OPERA America has announced the 16 participants hailing from the U.S., Canada, and Latin America who will partake in its 2019 Leadership Intensive program.

The program’s 6th generation of participants were chosen “through a competitive selection process focusing on candidates’ potential to make significant contributions to the opera field.”

Participants for this year include Daniel Benavent, General Manager of Theatre Aspen; Vincent Covatto, Organizational Membership Manager at OPERA America; Priti Gandhi, Chief Artistic Officer of Minnesota Opera; Matthew Gray, Producing Director of Brooklyn’s American Opera Projects; Rebecca Hass, Director of Community Engagement for Pacific Opera Victoria; Jeila Irdmusa, Marketing and Communications Manager for Boston Lyric Opera; Ben Jewell-Plocher, Director of Education at Sarasota Opera; Erik Johnson, Senior Financial Analyst for Boston Symphony Orchestra; Carmen Gloria Larenas, Artistic Director of Teatre del Lago; Anh Le, Assistant Director of Marketing for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis; Jaime Martino, Executive Director of Tapestry Opera; Daniel Moss, Senior Director of Institutional Partnerships at Lyric Opera of Chicago; Mariel O’Connell, Associate Producer for Beth Morrison Projects; Chidi Ozieh, Managing and Media Director at Ardea Arts; Paulina Ricciardi, Administratice Coordinator at Ópera Latinoamérica; and Sneja Tomassian, Chief Development Officer at Cincinnati Opera.

Beginning Feb. 1, 2019, participants will undergo an initial weeklong learning program at the National Opera Center in New York, where they will be trained by expert faculty, including Astrid Baumgardner, J.D., Micaela Blei, PhD., Ed Harsh, Walker Lewis, Jeremiah Marks, Michelle Ramos, J.D., PhD., Kurt Howard, and president/CEO of OPERA America Marc A. Scorca. Additional professional development activities will be held throughout the year.

OPERA America’s Leadership Intensive program aims to facilitate the transformation of emerging talents in the opera field into the strong, well-educated, well-connected leaders of tomorrow.