Board of Trustees: Get Involved!

Trustees play an active role in shaping the theater’s direction by providing governance and support. Trustees spend an average 8-10 hours a month addressing the non-profit management of the institution. Trustees also provide direct support to the theater through fundraising and participation on committees. We are always looking for individuals with a passion for performing arts, and we welcome applicants of all backgrounds and abilities. We are currently seeking expertise and experience in accounting or finance, law and policy, human resources, diversity and inclusion, architecture and/or construction, theater technology/equipment, fundraising, and non-profit management.

Interested in joining the Board of Trustees?

If you are interested in joining this dynamic group of community volunteers and helping Puppet Showplace Theater achieve its mission, learn more here or reach out to board@puppetshowplace.org

About the Board

Puppet Showplace, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation as defined by Chapter 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code.  As a nonprofit, the theater is governed by a volunteer board of trustees who are empowered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to act as fiduciary stewards of the organization.

JOHN LECHNER, President

Needham, MA — John is an author, illustrator, designer, animator and puppeteer. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, he has worked at the children’s media company FableVision since its inception, creating educational films, games, and websites. He has also written and illustrated four books for children, including A Froggy Fable and Sticky Burr. As a puppeteer, John has performed at the Puppet Showplace Slam, as well as other venues across the region. He is also the longtime president and newsletter editor for The Boston Area Guild of Puppetry.

AMY WEST, VICE PRESIDENT

Roslindale, MA — After nearly two decades as a communications manager in the nonprofit, government, and academic sectors, Amy is currently a freelance theater professional, puppeteer, nonprofit consultant, and seller of vintage items and collectibles. She performs at puppet slams nationwide, including the Puppet Showplace Slam, Puppets Come Home! (Coney Island USA), Puppetzilla (Los Angeles), Shadows Across the Globe (San Diego), the Wham Bam Puppet Slam (Asheville NC) and Virtual Puppet Con (Puppeteers of America Northeast Region). She is also a puppet designer (most recently for Fresh Ink Theatre) and is a member of the Puppeteers of America, UNIMA-USA, and the Boston Area Guild of Puppetry. She earned a Graduate Certificate in Puppet Arts from UCONN; an MA in Mass Communication from Emerson College; and a BA in English from SUNY Geneseo.

RACHEL ROCCOBERTON, Treasurer

Arlington, MA — Throughout her career, Rachel has danced many parts including administrative assistant at a burgeoning community arts center, ballet/jazz/modern teacher for children and adults in under-served communities, community theater choreographer and director, coordinator of children’s performing arts programs, puppet choreographer, show producer, program developer, technician and stage manager, fundraiser, volunteer fairy, and passionate performing arts advocate. Utilizing these experiences to produce events that draw people together, capturing the imagination, and creating empathy for shared experiences, her work elevates those who are not always considered “dancers” and stories that are not always seen in movement. It is her fervent belief that the arts can change people and communities by drawing us closer together through shared experiences.

Elizabeth Ascoli, CLERK

Brookline, MA — Elizabeth is currently the Executive Director of the Brookline Education Foundation. She has a background in education, and taught middle school English and Social Studies in New York City. After graduating from Haverford College, Elizabeth thought she wanted to work in the arts, and interned at a few theater companies in New York. She is thrilled to join the Puppet Showplace Theater's Board of Trustees, which she feels is a great coming together of two of her passions—the arts and education. She's also had a lifelong obsession with the Muppet Show and the muppets on Sesame Street.

Ursula August

Newton, MA — Ursula's two young children attend puppet shows weekly and are burgeoning puppeteers! Ursula holds a M.Sc. in urban studies and planning, with a focus on community building through culture and art, from MIT. She also holds a M.Ed from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, with a focus on storytelling, media and art in pedagogical and andragogical educational settings. Ursula’s passion for education extends into public health, and she has been developing media literacy curriculums, instructions, and tools for the City of Boston for the last 13 years. She currently works as a Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at an independent school in Newton.

Jim Kiely

Medford MA — Jim has worked in life sciences for nearly 25 years, and he currently serves as a senior director at a Boston-area oncology company. Earlier in life he worked in public-service nonprofit management, which included positions in the children’s division of the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, at the Boston AIDS Consortium of the Harvard School of Public Health, and at Boston Urban Gardeners. With his husband Marc, Jim also owns and operates Arlington’s 13FOREST Gallery, which features the work of over 100 Boston-area and New England artists. Jim’s academic background is in art history and philosophy, and he has studied landscape architecture at the Harvard Landscape Institute (now part of the Boston Architectural College). He has been fascinated by and has made puppets since he was a child. Suspension of disbelief, the simplicity of well-crafted materials, and the allure of a good story are what draws him to puppet performances. In the end, Jim believes, Puppet Showplace Theater is an organization that unites communities, celebrates humanity and appeals to everyone’s need to visit the sphere of sheer imagination.

Julia Swanwick

Stoughton, MA — Julia is an arts enthusiast, Human Resources executive, advisor, and angel investor. She previously served on two non-profit boards, Burbank Community Theatre (Founder and President) and Musicians at Play (Founding Secretary). She has earned a Bachelor's degree in Marketing Communications from Emerson College in Boston, Master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and a Graduate Certificate in Executive Coaching from William James College in Newton. Julia and her two kids make puppets out of all sorts of materials and put on shows at home. She is thrilled to support the Puppet Showplace Theater so that it may continue to bring joy, wonder and inspiration to people of all ages.

Nigel Tamton

Jamaica Plain, MA — Nigel is the father of two nascent puppetry aficionados who make a weekend trip to the Puppet Showplace Theater as often as their parents will let them.  In his spare time, Nigel is an attorney specializing in complex civil litigation matters for a wide range of clients, including in the healthcare, technology, financial services and insurance industries.  Nigel also has an active pro bono practice that focuses on wrongful conviction and asylum cases.  Nigel previously worked as a studio musician and as a kindergarten teacher, but was not particularly good at either of those jobs.  He is a New York native and a graduate of Boston University and Columbia Law School. 

Paul Vincent Davis, Trustee Emeritus

Brookline, MA — Paul Vincent Davis is widely recognized as one of the foremost hand puppeteers in the country. In addition to performing, Paul has taught puppetry at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Boston Museum of Fine Arts. And for seven years he served as a faculty member and on the Board of Overseers for the Institute of Professional Puppetry Arts at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center.

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