Phoenix Chorale Executive Director To Step Down in 2021
Phoenix Chorale CEO Jen Rogers has announced she will step down from her position in January 2021 after nearly 15 years working with the organization.
Rogers has served as the Chorale’s administrative leader since 2015, when she stepped in as CEO while serving as the Vice President of Marketing & Communications. The Chorale’s Board of Directors has launched a plan to place an Interim CEO in advance of conducting a nationwide search for her successor in 2021.
“Without Jen’s guidance, passion, and expertise, the Phoenix Chorale would not be where it is today,” said Lynne Traverse, Phoenix Chorale Board Chair. “Under her leadership, the organization has become solvent, grown to include necessary full and part-time staff, developed the board into a fully functioning professional body, launched successful recordings, and greatly increased donor support and expanded audience. Her direction led us to new and bold ideas, a renewed vision for the choir, and a growing excitement for the Chorale that has radiated throughout the organization.”
After stepping away from her work with the Chorale, Rogers plans to expand her earlier work as a consultant for artists and arts organizations, advising across a variety of areas, including marketing and promotion, branding, fundraising, crisis management, and strategic planning.
“I think every job has an expiration date,” Rogers said. “I’ve contributed a lot and we’ve accomplished so much together, but I feel it’s time to move on and let others build forward from here. I’m excited for the future of the Phoenix Chorale, and will be cheering this extraordinary group on as I begin my next chapter. With Christopher Gabbitas as the Chorale’s magnetic new artistic director now in place, all systems are ready to go.”
Rogers began shaping the Phoenix Chorale’s brand as a consultant in 2006 and joined the staff to oversee marketing and public relations efforts in 2008. For the next seven years, she focused on raising the visibility of the ensemble, improving communications, and marketing the Chorale’s concerts and recordings. Her efforts doubled overall ticket revenue while nearly tripling season subscription sales. Her innovative methods for record promotion resulted in top selling albums for the Chorale with over twenty weeks on the Billboard charts and the Chorale’s recordings received numerous awards along with multiple Grammy nominations and three Grammy wins.
More recently, she championed creating a new DEI Task Force that will help reshape the organization’s work and understanding of serving a broader community.
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