Leadership
Executive Leadership
Johanna Pfaelzer
Artistic Director
Johanna joined Berkeley Rep in the 2019/20 season as its fourth artistic director. Prior to her arrival at Berkeley Rep, she served for 12 years as the artistic director of New York Stage and Film (NYSAF), a New York City-based organization dedicated to the development of new works for theatre, film, and television. Notable works that were developed under Johanna’s leadership at NYSAF include the Tony Award-winning Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda, The Humans by Stephen Karam, Hadestown by Anaïs Mitchell, The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe, Junk and The Invisible Hand by Ayad Akhtar, A 24-Decade History of Popular Music by Taylor Mac, The Homecoming Queen by Ngozi Anyanwu, The Great Leap by Lauren Yee, John Patrick Shanley’s Pulitzer- and Tony Award–winning Doubt, The Fortress of Solitude by Michael Friedman and Itamar Moses, The Jacksonian by Beth Henley, and Green Day’s American Idiot. In addition, Johanna is proud to have developed the work of many notable writers, both established and early-career, including Jocelyn Bioh, Zach Helm, Halley Feiffer, Billy Porter, Lucy Thurber, Duncan Sheik, V (formerly Eve Ensler), Steven Sater, Jaclyn Backhaus, Patricia Wettig, and Marcus Gardley. She was formerly a producing director of Zena Group, and served for five years as the associate artistic director of American Conservatory Theater. Johanna is a graduate of Wesleyan University and the Actors Theatre of Louisville Apprentice Program, and has taught in the MFA Theatre Program at Columbia University School of the Arts. She lives in Berkeley with her husband, Russell Champa, and their son, Jasper.
Photo by Cheshire Isaacs
Tom has served as a theatre leader and arts administrator for over 20 years, with experience in organizations ranging from multi-venue performing arts centers to major, Tony Award-winning theatre companies. Prior to Berkeley Rep, he served as Executive Director of Trinity Repertory Company, Geva Theatre Center, and Merrimack Repertory Theatre and as Associate Managing Director/General Manager of San Diego Repertory Theatre. As a producer, he has produced over 160 productions, including over 35 world premieres, 12 of which were world premiere commissions. Recognized as a thought and industry leader, he has served as Treasurer of the League of Resident Theatres, on the Board of Directors of Theatre Forward, and as a consultant to theatre producers and arts organizations around the country, most recently as Interim Chief Operating Officer of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. His work has been recognized with a NAACP Theatre Award for Best Producer; “Forty Under 40” recognition in Providence, Rochester, the Merrimack Valley, and San Diego; the Outstanding Eagle Scout Award from the National Eagle Scout Association; and the Best Practice Award for Leadership from the Initiative for Nonprofit Excellence at the Rhode Island Foundation. He received his MBA/MA, Arts Administration from Southern Methodist University; BA in Theater Arts and Economics from Case Western Reserve University; attended the Commercial Theater Institute, National Theater Institute, and Harvard Business School’s Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management; and is certified in Leading Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion by Northwestern University.
Photo by Cheshire Isaacs
Leadership Team
Voleine Amilcar
Director of Marketing and Audience Services
Voleine is an arts marketer and communicator adeptly bridging the gap between art, culture, and societal change. Spanning a 15-year career, her expertise in strategic communication and groundbreaking marketing initiatives has monumentally uplifted mission-driven organizations, fostering profound ties with diverse audiences. She has held pivotal positions such as Vice President at Wonder: Strategies for Good, Marketing Director at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, PR Director at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and Associate Director at The Independent Television Service. Anchored in Oakland, Voleine is both a practitioner and patron of the arts, consistently immersing herself in rich creative endeavors and pushing the boundaries of artistic marketing paradigms.
victor cervantes jr.
Associate Producer — New Work
victor (they/elle/iel) is a theatermaker, educator, and community organizer from Phoenix, AZ. they have served on the selection panels for American Playwriting Foundation’s Relentless Award; American Musical Theatre Project; HERE Arts HARP Residency Award; NAMT: Impact & Exploration Fund Grant Award; Eugene O’Neill’s Musical Theater and Playwrights Conference; Playwrights Realm’s Development Programs; Princess Grace Awards; Terrence McNally Fellowship at Rattlestick; and the Theater Producers of Color Cohort. they served as the Associate Producer of New Work and Innovation & Strategy at Oregon Shakespeare Festival; Associate Producer at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater; and Co-Artistic Director of Middle Voice at Rattlestick. they have enjoyed teaching for ASU, Columbia University, Hunter College, NTI at The O’Neill Theater Center, NYU’s Tisch School for the Arts, and schools serving the ASD community. First-Generation College Graduate: BFA NYU/Tisch School for the Arts — Lee Strasberg Centennial Scholar and Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar; and Laurents/Hatcher Centennial Award recipient.
Photo by Ben Krantz Studio
Sara joined the staff at Berkeley Rep with over 20 years of general management, producing, and arts education management experience. Previously, she was the General Manager for Second Stage, a LORT A+ theatre in New York with venues on- and off-Broadway. Also in New York, she worked with Signature Theatre, New York Stage & Film, and BAM (the Brooklyn Academy of Music), where she managed the fifteen plus annual mainstage Next Wave Festival productions in the BAM Fisher, as well as large-scale productions like the Everybooty art party and Radio Love Fest, a multi-venue live radio performance collaboration with WNYC. Sara is a Northern California native and has worked with ACT in San Francisco and Shakespeare Santa Cruz.
Jared became Berkeley Rep’s Finance Director in March 2019, a year before the COVID-19 shutdown. He was instrumental in securing $10+ million in federal relief funds to help sustain Berkeley Rep. Other significant accomplishments include managing the financial aspects of the construction of the Medak Center and implementing new accounting software. Prior to Berkeley Rep, Jared worked 20+ years in the nonprofit theatre and museum sectors including financial management, general management, and administrative positions with The Acting Company, Hammer Museum, and Hudson River Museum. A theatre major at Pomona College, he earned an MBA from the University of Texas, Austin.
Audrey Hoo
Director of Production
A lifelong arts maker, Audrey ventured to the United States from Singapore to seek new experiences. Prior to Berkeley Rep, she has worked at American Conservatory Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, and Brooklyn Academy of Music. She has had the pleasure of working with artists across all performing arts genres such as Tony Taccone, Chay Yew, Christopher Ashley, William Kentridge, Alex Timbers, Catherine Martin, Sam Mendes, Paul Simon, Laurie Anderson, John Turturro, and Elaine Stritch. Outside of work, Audrey strives to be her best self. Always pushing to learn new skills, her main loves include martial arts and West Coast swing dances. Audrey holds an MFA in Technical Direction from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
Anthony Jackson
Director of the School of Theatre
Anthony is a director, educator, and arts administrator. As the Director of the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre he leads a team of talented educators and administrators, serving adults and students in all nine Bay Area counties and beyond. Previously, Anthony was at Arena Stage in Washington, DC, where he held multiple roles including Training Programs Manager and Partnership Manager. Anthony has traveled to India and Croatia as a guest artist with the U.S. Department of State devising original plays with Arena Stage’s Voices of Now program. As an actor, he has toured the U.S. and has performed with the Shakespeare Theatre Company, Olney Theatre, Arena Stage, and other regional theatres.
Photo by Benjamin Michel
Ari Lipsky
Director of Development
Ari joined Berkeley Rep in April 2023. Prior, he served as the director of development at the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus and Chan National Queer Arts Center, leading all fundraising efforts for the organization. Previous experience includes more than four years with San Francisco Ballet, where he held several increasingly senior positions in individual giving, and four years at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, working closely with the Center’s trustees and the Washington National Opera’s individual donors. Ari graduated from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication at Syracuse University with a degree in public relations.
David Mendizábal
Associate Artistic Director / Director of In Dialogue
David is a director, designer, and Associate Artistic Director at Berkeley Rep, where they directed Sanctuary City. David serves as a Producing Artistic Leader of The Movement Theatre Company (2019 Obie Award) and is a founding member of The Sol Project (2022 Obie). Directing credits include: the bandaged place (Roundabout/NYSAF), Mushroom (People’s Light), Notes on Killing… (Soho Rep), and Don’t Eat the Mangos (Magic). David is a Princess Grace Award recipient. Alumnus of Soho Rep Project Number One, Ars Nova Vision Residency, Drama League Directors Project, LAByrinth Intensive Ensemble, LCT Directors Lab, artEquity, NALAC, and TCG Leadership U. BFA – NYU Tisch.
Photo by Brandon Nick
Amanda Williams O’Steen
Director of Operations
Amanda joined Berkeley Rep in the 2000/01 season as the Associate Technical Director. Over the years Amanda has served as the Associate Production Manager, Associate General Manager, and now as the Director of Operations. Amanda has an MFA in Technical Direction from University of Missouri at Kansas City and a BFA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Modesta Tamayo
Director of Human Resources and Diversity
Modesta (she/her) is a strategic human resources business partner with more than 13 years of experience in education, group facilitation, project management, and advancing equity, diversity, inclusion, access, and antiracism initiatives (EDIAA). Throughout her career, Modesta has partnered with healthcare, education, and theatre leaders to create and implement sustainable and equitable business practices. Modesta received her BA in English Literature and Philosophy from Mills College and later received her education in Human Resource Management from the University of California, Berkeley. Interculturalism, lifelong learning, and authentic connections are core values that guide Modesta as a thought partner, leader, and friend.
