Miami City Ballet (MCB) recently announced the appointment of Elena Quevedo, PhD, as the its new chief development officer, beginning Jan. 22.
Quevedo brings to the ballet company more than 17 years of development and fundraising experience, including former roles with New York City Ballet, The MacDowell Colony, The Hawthorne Foundation and, most recently, as senior vice president of Advancement for The New Jewish Home Inc.
“I am thrilled to welcome Elena to Miami City Ballet’s senior leadership team,” said executive director Tania Castroverde Moskalenko. “Her extensive experience, management skills, and proven success in fundraising make her the perfect person for the CDO position. I’m looking forward to working closely with her as we expand the ballet’s reach in South Florida and beyond.”
As the ballet’s chief development officer, Quevedo will be part of the executive team of the organization. She will oversee the company’s annual fund campaign, including all individual, corporate and foundation efforts for annual operations as well as handling designated programming needs, fundraising for new productions and more.
Quevedo also will be the leader in the development and implementation of the strategic vision for the fundraising effort that will ensure longterm sustainable growth in the annual fund, deepening Miami City Ballet’s relationships with its donors and its community.
“With the addition of Elena Quevedo as the chief development officer of Miami City Ballet, we have added the final pillar of an eminently qualified and highly talented leadership team. This all-female team will be a delight for me to work with,” said Miami City Ballet Board of Trustees chair Kristi Jernigan. “As chair, the advancement and development function of MCB is one in which I am intimately engaged. I know I will learn much from Elena and will have a true partner in engaging the donor community in South Florida and nationally.”
Quevedo is known as a strong relationship builder with her team, donors and community, and for her assessment and implementation of fundraising systems based on best industry practices. At her most recent position with The New Jewish Home Inc., Quevedo exceeded her annual fundraising goals by 41 percent and transformed the fundraising operation from a transaction-based scheme, to a strategic donor-based Moves Management methodology for planning, activating and achieving financial goals. She also worked with the former president and CEO in a comprehensive 310M capital campaign project.
Quevedo has joined as the newest member of the recently established all-female leadership team of the Miami City Ballet:
Tania Castroverde Moskalenko was appointed as the new executive director in August 2018 — she leads the company’s institutional strategy, fundraising and operations building upon MCB’s achievements while also focusing on the future.
Castroverde Moskalenko works alongside artistic director Lourdes Lopez, who has revolutionized the MCB artistic vision.
AnaMaria Correa joined in August 2018 as the ballet’s senior director of Community Engagement. She supports the belief that dance can transform lives and create a strong sense of unity. Correa has the key responsibility of fulfilling MCB’s mission to make high-quality ballet accessible across diverse communities and initiate meaningful dialogue across those communities.
Julii Oh became the ballet company’s chief marketing officer in August 2018. She leads all aspects of marketing, public relations, communications and patron services for Miami City Ballet, Miami City Ballet School and the multiple education and community engagement programs.
Quevedo began her career as an academic, teaching medieval and Islamic art and architecture at Rutgers University. At The MacDowell Colony, one of the oldest artists’ residency programs in the U.S., Quevedo fueled propulsion in online, special events, and major gifts revenue streams.
As a volunteer at The Hawthorne Foundation, she was the co-founder of the Manhattan Annex of the Hawthorne Country Day School, a school for children on the Autism Spectrum, as well as a long-time member of their board of directors.
During her time with New York City Ballet, Quevedo began as director of Individual Giving and later was promoted to director of Advancement and Planned Giving, where she built and led a team of six major gift officers and reversed a seven-year decline in Individual Giving and Membership.
Quevedo holds a PhD in Art History and an MA in Medieval Architecture from New York University.
“I am thrilled to return to the ballet world, and to be working with such a stellar team of colleagues, board of directors and world-class dancers,” Quevedo said. “I hadn’t realized how much I missed the ballet until this incredible opportunity came up. It truly feels like a homecoming, and I am grateful for the warm and gracious welcome I have received from this wonderful community.”
