Immediate Past President
Before joining Adventure Stage Chicago, Mary Kate was previously the Managing Director, Programming and Production at the Chicago Humanities Festival (CHF). At the CHF she produced two diverse festivals and year-round humanities and educational programming (150+ events), serving an audience of 55,000 and an online audience of 200,000. She also conceived and was the Artistic Director of Stages, Sights and Sounds, CHF's international performing arts festival for young audiences, which each year reaches thousands of youth and families. Mary Kate is the Immediate Past President of International Performing Arts for Youth (IPAY), the premiere membership organization in the world servicing and supporting the professional community of performing arts for young audiences. Prior to joining the CHF, Mary Kate was the Director of Communications for the School of Communication at Northwestern University where she produced publications, special events, and multi-media projects. She is also an alumna of Northwestern, having graduated with a Masters in Theatre and Arts Administration.