A.C.T. Elects New Board Leadership and Members
Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Philanthropic leaders Nancy Livingston and Rusty Rueff assume roles of chair and president of the A.C.T. Board of Trustees. Eleven new trustees from the worlds of business and philanthropy join A.C.T.'s ranks. Newly formed Emeritus Advisory Board to honor retiring trustees.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, July 6, 2010—The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Board of Trustees announced new leadership and welcomed new members to the board at its annual meeting held earlier this month. Longtime A.C.T. supporter and chair of the recently completed $31 million Next Generation Campaign Nancy Livingston was elected chair, and internet executive and philanthropist Rusty Rueff was elected president, of the board of the venerable theater company founded in San Francisco in 1967. Both Livingston, who led the theater's recent long-range strategic planning process, and Rueff, who has guided the growth and development of the board in recent years, were previously vice chairs of the board. Also elected to leadership positions were Vice Chair Cheryl Sorokin, Secretary Lesley Clement, and Treasurer Larry Varellas.

"I want to applaud our new dynamic team, Chair Nancy Livingston and President Rusty Rueff, and look forward to working with them to create world-class art and realize our big dreams in the years ahead," says A.C.T. Artistic Director Carey Perloff. "I also want to thank our outgoing chair, Jack Cortis, for keeping A.C.T. in such a strong and vibrant position during his three years of leadership."

Livingston adds: "It's an honor to step into this new role with the company with which I have had the pleasure of working so closely in recent years. I'm excited about the possibilities we have put forth in our new long-range strategic plan and am looking forward to working with Rusty and the rest of the board to turn our aspirations into reality."

Rueff, who joined the Board of Trustees seven years ago and has held numerous leadership positions in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, agrees: "This is an incredibly exciting time for A.C.T., and I am convinced that we can lift the theater to a new level of prominence in our community, nationally and globally. Our aim is to have an even bigger impact on the lives of our audience members in the future."

Given the breadth of the day-to-day operations of the organization and the implementation of the new long-range strategic plan over the next decade, the Board of Trustees has chosen to return to a dual leadership model, which A.C.T. employed in the 1990s during the capital campaign for the restoration of A.C.T.'s historic home following the Loma Prieta earthquake. Under this model, Livingston, as chair, will have primary responsibilities for A.C.T.'s fundraising activities and external relationships, along with implementation of the long-range strategic plan. Rueff, as president, will be the board's primary liaison with the artistic director, executive director, and senior management team in the ongoing operations of the theater and in board governance.

In addition to the election of officers for the 2010–11 season, the Board of Trustees elected 11 new members from throughout the business, educational, and philanthropic communities of the San Francisco Bay Area:

• Judy Anderson of Hillsborough, community leader
• Michael G. Dovey of Belvedere, community leader
• Celeste Ford of Palo Alto, founder and CEO, Stellar Solutions
• Jo Hurley of San Francisco, community leader
• Jeri Lynn Johnson of Belvedere, community leader
• The Reverend Alan Jones of San Francisco, former dean, Grace Cathedral
• David Riemer of Berkeley, executive-in-residence, Haas School of Business
• Jeff Spears of San Francisco, cofounder and CEO, Sanctuary Wealth Services
• Laila Tarraf of San Francisco, chief human resources officer, Peet's Coffee
• Lorenzo Thione of San Francisco, entrepreneur and founder, bing.com
• Nola Yee of San Francisco, community leader

In recognition of their steadfast service and devotion to A.C.T., 13 longtime supporters and former members of the A.C.T. Board of Trustees were elected as the founding members of the American Conservatory Theater Emeritus Advisory Board. Nomination and appointment to the Emeritus Advisory Board is among the highest honors A.C.T. can bestow upon an individual and reflects the significant role these individuals have played in the advancement of the organization and its mission. These individuals are: Barbara Bass Bakar, Rena Bransten, Dagmar Dolby, Bill Draper, John Goldman, Sue Yung Li, Christine Mattison, Joan McGrath, Deedee McMurtry, Toni Rembe, Joan Sadler, Alan Stein, and Barry Lawson Williams.

American Conservatory Theater is a Tony Award–winning theater and educational institution dedicated to nurturing the art of live theater through dynamic productions, intensive actor training in its conservatory, and an ongoing dialogue with its community. A.C.T. embraces its responsibility to conserve, renew, and reinvent its relationship to the rich theatrical traditions and literatures that are our collective legacy, while exploring new artistic forms and new communities. A commitment to the highest standards informs every aspect of A.C.T.'s creative work. Founded in 1965, A.C.T. opened its first San Francisco season at the historic Geary Theater in 1967; more than 320 productions have since been performed to a combined audience of more than seven million people. Today A.C.T. is recognized nationally for its groundbreaking productions of classical works and bold explorations of contemporary playwriting, honored with a Tony Award for outstanding theater performance and training (1979) and the prestigious Jujamcyn Theaters Award (1996). The first actor training program in the United States not affiliated with a college or university accredited to award a master of fine arts degree, A.C.T.'s conservatory has moved to the forefront of America's actor training programs, while serving as the creative engine of the company at large.

Nancy Livingston joined the A.C.T. Board of Trustees in 2003 and was chair of The Next Generation Campaign,a $31 million fundraising initiative to create the theater's first endowment, which concluded in December 2009. She and her husband, Fred Levin, are lifelong theatergoers who have subscribed to A.C.T. together for 26 years. A graduate of Boston University with a distinguished career in advertising, Livingston serves on the National Alumni Council and the Dean's Advisory Board of the College of Communications at Boston University.

Rusty Rueff, formerly CEO of the digital commerce company SNOCAP and EVP of Electronic Arts (EA), joined the A.C.T. board in 2003 and has held numerous leadership positions during his trustee tenure. He previously served on the boards of regional theaters in Dallas, Texas, and Taos, New Mexico, and currently serves as vice chair of the GRAMMY Foundation and director of the Purdue University Foundation; he is also on Purdue's College of Liberal Arts Dean's Advisory Board. His wife, Patti, chaired A.C.T.'s 40th-anniversary gala, The Ruby Jubilee.