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New York, NY – September 4, 2024 – TDF announces the appointment of seasoned marketing leader Nella Vera as VP, Marketing & Communications at TDF. Her first day will be September 25, 2024. Vera’s appointment is part of a new leadership structure under Deeksha Gaur, Executive Director, and Michael Naumann, Managing Director. Vera joins TDF’s new senior leadership team, which also includes former TDF Directors Whitney Estrin as VP, Development, Tymand Staggs as VP, Technology, and Owen Wiles as VP, Finance & Administration. TDF’s most recent Director of Education, Ginger Bartkoski Meagher, will lead a combined department of Accessibility, Public Engagement, and Education as VP, Programs. Naumann, TDF’s Managing Director, will continue to oversee ticketing and the Costume Collection.

This is the first full season under the leadership of Gaur, who joined TDF in August 2023. The senior leadership team, in close collaboration with TDF’s Board of Trustees, will work to deepen TDF’s impact with the many communities that have been historically underserved by New York City’s performing arts ecosystem, and to build meaningful lifelong relationships between New Yorkers and the live performing arts. This includes creating a more holistic and user-friendly membership experience; collaborating with city, arts, and community organizations to connect audiences to performances across the five boroughs; and providing more opportunities for audiences to experience art on their own terms.

“I’m thrilled to join TDF, a company I have long admired, especially at this inflection point in its trajectory,” said Vera about her appointment. “I look forward to leveraging my passion for theatre and audience development in support of TDF's many vital and inspiring programs, and to help shape its future direction and impact.”

“As the only arts service organization whose membership is the audience, TDF’s mission is to remove financial, physical, and invisible barriers so that every New Yorker can be inspired by the live performing arts,” said TDF’s Executive Director Deeksha Gaur. “TDF’s current slate of VPs has demonstrated a deep commitment to TDF’s mission and a dedication to increasing the impact of our work. Now, with Nella’s appointment, this passionate and forward-thinking senior leadership team will drive TDF into its next chapter, setting a bold and innovative agenda in pursuit of an inclusive future audience for Broadway and New York’s live performing arts.”

NELLA VERA (she/her) is a seasoned marketing leader with a wealth of experience in theatre and the performing arts. She joins TDF after eight years as Director of Marketing at BFV Management/54 Below, where she also oversaw marketing for most of the company’s commercial theatrical ventures, including seven years with the NYC production of STOMP. Previously, she was Director of Marketing and Communications at Theatre for a New Audience and Director of Marketing at The Public Theater. Other experience includes serving as a Group Director at Serino Coyne and positions at Signature Theatre Company, Center Theatre Group, and Manhattan Theatre Club. Her Broadway credits include The Encounter, The Parisian Woman, The Lion King, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Hair, and The Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino, among many others. Nella is an Adjunct Professor at NYU, Brooklyn College, and Hunter College. She is a proud graduate of Georgetown University and received her MFA in Theatre Management from Columbia University.

WHITNEY ESTRIN (she/her) has worked in the performing arts for more than 20 years and has been with TDF since 2017. Prior to TDF, she was the Director of Development at Theatre for a New Audience, a modern classical theatre in Brooklyn. Ms. Estrin began her career in Philadelphia, working with the Arden Theatre Company, Theatre Exile, and the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, and was a Co-Founder of Shakespeare in Clark Park. She has also worked with Seattle Repertory Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, and the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, where she managed the capital campaign for the Thomas H. Kean Theatre Factory. She has sat on the Boards of SPACE on Ryder Farm and Poetry Well and is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Columbia University. Ms. Estrin holds a BA from Drew University and an MFA from Yale School of Drama.

GINGER BARTKOSKI MEAGHER (she/her) is the Vice President of Programs at TDF. Ginger began her theatre career in the University of Kansas scene shop. She performed in the Midwest and at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC with Card Table Theatre and English Alternative Theatre. Ginger moved to New York City and worked with Tom Cat Cohen Productions and the clowns at Under the Table Ensemble Theatre. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre and Film from the University of Kansas and her Master of Arts in Secondary English Education from CUNY Brooklyn College. Ginger was a New York City Teaching Fellow and is an AmeriCorps alumna. Ginger taught theatre in Brooklyn at JHS 275 Thelma J. Hamilton and Teachers Preparatory High School. Ginger has volunteered with Girls Scouts of NJ, MEND NJ (a network of food pantries), and serves on the Board of Managers for the South Mountain YMCA in Maplewood, NJ.

TYMAND STAGGS (he/him) is VP, Technology at TDF. As Director of Technology since 2001, Ty transformed the membership program from mail order to an online sales portal. He played a key role in transitioning TKTS to credit card-based operations. Ty led the CRM transition to Tessitura, customized it for TDF’s needs, and managed infrastructure for both TDF and TKTS. Previously, he worked as a Systems Designer at Vestals Digital Publishing and as a Network Administrator at Alchemia Internet in Tokyo. Ty is a graduate of Sophia University, Yotsuya Campus, Tokyo.

OWEN WILES (he/him) is a veteran finance and administration professional with more than 15 years of experience in government and nonprofit management. He is currently the VP, Finance & Administration at TDF and has been with TDF for four years. Owen’s previous work in the field includes service at the Fund for the City of New York and the NYC Department of Health. Owen holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and a Bachelor’s Degree from Vassar College. His expertise includes budget planning and management, compliance, audit management, nonprofit accounting, process improvement, and government contracting. In his free time, Owen enjoys gardening, cooking, spending time with his family, and, of course, the theatre. He is also an avid outdoors enthusiast with a particular affection for the Adirondack Mountains.

ABOUT TDF: Founded in 1968, TDF (formerly known as Theatre Development Fund) is a not-for-profit service organization dedicated to sharing the power of the performing arts with everyone. TDF’s mission is to engage a broad and diverse audience by removing the financial, physical, and invisible barriers to participation in the performing arts. TDF’s initiatives include the TKTS by TDF Discount Booths; TDF Memberships; the TDF Costume Collection; and TDF Accessibility, Education, and Public Engagement Programs. Those Programs include open captioned, audio described, and ASL-interpreted performances; Autism Friendly Performances; the Veterans Theatregoing Program; school programs serving more than 11,000 NYC public school students annually; and partnerships with over 150 NYC community organizations serving 18,000 people in the tristate area. TDF envisions a world where the transformative experience of attending live theatre and dance is essential, relevant, accessible, and inspirational.

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