Opera Philadelphia has announced the appointment of award-winning activist, arts administrator, and bass-baritone Dr. Derrell Acon to the position of Vice President of People Operations & Inclusion.

Dr. Acon will join the senior management team at Opera Philadelphia on Jan. 10, 2022, and will also continue to serve as associate Artistic Director and creative producer for the New York-based Heartbeat Opera.

Acon is a Fulbright scholar and co-founder of the Black Opera Alliance, and understands the power of the performing arts to foster human compassion and catalyze conversations on challenging subjects. In his new position, he will report to General Director & President David B. Devan and serve on Opera Philadelphia’s senior management team.

Acon will also guide the organization in determining and directing staffing goals and strategies to support the fulfillment of its mission of inclusion and equity. He will encourage, model, and promote an anti-racist workplace culture as real-time situations arise and by supporting conflict resolution and harm prevention and reduction strategies to promote, increase, and make paramount safe and structured opportunities for all staff, management, and the board of directors.

In a statement, Dr. Acon said, “I am absolutely thrilled to join the amazing Opera Philadelphia team. This company has emerged as one of the true leaders in the field not only for its superlative artistic boldness and innovation, but also a full-throated approach to substantive equity and inclusion work. It will be my genuine honor and pleasure to work under David Devan’s powerful leadership and alongside brilliant colleagues to further realize the company’s clear vision for a more artistically and ethically compelling industry. I am eager to dig into this mightily important work ─ throughout all facets of the organization and its operations ─ toward deep, verifiable, and sustainable change and action.”