About Staff & Board
Executive Director Melissa Smey
Melissa Smey is Executive Director of the Arts Initiative and Miller Theatre at Columbia University, where she leads the campus’s pioneering venture to make the arts a vital part of every Columbian’s experience and the most acclaimed venue for new music in New York City. She has commissioned new works from composers Georges Aperghis, Julio Estrada, Hilda Paredes, and John Zorn; produced the United States premiere productions of Kaija Saariaho’s ballet Maa and James Dillon’s epic new music cycle Nine Rivers; and produced the urban outdoor premiere of John Luther Adams’s Inuksuit, featuring 99 musicians and 1,000 percussion instruments for an audience of over 2,500 in Harlem’s Morningside Park. Smey has held positions at the New York Public Library and the Metropolitan Opera, served on the board of Early Music America, and has served as panelist and speaker for various New York City and national arts organizations including New York University, Philadelphia New Music Project, Works and Process at the Guggenheim, and Chamber Music America.
Miller Theatre Staff
- Melissa Smey EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
- Brenna St. George Jones SENIOR DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION & OPERATIONS
- Lauren Bailey DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & OUTREACH
- Taylor Riccio DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION & OPERATIONS
- Taylor Crichton AUDIENCE SERVICES MANAGER
- Arlene R. Kriv MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
- Garrett Rollins PRODUCTION MANAGER
- Joe Cairl ARTISTIC ADMINISTRATOR
- Rhiannon McClintock EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
- Aleba & Co. PUBLIC RELATIONS
- The Heads of State GRAPHIC DESIGN
Advisory Board
- Mercedes I. Armillas
- Rima Ayas
- Barbara Batcheler
- Elaine Bernstein
- Sean T. Buffington
- Mary Sharp Cronson
- Stephanie French
- Marcella Tarozzi Goldsmith
- Michele Harris
- Trevor Harris
- Mark Jackson, chair
- Eric Johnson
- Fred Lerdahl
- George Lewis
- Jeanine Plottel
- Peter Pohly
- Marian M. Warden
- Cecille Wasserman
- Janet C. Waterhouse
- Elke Weber
