November 20, 2014

Marion Young and Angel Gardner Join Lewis Center for the Arts Staff Young hired as Administrative Director and Gardner assumes new position of Assistant

Director, External Affairs

(both photos on NAS1 – Comm – People folder)Photo caption 1: Marion Young, the newly appointed Administrative Director of the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton UniversityPhoto credit 1: Ashley LaBonde, Wide Eyed StudiosPhoto caption 2: Angel Gardner assumes the new position of Assistant Director, External Affairs at the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton UniversityPhoto credit 2: Courtesy of Angel Gardner

(Princeton, NJ) The Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University announced the hire of

Marion Young as Administrative Director and Angel Gardner as Assistant Director, External

Affairs, a new position dedicated to serving arts alumni, the Center’s advisory council and

current students.

Young will commence her new position on a part-time basis in December and assume her duties

full-time on January 5. She succeeds former Director of Administration Fanny Chouinard, who

was appointed in July to a new position at the Lewis Center dedicated to outreach to underserved

communities through the Center’s programs. The Administrative Director of the Lewis Center

oversees its staff, operations and finances, working closely with the Chair and program directors

to realize the academic and artistic vision for the Center.

Young is currently the Executive Director of Art-Reach in Philadelphia, an organization that

connects artists and arts events with underserved audiences.  Prior to Art-Reach, Young served

for four years as Managing Director of The Civilians, a theater company based in New York.

The Civilians worked previously with the Lewis Center teaching a Princeton Atelier in

conjunction with the Princeton Environmental Institute that led to the creation of the musical on

climate change, The Great Immensity, which had its New York premiere at The Public Theater

Lab last spring. Young is a Princeton graduate, Class of 2000, and earned her M.F.A. in Stage

Management from Yale School of Drama.  Much of Young’s stage management career was

devoted to the work of August Wilson, including the national tour of his final play Radio Golf,

seen at both McCarter Theatre and on Broadway.

“We are extremely pleased that Marion has agreed to help us realize our mission to put the arts at

the center of the Princeton experience,” noted Michael Cadden, Chair of the Center. “Her

experience in stage management, as CEO of an important, community-based cultural

organization, and as a managing director make her a perfect fit for our dynamic, growing and

multi-faceted center for the study and production of the arts at Princeton.”

"I am thrilled to join the Lewis Center and support Princeton's extraordinary vision for the arts,”

stated Young. “I look forward to working with Michael and all of the program directors in

achieving the Center's ambitious goals."

Gardner will begin her tenure at the Lewis Center on November 24 in a new position geared

toward Princeton alumni and soon-to-be alumni, working closely with the Chair and his

assistant, the Lewis Center’s communications office, as well as the Office of Development and

the Office of Alumni Affairs.  

Gardner most recently served as Director of Communications for National Dance Institute, a

major educational organization based in New York City and founded by the legendary

choreographer Jacques d’Amboise.  She has also worked as volunteer Director of Marketing and

Public Relations for the Oratorio Society of New York, with whom she has sung for many years.

Previously, Gardner was Managing Director of the Hip-Hop Theater Festival, Assistant

Company Manager at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and a tour manager, company manager

and program administrator for a number of artists and events.  She has a B.A. in Art with a

concentration in printmaking and photography from Goshen College and earned her M.F.A. in

Theater Management from Yale School of Drama.  

“More Princetonians are identifying themselves as artists and/or as passionate participants in and

supporters of the arts,” notes Cadden. “In this new position, Angel will work with me and many

others to serve these alumni and build connections between them and our current students, and to

help tell the story of how involvement in the arts at Princeton impacted the lives and careers of

our graduates.”

“I’m incredibly honored to be joining the team at the Lewis Center for the Arts and the

community of Princeton,” notes Gardner. “I look forward to working with the University to

create new opportunities for engagement with alumni in the arts.”

To learn more about the Lewis Center, its academic programs and the more than 100 public arts

events presented each year visit arts.princeton . edu .

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