NORWICH – At its regular meeting on June 22, the Chenango Arts Council (CAC) Board of Directors appointed Alecia ONeill the Council’s new executive director. The appointment followed the strong recommendation of the search committee, which worked diligently to evaluate candidates and find the best fit. ONeill scored the highest on the search evaluation rubric and was also praised for her commitment to the organization during the transition process, serving as the organization’s interim executive director since January when the previous director resigned.
ONeill received her BFA in theater design and stage lighting, with a double minor in linguistics and cinema studies/filmmaking from SUNY Binghamton, and earned a Master of Arts in theater production and management, also from SUNY Binghamton. She was an adjunct instructor in theater appreciation and history at Broome Community College and served for six years as marketing coordinator for the Cider Mill Playhouse in Endicott. Her tenure as marketing and public relations coordinator at Wealth by Design Financial gave her an in-depth exposure to financial planning and budgeting. In June 2015, ONeill joined CAC as Marketing and Public Relations Director.
“I am so grateful for the Board’s confidence in me,” said ONeill, “and I am truly excited about the many new programming and educational initiatives we are planning. We have a great team in place to make wonderful things happen for our community through the arts.” After a six-month search, “the Board is extremely confident that Alecia will bring strong leadership and effective community relationships to CAC’s mission,” said board president Joseph Skundrich.
CAC offers live theater and music performances in the historic Martin Kappel Theater as well as gallery exhibits by local and regional artists. Workshops in painting, ceramics, fabric, and other crafts are offered throughout the year, and a variety of services are available to artists. CAC also administers the NYS Decentralization Grants Program for Chenango, Broome, and Otsego counties, funded by the NYS Council on the Arts, as well as its own corporate-funded Grants for Teachers Program for Chenango County K-12 teachers.