Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe Names 2022-2023 Board

October 18, 2022 – Sarasota

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe is proud to announce its 2022-2023 Board of Trustees, who are charged with sharing their expertise and providing guidance to the arts organization. WBTT has named five new trustees to the board for the 2022-2023 fiscal year.

New to the board this year are Nancy Flanagan, Kimberly Parris, Lee Rainer, Dr. Donald Reaves and Asa Thomas-Harris. WBTT trustees serve three-year terms.

The five will join chair Doris A. Johnson and trustees Cheryl Anderson (treasurer), Ali Bahaj, Chris Caswell, J.D. (secretary), Kitty Cranor, Michael Gardiner, Sy Goldblatt, Michele Hooper, Penelope Kingman, Dr. John Maupin, Howard Millman, Dr. Randall Morgan, Marian Moss (vice chair), Mona Rankin, Dona Scott and Eva Slane. 

WBTT is grateful to departing trustees Margie Nellum Lee and Lois Watson for their dedicated service; they will join Andrew Economos, June Gordon and Mary Ann Robinson as members of WBTT’s honorary board of trustees.

“We are so excited to welcome these new trustees to the board – they each bring a unique background, professional experience, and skillset to the table in service to our organization,” said Julie Leach, executive director. “We are ever-grateful for WBTT’s dedicated and passionate volunteer leadership and are looking forward to a wonderful year of theatre, artist training and education programs!”

The board will address the following priorities in the coming year (and beyond): WBTT is maturing as a theatre company and, as such, the organization is investing in its production staffing and creative team as well as materials to bring a beautiful and exciting season of shows – with the theme “American Dreams” – that explore the struggles and triumphs of people as they seek to realize their own American dreams. WBTT expanded its campus last year through the strategic purchase of a neighboring property; the board will begin to plan the future uses for that property. In the meantime, it has added some much-needed parking, as the Troupe returns to full houses. Additionally, the board is planning for the long-term in the interest of increasing its impact throughout the community and building resiliency.

For more about WBTT, visit westcoastblacktheatre.org or call 941-366-1505.