Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation Hires New CEO

November 15, 2023 – Sarasota

The Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation board of directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Tania Castroverde Moskalenko as Chief Executive Officer. Bringing a wealth of experience and a dynamic approach to arts leadership, Tania will officially assume her role on February 5, 2024, although she will work with the board on key strategic initiatives effective immediately. 

With over twenty years of leadership experience at complex nonprofit arts and cultural organizations nationwide, Tania is recognized as a results-driven leader with a proven track record of philanthropic outcomes, programmatic excellence, and social impact. Working with the PAF board, Tania will champion accessible arts education and lead the vision for a new Sarasota Performing Arts Center at the heart of The Bay.

“Tania is a strategic and philanthropically minded leader with demonstrated success in public-private partnerships at arts and cultural organizations around the country, and we are confident in her ability to lead the Foundation into its next phase,” says Jim Travers, Board Chair at the Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation. “Together we will deliver the vision for an iconic performing arts center at the heart of The Bay and ensure the future of performing arts in our region for generations to come.”

“The board is to be commended for their selection of Ms. Castroverde Moskalenko whose background and experience fits perfectly for the role of CEO of the Foundation,” City of Sarasota Manager Marlon Brown said. “Their dedication and meticulous effort in choosing the right candidate will have a profound impact on the efforts to deliver a new Performing Arts Center and on the Sarasota community. This project will undoubtedly establish Sarasota as a cultural destination of international renown, and the Performing Arts Center will be a source of inspiration and pride across future generations.”

Tania’s impressive career includes serving as Executive Director of the Miami City Ballet, where she successfully completed an ambitious $65MM capitalization campaign and initiated the organization’s first formal DEI strategy. Her experience leading complex arts organizations and guiding them through strategic, financial, and operational transformations, includes serving as CEO of the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, a 4,000 seat National Historic Landmark in downtown Chicago, President/CEO of the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, IN, and Executive Director of the Germantown Performing Arts Center in Tennessee. Most recently, Tania served as Interim CEO of Oolite Arts in Miami Beach, FL and as Strategic Advisor for the Youth America Grand Prix, the world’s largest and most prestigious ballet audition competition. 

“As a believer in the transformative power of the arts, I am inspired by the Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation’s mission of bringing accessible arts experiences to the entire community, and I am equally captivated by the community’s vision for a new performing arts center – especially in such a dynamic and growing region of the country,” says Tania Castroverde Moskalenko. 

Tania holds an MA in Philanthropy from Indiana University, a BFA from the University of Memphis, and Executive Certifications from Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Castroverde Moskalenko is a native of Havana, Cuba and was raised in Miami. She serves on the Board of Directors of Philanthropy Miami.

The Board’s CEO Search Committee and executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates conducted an extensive national search to identify Tania as the ideal successor to Jim Travers, who has been serving as the interim CEO. The foundation anticipates Tania’s visionary leadership will propel the organization to new heights, ensuring a vibrant and culturally enriched future for Sarasota and beyond.

For more information about the Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation, please visit: www.PerformingArtsFoundation.org. For any media inquiries or interview requests, please contact Anand Pallegar at ap@largeinc.com.