Staff & Leadership
John McEwen has served as the Executive Director of New Jersey Theatre Alliance since 2001.
Prior to the Alliance, John served as Vice President for Development of the New Jersey Network Foundation where he was responsible for providing the leadership for an annual fund goal of more than $7 million in support of NJN Public Television and Radio’s programs and services. Prior to joining NJN, John served as the Director of Development for Paper Mill Playhouse where he oversaw all fundraising activities, long-range planning, and board development. John provided the leadership for Paper Mill’s successful $10 million capital campaign.
In 1992, McEwen developed the Cultural Access Network Project, a project of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and New Jersey Theatre Alliance, for which he received the inaugural Leadership Award in Access from The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. John serves as a trustee of ArtPride NJ andFund for the New Jersey Blind. John has served as an adjunct professor in arts management at Seton Hall University, Drew University, and New York University.
John has consulted numerous organizations on board development, long-range planning, fundraising, and cultural access. He received a BA from Montclair State University and an MA from New York University.
John is a graduate of Leadership/New Jersey and was selected as one of 50 nonprofit arts leaders to participate in the Executive Program for Nonprofit Arts Leaders at Stanford University, a partnership of Stanford and National Arts Strategies.
When John is not attending the theatre, he enjoys cooking, collecting glass art, and anything to do with the water—boating, sun bathing, swimming.
Director of Programs and Services, ADA Coordinator
Robert is a life-long resident of New Jersey, a spectacular cook and a seasoned veteran in the arts community. Since 2005, Robert has served as Director of Programs and Services/ADA Coordinator at the Alliance.
Previously, Robert served as General Manager for the 12 Miles West Theatre Company. He called Playwrights Theatre home from 1998 to 2004 and in his professional career has worn many hats as producer, actor, director, and teaching artist. He has also served on the faculty of New Jersey School of Dramatic Arts in Bloomfield.
Robert recently served as the Chair of the Program Committee for the Association of Performing Arts Service Organizations (APASO) conference which took place in Philadelphia. Robert was the recipient of the 2014 Inaugural LEAD Community Asset Award presented by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. This Award recognizes the achievements of those who continually demonstrate success with access initiatives, improving accessibility in their organization, city, state, or region.
As a performer, he has worked in many of the Alliance’s member theatres including 12 Miles West, The Bickford Theatre, Luna Stage Company, Playwrights Theatre, and The Growing Stage: The Children’s Theatre of NJ. Carr is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and is a proud member of Actors Equity Association.
Robert is husband to Stephanie and father to Sabrina.
Development and Communications Director
As a youngster, Deb loved to create mini theatre productions in her basement as stage manager for her siblings. In ninth grade, she performed the role of a little girl with a perpetual cold in The Playground. Now a seasoned event planner, Deb has created top tier special events for the nonprofit sector at venues in Manhattan, Indiana, Las Vegas and New Jersey with performers like Huey Lewis & the News, Bebe Neuwirth, the Bacon Brothers, and Kool & the Gang. The fundraisers and giving programs she managed saw increases in participation year after year. She is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Event Planners Association.
Deb graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in Journalism following in her father’s print publishing footsteps. She started out as a correspondent for The Home News Tribune in New Brunswick and wrote copy for Avon Products in NYC for six years. In 1997, she won a CAPE award for co-scriptwriting a docudrama produced for a local cable TV station and on weekends freelanced as a room manager with Junket Productions’ celebrity press interviews. Deb continues to write short plays and scripts as a hobby while occasionally accepting feature writing assignments for the Diocese of Metuchen bi-weekly newspaper.
A sports enthusiast, her role as membership chair for the Rutgers Touchdown Club allows her access to informative meetings with the coaches and other Scarlet Knight fans. Deb also enjoys biking, swimming, the theatre, movies, golf, photography, sushi and watching football games with husband Howard.
Manager of Digital Communications and Marketing
Laurice grew up in Nebraska and Iowa. She moved to NYC to attend the American Musical Theatre and Dramatic Academy in 1999 and has called New Jersey home since 2004.
She has served in many roles at regional theatres across the country. From company manager to scenic artist she has been lucky enough to work with some of the countries leading theatres, including Goodspeed Opera House, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Roundabout Theatre Company, and Jujamcyn Theatres.
As a choreographer, she has worked with many school show choirs, served on the faculty at Iowa Central Community College, and served as dance captain on numerous shows.
Prior to joining the Alliance, Laurice was the Outreach Coordinator and Business Administrator for the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of New Jersey, a liberal religious non-profit working for a more just and equitable New Jersey. In the not so near future, she plans to get her Master of Divinity and Leadership Studies at Meadville Lombard Theological School.
In her free time, she loves to spend time outdoors with and cooking for her husband, Markus, and daughter, Beatrice. Laurice is an advocate, public speaker, and prevention educator in the areas of sexual and domestic violence. She is an active member of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair as a singer, religious educator, communications consultant, and Minister of Hugs.
LaWanda began her career with Citibank, N.A. on Wall Street. Later she transitioned into healthcare and worked with one of the top dialysis companies for over 11 years. Her last position as a Remote Regional Operations Coordinator allowed her to assist 2 of 4 Regional Operation Directors in managing operational components and provide teammate engagement and legislative visits to 35 dialysis clinics and 40 unit administrative assistants. She was also the Divisional Lead for physician education in best practices for unsigned orders. LaWanda left the dialysis field with a strong track record in all that she created, managed, assisted, and revised. To this day that division has expanded and is still growing rapidly.
Following this experience LaWanda decided to change her career and pursue a bachelor’s degree in Business Management through William Paterson University to expand her entrepreneur venture: a residential and commercial cleaning company named after her grandchildren: J&L Cleaning with a Purpose, LLC. She is also pursuing an online degree in Fashion Design through Penn Foster to help establish the growth of DaintyThings by LMM, LLC since 2003. LaWanda joined New Jersey Theatre Alliance in 2017 to help advocate for minorities and to help support the use of art to develop cultural awareness in meaningful ways. LaWanda’s hobbies are singing, tennis, painting, baking liturgical dancing, and flag dancing.
Marketing and Communications Assistant
Deonté Griffin-Quick, a native of New Jersey is an actor, singer, and arts administrator who is committed to the advancement and diversity of American Theatre. Deonté joined the NJTA team as an intern in December of 2016 and was enthused to continue his work with the Alliance as the Marketing and Communications Assistant.
Deonté has been afforded the opportunity to complete internships in various positions with several NJ theatres including New Jersey Repertory Company in Long Branch and Premiere Stages in Union. In March of 2018, Deonté served as a grant review panelist for Alternate ROOTS (Atlanta,GA) to peer review applications for Partners in Action, a program that fosters and funds social justice partnerships with progressive activist artists from all artistic disciplines in grassroots communities across the U.S. Southern Region. And he also currently serves as th State Coordinator of New Jersey Poetry Out Loud, working with New Jersey State Council on the Arts and Writer's Theatre of New Jersey.
Deonté holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre with a Communication minor from Kean University and is a candidate for membership of the Actor's Equity Association. As a performer, Deonté has performed at The Prudential Center, Enlow Recital Hall, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the world renowned Apollo Theater in Harlem, Luna Stage Company, New Jersey Repertory Company, and on Fox 5 Good Day NY.
Chairman:
John Wooten
Artistic Director, Premiere Stages
President:
Larry Capo
Former President & CEO, Young Audiences New Jersey & Eastern Pennsylvania
Vice Chairman:
Michael Hurst
Managing Director, Two River Theater
Treasurer:
Seth Geldzahler
Vice President of Real Estate, Bed, Bath & Beyond
Secretary:
Laura Ekstrand
Artistic Director, Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre
Connie Alexis-Laona
Philanthropy Advocate, Consultant, and Trainer
Jeanne Barrett
Business Manager, Chatham Day School
Joseph P. Benincasa
President & CEO, The Actors Fund
Etta Denk
Senior Vice President – NJ Market Manager, Bank of America
Ruth Fost
Founder, Pushcart Players
Eric Hafen
Former Artistic Director, Bickford Theatre
Laura J. Hay
Principal, KPMG Insurance
Carol A. Herbert
Council Member, New Jersey State Council on the Arts
Marshall Jones III
Producing Artistic Director. Crossroads Theatre Company
Linda Kinsey
Former Partner, Michael Graves Design Group
Mindy Richardson
General Manager, McCarter Theatre Center
Tom Romano
Managing Director, The Growing Stage: The Children’s Theatre of New Jersey
Michael Schnoering, FAIA
Partner, Mills + Schnoering Architects, LLC
Gayle Stahlhuth
Artistic Director, East Lynne Theater Company