Stephanie Pacheco
Executive Director (Effective June 9, 2023

Executive Director Announcement:

In October 2022, The Yard’s Board announced the beginning of an Executive Director search, which brought in a number of highly qualified candidates from across the country.

It is with great excitement that we share Stephanie Pacheco has been selected as The Yard’s Executive Director, beginning June 9, 2023.

In this role, Stephanie will lead the organization into its next chapter, looking to further advance the work of the organization’s 50-year history.

Stephanie brings over twenty years of experience in cultural leadership, international performing arts presenting, fundraising, higher education, and community engagement. Most recently, Stephanie was the Executive Director at Links Hall in Chicago, where she led artist residencies and commissioning programs, expanded the Board of Directors, developed new philanthropic and community partnerships, led capacity-building initiatives, and successfully stewarded the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic.      

Not new to New England, Stephanie is excited to return home to the East Coast, where she previously directed engagement and arts education at the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College and led the studio theater and BRIClab residency program at BRIC in Brooklyn, NY. Stephanie was a longtime Executive Board member of New England Presenters, a grant and program reviewer for the National Endowment for the Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a 2010 Fellow at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.      

“It is a great privilege to join The Yard on the eve of its 50th Anniversary summer season,” Stephanie shares. “This ‘playground without walls’ has long been an inspiration to me, as it has to generations of artists and audiences who have visited Martha’s Vineyard. Civic spaces that foster creativity, inquiry, and community care are essential to the health of both rural communities and the national performing arts sector. The Yard resonates with all of the above, and I'm thrilled to join the staff, board of directors, artists, and audiences as we imagine what the next fifty years may bring.”

Patricia N. Nanon founded The Yard in 1973 to be a place for all dancers and artists. Her vision was to provide creative new work residencies and performance opportunities for choreographers and dance companies that had a lasting impact on the national dance field. Remaining in her vision 50 years later, The Yard has built a reputation for being at the forefront of supporting artists of all kinds throughout the lifecycle of their career. The Yard presents performances by international, national, and local artists, provides paid residencies for artists, and offers inter-generational engagement programs and classes for our island community. Stephanie will partner with existing staff and The Yard’s Program Director, Yvonne Mendez, to continue The Yard’s innovative legacy as a cultural organization on the island and for dancers globally.

Please join us in welcoming Stephanie to The Yard and to the island. We hope you have a chance to meet her throughout our upcoming best in class summer season.