Forum Network

Michael Maso has served as the Huntington's managing director since 1982, overseeing all fiscal and administrative operations, producing more than 125 plays, and leading the Huntington's 10-year drive to build the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, which opened in September, 2004. Mr. Maso is the immediate past president of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT), an association of 70 of the country's major not-for-profit professional theatres. Last year, Mr. Maso was named as one of a dozen members of the inaugural class of the Barr Fellows Program. He received the 2005 Commonwealth Award, the state's highest arts honor, in the category of Catalyst, and was honored by *The Boston Herald* as 2004 Theatre Man of the Year. He has served as a member of the board of directors of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national service organization for not-for-profit theatre, and as a site visitor, panelist, and panel chairman for the National Endowment for the Arts. Locally, Mr. Maso is a member of the board of directors of ArtsBoston. He previously served as chairman of the Cultural and Scientific Directors Group, as a member of Mayor Menino's Advisory Task Force for Cultural Planning, as a trustee of the Massachusetts Advocates for the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities (MAASH) and StageSource, as a member of the Boston Foundation's Cultural Task Force, and as Program Consultant for the Arts Leadership Initiative of Business Volunteers for the Arts. In 2000, Mr. Maso was honored with the Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence at Boston's Elliot Norton Awards. Prior to coming to the Huntington, Mr. Maso spent three seasons as the managing director of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. He has also been the general manager of New York's Roundabout Theatre Company, business manager for PAF Playhouse on Long Island, and an independent arts management consultant based in Taos, New Mexico. Mr. Maso is an associate professor of theatre at Boston University.

Byron Pitts is a multiple Emmy award winning reporter. As chief national correspondent for the *CBS Evening News With Katie Couric*, Pitts was an embedded reporter covering the Iraq war and was recognized for his work under fire. Pitts was also CBS' lead correspondent at Ground Zero immediately following the September 11th attacks. A news veteran with more than 20 years of experience, other major stories he covered include the war in Afghanistan, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the military buildup in Kuwait and the refugee crisis in Kosovo. Pitts realized a life-long goal when he was named a contributing correspondent to CBS' *60 Minutes* in 2009.

San San Wong has over 20 years of working in the arts. Prior to joining the Arts Commission, she was a consultant focused on the exploration of new aesthetics, the impact of changing demographics and increased internationalism on arts and cultural practice, and strengthening support systems for bringing artists and communities together. Her clients have included: the Ford Foundation, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the New England Foundation for the Arts, Leveraging Investments in Creativity, the Fund for Folk Culture, and the Asia Society, among others. She has worked throughout the United States, and in the Asia Pacifica region. Wong has also served as Executive Director of the National Performance Network, and before that, as Director of Development and Special Initiatives at Theater Artaud (San Francisco).

Eva Herr does private mentoring and counseling, and occasionally travels to conduct workshops, consultations, individual and group mentoring, and satsangs. She is also a radio show host and public speaker. Herr is based in Atlanta.

Timothy Milner is a DeKalb Medical vascular and endovascular surgeon. He received his medical degree 11 years ago.

Clare Richardson is president and CEO of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International. She travels to the Karisoke Center in Rwanda on a regular basis. Previously, she was executive vice president of marketing and development at Zoo Atlanta.

Mwami Alexis Kalinda is a leader in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. He serves as the executive secretary for an association of all the Mwamis (a term for a traditional king), which created the network of community-based nature reserves that the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International supports. He also serves on its board of directors and is president of the Walikale community-based reserve, which consists of a large section of land that has been managed by his family for generations.

Photo Courtesy of Brian Pellinen.

Tara Stoinski is also the McGrath chair of conservation and science with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International. Her areas of interest include the re-introduction of captive-born animals, cognition, social behavior, reproduction, and captive management. She received her PhD in 2000 from the University of Georgia.

Juan Carlos Bonilla was previously Conservation International's senior director for central Africa.