NEW AT MCCARTER: Veteran arts leader Susie Medak is interim managing director at McCarter Theatre.

McCarter Board Chair W. Rochelle Calhoun has announced that the McCarter Board’s Executive Committee has voted to hire arts leader Susie Medak to fill the role of interim managing director effective immediately.  Arts Consulting Group (ACG) conducted the search to place Medak in this leadership role for McCarter.

Former Managing Director Michael Rosenberg left McCarter this year to become president and chief executive officer of City Center in New York.

“The board is thrilled to be welcoming Susie Medak as our interim managing director,” said Calhoun. “She’s a nationally-celebrated leader in arts management, who successfully led Berkeley Rep for over 30 years. McCarter has engaged Susie in the past for board learning sessions, and we are so excited to continue the conversations.”

“Susie is a dream choice for this role,” said McCarter’s Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen. “Susie is a legend in our field with an unparalleled career in arts leadership. I’m so honored that she’s joining us at McCarter, and excited to partner with her. I’m especially delighted that she continues to bring such enthusiasm and joy to her work, and inspired by the way she continues to mentor and inspire new generations of theater leaders. McCarter and our field will benefit from her wisdom and good spirits.”

Medak served as Berkeley Rep’s managing director from 1990-2022, leading the administration and operations of the theater. She served as president of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) and treasurer of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), organizations that represent the interests of nonprofit theatres across the nation. She chaired panels for the Massachusetts Arts Council and has also served on program panels for Arts Midwest, the Joyce Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Closer to home, Medak served on the board of the Downtown Berkeley Association (DBA). She is the founding chair of the Berkeley Arts in Education Steering Committee for Berkeley Unified School District and the Berkeley Cultural Trust. She served on the faculty of Yale School of Drama and is a member of the International Women’s Forum and the Mont Blanc Ladies’ Literary Guild and Trekking Society. She was awarded the 2012 Benjamin Ide Wheeler Medal by the Berkeley Community Fund and the 2017 Visionary Leadership Award by TCG.

“I couldn’t be more pleased to have the opportunity to help this venerable theater during an important transition,” Medak said.

Calhoun also announced that the executive search firm Isaacson, Miller (IM) has been engaged to identify a permanent managing director to lead the organization in partnership with Artistic Director Rasmussen.

Founded in 1982, IM has four decades of experience recruiting senior leaders for arts and culture organizations, higher education institutions, health care and academic medical centers, and the full range of nonprofits.

“Isaacson, Miller is a trusted leader in the field of executive search and one that really understands the uniqueness and potential of McCarter and the communities that it serves,” said Calhoun. “IM has had a strong relationship with McCarter in the past, having most recently led the search that resulted in the recent appointment of Paula Abreu as director of special programming.”