States. Beginning in 1972, he has spearheaded cultural exchange efforts in such countries as Australia, Peoples Republic of China, Russia, and Brazil. In 1984 he directed a production of Eugene O’Neill’s Anna Christie in Beijing, and in 1987 he directed Meredith Wilson’s The Music Man in that same city. He continues to lecture throughout the world on behalf of the U.S. Information Agency. His international accomplishments have been recognized in being awarded the Royal Swedish Order of the Polar Star from King Carl Gustaf, and the French Republic’s Chevalier des Artes et des Lettres. Of particular note are the numerous theatrical exchanges that George initiated in Russia, since the Cold War days of the early 1980s. He was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 2013.
board of trustees
OFFICERS
Chair
Vice Chair
Carolyn Greenspan
Ruth Hendel
Secretary
Ellen Quinn
Treasurer
Stephen Hendel
TRUSTEES
Jeff Aiosa
Leslee Asch
Karey Burke
Ted Chapin
Roger S. Christiansen
Ron Cowen
Michael Douglas
Lynn R. Fusco
Liz Hara
Riccardo Hernández
Genia Kaplan Quinn
Susan Kenyon
Tom Kitt
Daniel Lipman
Soraya Nadia McDonald
David Preka
Scott Richards
Madeline Sayet
Arlene Shuler
Sally Speer
Betsy White, Founding Trustee
George C. White, Founder and Chairman Emeritus
Tom Viertel, Chairman Emeritus
EX-OFFICIO
Rob Brule - First Selectman, Town of Waterford
David Jaffe
Dorita Lieberman
Ed Murphy - Chairman, Recreation & Parks Commission, Town of Waterford
administrative staff
EXECUTIVE OFFICE
Executive Director: Tiffani Gavin
Executive Affairs & HR Manager: Sonya Thiel (x288)
BUSINESS OFFICE
Controller: Will Kuklinski (x308)
Company Manager: Carter Smith (x221)
EXTERNAL RELATIONS
Director of External Relations: Rob Mooney (x213)
Development Manager: John Reinschmidt (x224)
Marketing Associate: Emma Brown (x217)
Creative Content Associate: Roger Pavey Jr.
PRODUCING OFFICE
Production & Operations Manager: Tate Burmeister (x494)
Line Producer: Jorge Lopez Rivera (x274)
LITERARY OFFICE
Literary Manager: Helena Pennington (x227)
Artistic Associate: Rebecca Rovezzi (x227)
NATIONAL THEATER INSTITUTE
Artistic Director: Rachel Jett (x219)
Program Representative & Admissions Manager: Rachel Kelsey
CAMPUS OPERATIONS
Production & Operations Manager: Tate Burmeister (x494)
Facilities Manager: Anthony Brown (x278)
Facilities Assistants: Duncan Port, Tash Shea
Head of Housekeeping & Security Manager: Stephanie Sutera (x278)
Housekeepers: Effa Pecoraro, Al-Shreef Porter (x278)
Security Guards: Stephanie Fine, Joe Lee
Head Chef: Harvey Jones (x214)
Line Cook: Jericho Lee
Kitchen Assistants: Stanley Comer
ARTISTIC
Artistic Director, National Puppetry Conference: Pam Arciero
Artistic Director, National Playwrights Conference: Melia Bensussen
Artistic Director, National Music Theater Conference: Alexander Gemignani
Artistic Director, National Theater Institute: Rachel Jett (x219)
Director, National Critics Institute: Chris Jones
Artistic Director, Cabaret and Performance Conference: John McDaniel
Director of Education, Young Playwrights Festival: Sophia Chapadjiev