Staff

Joseph Berardelli

Chief Financial Officer

Joe Berardelli joined the Arena staff in May 2001 and is responsible for overseeing and managing all fiscal and fiduciary responsibilities of Arena Stage including financial planning, administration and budgeting.  In this capacity, he supervises the Business Office, reports to the Executive Director and serves on the Finance, Investment and Audit Committees. Joe holds an MBA from the State University of New York and has been an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate Arts Management program at George Mason University since 2008. Prior to joining Arena’s staff, he was the Controller at the nation’s oldest community music school, Third Street Music School Settlement, on the Lower East Side of New York City. At Third Street, Joe was responsible for all accounting, budget and human resources functions. He has also served as the Business Manager for the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and Theatre Operations Manager at Symphony Space also in New York City.

joeb@arenastage.org

Jon Kevin Gossett

Chief Development Officer

Jon Gossett comes to Arena Stage with 30 years of fundraising experience, setting records in amounts raised and enabling nonprofits to significantly increase their depth and breadth of service and impact. In 2001, he received the Advanced Certified Fundraising Executive certification (ACFRE), the 77th professional internationally to qualify for designation. Prior to leading the marketing, public affairs, communications, annual giving, membership, and major donor teams at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Gossett had served in a number of executive leadership roles. He had served as senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington, D.C.-based policy institute; St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System in the Texas Medical Center; and at American Public Media Group (St. Paul, MN), home to Marketplace, 15 other national programs, Minnesota Public Radio, Classical South Florida and Southern California Public Radio. In the arts, he has led the development teams for the San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and the Guthrie Theater Foundation, in Minneapolis. During his career, he has staffed twelve capital campaigns, including, at the time, the largest capital campaigns in the respective fields of united arts funds, regional theaters, public media organizations and historic preservation. Gossett holds a bachelor’s degree in music performance and business administration from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and a master’s degree in philanthropy and development from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota. He has served as an adjunct professor at St. Mary's University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and as a presenter for Walden University. He has served on the boards of not-for-profit organizations including the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) chapters in Houston and San Francisco, the Minnesota Humanities Commission, Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies and St. Luke's Episcopal Health Charities. He is currently an advisor to Friends of Puerto Rico and secretary for the Board of Dumbarton Place. In addition, he is the vice president for and advisor to A+ Educational Tours, a student educational travel company based in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

jgossett@arenastage.org

Khady Kamara

Managing Director

Khady Kamara joined Arena Stage in 2001 and has been an integral member of the communications team, eventually being promoted to Chief Marketing Officer before taking over as Associate Executive Director and ultimately Managing Director. Under her leadership, Arena’s sales team repeatedly broke box office records for a number of shows. She successfully administered the upgrade and transition of Arena’s ticketing software to meet the ever-changing needs of its growing patron base. Her work was integral in the success of Arena’s temporary residency in Crystal City and the opening of the Mead Center for American Theater. During Kamara’s tenure, she pioneered unprecedented efforts to maximize donations with ticket purchases, and group sales revenue has more than doubled in scope and range of audiences reached. Part of her focus has been on strengthening community relations, managing strategic planning efforts with the board of directors and helping grow the donor base. Kamara serves as Adjunct Faculty for the Arts Management Program at George Mason University and is on the Board of Governors for the Helen Hayes Awards.

kkamara@arenastage.org

Jackie Rucker Bohi

Director of Human Resources

Jackie Rucker Bohi joined Arena Stage in November of 2017 following human resources positions with Wallis Annenberg PetSpace (Los Angeles CA), Shedd Aquarium (Chicago, IL), Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts and Washington National Opera. Jackie has focused on delivering human resources leadership to non-profit organizations in the performing arts and animal welfare spaces, specializing in recruiting, staffing, benefits administration, policy development and compensation analysis. Jackie takes a collaborate approach to the human resources function, assisted by a deep reservoir of corney jokes, Broadway musical references, Sharpie markers and pet anecedotes. Jackie earned her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.

jruckerbohi@arenastage.org

Anita Maynard-Losh

Director of Community Engagement / Senior Artistic Advisor

Anita Maynard-Losh is the director of community engagement and senior artistic advisor at Arena Stage where she leads the theater’s education and outreach programs and serves on the artistic team. Now in her 16th season at Arena Stage, Anita has been involved in an artistic capacity on 40 Arena Stage productions: she directed the world premiere of Our War as part of the National Civil War Project, and has been an associate director, text director, and vocal/dialect coach on multiple other productions. Anita trained and taught at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, was on the faculty at Webster University in St. Louis, headed the theater department at the University of Alaska Southeast and was the associate artistic director of Perseverance Theater in Juneau, Alaska where she directed 21 mainstage productions. Anita traveled extensively with the artist-in-schools program in Alaska, working primarily with indigenous populations within the context of traditional villages. The Alaska Native-inspired production of Macbeth that Anita conceived and directed was performed in English and Tlingit at the National Museum of the American Indian as part of the Shakespeare in Washington Festival. Her essay about the project was published in Weyward Macbeth: Intersections of Race and Performance, Palgrave MacMillan. She has coached dialects for the Kennedy Center, the Washington National Opera, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Portland Center Stage and the Broadway revival of Ragtime. Anita directs and devises ensemble theater with Arena Stage’s Voices of Now program, primarily in partnership with the Wendt Center for Loss and Healing working with grieving teenagers to create and perform original autobiographical theater pieces exploring loss and stigma of grief. Anita has traveled with the Voices of Now program to India (2012, 2014), Croatia (2015, 2019) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (2019), to collaborate with communities in devising original plays addressing social justice issues.

amaynardlosh@arenastage.org

Seema Sueko

Deputy Artistic Director

SEEMA SUEKO (Director) joined the Arena Stage staff in July 2016 as deputy artistic director and has since directed The Heiress, The Price and Smart People at Arena. She previously served as associate artistic director at The Pasadena Playhouse and executive artistic director of Mo`olelo Performing Arts Company, a theater company in San Diego she co-founded. Her directing and acting credits include Denver Center, The Pasadena Playhouse, People’s Light, The Old Globe, San Diego Repertory, Yale Repertory, 5th Avenue Theatre and Native Voices, among others. As a playwright, she received commissions from Mixed Blood Theatre and Center Stage. Her work has been recognized by the California State Assembly, NAACP San Diego, Chicago Jeff Awards, American Theatre Wing and American Theatre magazine. Seema developed the Consensus Organizing for Theater methodology, has done research on the neuroscience of acting, created the Green Theater Choices Toolkit and serves on the Diversity Committee of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

ssueko@arenastage.org