The Next Stage of Arena is made possible by the visionary philanthropy of Life Trustees Gilbert and Jaylee Mead. Demonstrating tremendous leadership, Gilbert and Jaylee established broad support of Arena’s campaign by issuing the “Mead Challenge,” which vaulted the Campaign past $100 million and allowed Arena to publicly announce the creation of the new Arena Stage. This extraordinary facility will be dedicated to the couple’s transformational philanthropy and the memory of Gilbert Mead, who passed away on May 29, 2007. In recognition of their tremendous generosity and exceptional commitment, Arena Stage is proud to honor Gilbert and Jaylee with a new name for our new theater complex: The Mead Center for American Theater.

This challenge was not the first that the Meads initiated. In the formative stages of The Next Stage Campaign, the Meads challenged Arena’s Board of Trustees to dig deeper when considering a gift to the campaign. This effort resulted in an early base of support for the funding initiative that exceeded $20 million. Each agreement (drafted by the Meads themselves) literally doubled the success of fundraising on two specific occasions, each within a very ambitious and successful timeframe. Because of their creative challenge grants, the theater has raised more than $25 million in challenge grant support alone in four years.

The couple’s philanthropy and leadership go beyond dollars for Arena’s new theater campus. The Meads’ collective service as members of the Board of Trustees at Arena Stage totaled more than 14 years. They were the first season-wide sponsors in Arena’s history, creating a new level of support for others to emulate in successive seasons (which has worked, as the past three seasons have had season-wide sponsors). In addition, they have sponsored more than 15 productions at Arena, primarily underwriting the costs of great American musicals since the beginning of their relationship with the theater close to two decades ago. The inspiration they ignite in others by leading the way throughout various stages of Arena’s history is unprecedented.

Gilbert and Jaylee are perhaps the single largest individual supporters of the performing arts in the greater D.C. region; privately and through their family foundation, they have given more than $50 million to theaters in the Washington region. The couple was awarded the “Patron of the Arts” award from the Cultural Alliance, the Washington Post Award for distinguished community service in 1996, and the Mayor’s Arts Award for service to the arts in 1998. They were Washingtonians of the Year in 1999.

Gilbert D. Mead performed research in space science and geophysics at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD from 1962 to 1987, having received a B.S. in physics from Yale in 1952 and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California at Berkeley. After retiring from NASA in 1987, he earned a J.D. law degree from the University of Maryland at Baltimore. Dr. Mead was the grandson of George Mead I, who co-founded Consolidated Papers, Inc. in Wisconsin Rapids. Dr. Mead served on the Consolidated Papers board from 1974 to 2000, when the company was sold to Stora Enso.

In 1989, he and Jaylee founded the Mead Family Foundation, with a board that involves Gil’s children Betsy, Diana, and Stanton. He also was a member of the board of directors of the Community Foundation of South Wood County in Wisconsin Rapids, where he grew up.

Jaylee Montague Mead joined NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in 1959, just six months after NASA's inception. During her 33-year career at NASA, she served as a mathematician, an astronomer and an administrator. Dr. Mead established the Goddard Astronomical Data Center (ADC), a computerized data bank of stars and galaxies, which for 25 years helped astronomers determine whether objects they viewed from space missions had already been identified or were being discovered for the first time. The ADC was a key center for published astronomy data, catalogs and journal tables. For her extraordinary achievements, she received the Goddard Award for Outstanding Service, the Women in Aerospace Lifetime Achievement Award and the 1986 NASA Medal for Scientific Leadership. She retired in 1992 as associate chief of the Space Data and Computing Division.

Dr. Mead is a graduate of Woman's College (now UNC-Greensboro), earned a master's degree from Stanford University and a doctorate from Georgetown University. She received an honorary doctorate of science degree from UNC-Greensboro in 2003.

Gilbert and Jaylee met while working at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and were married in 1968. While at Goddard, the Meads music directed, performed with and produced for MAD, the Music and Drama club formed by NASA employees.