Change at PBT
Kathryn Gigler named acting executive director
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre has tapped Kathryn Gigler to be its acting executive director. She will transition into the role once it’s vacated by Harris Ferris, who announced earlier this year that he would step down at the end of PBT’s current fiscal year after a 15-year tenure.
Gigler joined PBT in 2019 as director of education and community engagement. She’ll continue in that role while also serving as acting executive director, effective July 1. This transition comes nearly a month after artistic director Susan Jaffe announced that she will leave PBT at the end of November to become artistic director for American Ballet Theatre, where she danced as a principal for 22 years.
The search firm Management Consultants for the Arts along with PBT’s own executive search committee are currently leading global searches for PBT’s next executive and artistic directors, with the search for Jaffe’s replacement the priority, Gigler said.
The goal behind Gigler stepping into the acting executive director role — while also maintaining her current position — is stabilization.
“In terms of the leadership team, we’ve been having a lot of conversations about what do we need as an organization right now,” said Gigler, who grew up in Charlotte, N.C. “It’s a time of great change across the board, but that means great opportunity.”
She’s looking forward to bringing her breadth of experience in leadership, equity and inclusivity, academia and the arts to the acting executive director role. Gigler earned her undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., and a doctorate in psychology with a focus on cognitive neuroscience from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.
“I quickly realized that I wanted to do something that had a little bit more direct impact,” she said.
To “scratch that itch,” she went on to serve as executive director of the Women’s Center at Elizabeth City State University and was integral in the formation of the first LGBTQ+ community organization in the region. Gigler also worked with organizations in multiple states around violence prevention and response, including with Pittsburgh Action Against Rape, Albemarle Hopeline in Elizabeth City, N.C., and the YWCA of Greater Chicago.
“But ballet really was my first love,” she said, having trained up to the preprofessional level. “It’s always been in the back of my mind that I’d circle back to something more artistic.”
Moving to Pittsburgh in 2019 to work for PBT was a way for her to bring all of those experiences and passions together.
“I like listening to people’s stories. I think that’s something the arts do. You get that different representation of people’s stories from the dancers, students at the school, community engagement and the rep that’s being put on stage,” she explained. “That diversity of voices is what really excited me about the PBT opportunities.”
During her tenure so far with the company, she’s been a leader of PBT’s Equity Project Transformation team and supported the pivot to digital programming during the COVID-19 pandemic. She’s also contributed to education and curriculum design, as well as foundations and grants.
“Kati is a strategic thinker and proven leader who exemplifies all the core values of PBT,” board chair Mary McKinney Flaherty said in a prepared statement. “We are certain she will be an excellent guide through this next
chapter for the organization.”
Gigler said she and PBT are taking her time as acting executive director “90 days by 90 days at this point,” with the understanding that it could run longer depending upon how the artistic director search is progressing.
Beyond finding a successor for Jaffe, she already has several goals planned for the coming months, including the smooth production of PBT’s “Open Air” series this week at the Allegheny Riverfront in Sharpsburg and its outdoor performance at Hartwood Acres at the end of June. Another priority is working on building the PBT School back up to its pre-pandemic levels, which had to be closely monitored and at times restricted due to strict COVID-19 safety measures for the PBT professional company. She’s also looking forward to the kickoff to the 2022-23 mainstage season in the fall.
“Something that has always been important for me and for PBT as an organization is really being mission driven and reflecting the values of Pittsburgh communities,” Gigler said. “We talk about IDEA — inclusivity, diversity, equity and accessibility. Those are values that are central to what we’re doing, and I’m excited to see us digging into that.”