- Ken Neufeld, President & CEO of Victoria Theatre Association & the Arts Center Foundation
Ken Neufeld began his role as the President & CEO of Victoria Theatre Association and the Arts Center Foundation on June 1, 2009. He is a 28-year veteran in executive management of performing arts centers, professional theatre companies, and civic museums both in Canada and the United States.
Ken has worked with such acclaimed theatres as Studio Arena Theatre in Buffalo, New York; Gateway Theatre in Richmond, British Columbia; The Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company, and the Vancouver Museum and Planetarium Association. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre and Environmental Studies from the University of Winnipeg, and a Masters degree in Theatre from Michigan State University. He has also completed continuing education programs at the Banff Center (Banff, Alberta) and the Harvard Business School. Ken has served as an adjunct faculty member or guest lecturer for the Banff Center, Simon Fraser University (Vancouver, British Columbia), Canisius College (Buffalo, New York), and Buffalo State College (Buffalo, New York) where he taught a course entitled “The Business of the Performing Arts.”
Ken has developed a national reputation for successfully diversifying audiences and expanding programming to include under-served and non-traditional audiences. He was widely acknowledged as one of the leading presenters of Asian programming in the Pacific Northwest during his time there. A creative thinker in dealing with economic downturns and urban revitalization, Ken has a reputation for being a collaborative arts and community partner with a track record in studying ways to share services for increased efficiency.
He believes strongly in giving back to the community and in Dayton he is actively involved in the Downtown Dayton Partnership as a board member and co-chair of the Arts and Entertainment Committee of the Downtown Dayton Plan. Ken is also a board member at the Montgomery County Convention and Visitors Bureau and an active member of Dayton Rotary.
Ken lives in Oakwood with his wife Lesley and his golden retriever Riley.
