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Our team of dedicated professionals is excited to bring the vision for Field Hall to life and enrich our community.
Executive Director
“Port Angeles is a magnificent place to experience life. Field Arts & Events Hall will rise up and join the majesty of our surrounds, which include the mountains, the Strait, and the people who live in this hearty community.”
Steven Raider–Ginsburg is honored to serve as the Field Arts & Events Hall as the Executive Director. Joining the team in August of 2021 Steven’s work is focused on closing out a $50 million capital campaign and get ready for the grand opening and beyond. For over two decades Steven has provided executive leadership to non-profit arts, higher education, civic and philanthropic organizations. Most recently Steven was the Director of the Autorino Center for the Arts and Humanities at the University of Saint Joseph, a mission-based, world-class performing arts presenter that receives over 30,000 guests a year. In 2001, Steven co-founded the award-winning original creation theater company, HartBeat Ensemble. Steven was selected by American Theater magazine as one of 25 young theater artists most likely to influence theater in the next 25 years. He was also recognized as a 2018 State of Connecticut Performing Artist Fellow, and by the Hartford Business Journal on its “40 under 40” list. Steven is an advisor for the New England Foundation for the Arts National Theater Project and the Ann T. and Edward C. Roberts Foundation. Steven is a member of the 2012 Lincoln Center Directors Lab, holds an M.F.A. in Directing from Boston University, B.A. from Hampshire College, a certificate in Curatorial Practice from Wesleyan University, a certificate in Community and Culture from the Harvard Business School and a certificate in Leadership and Change from the University of Michigan, Ross School of Business. He has served on Hartford’s Commission on Cultural Affairs, is a current Fellow at Yale University’s Pierson College, an alumnus of the National Arts Strategies (NAS) Chief Executive Program, and an accredited Executive Leadership Coach for the arts sector. Steven began his career at New WORLD Theater under the direction of Roberta Uno at UMass Amherst, and then went on to work with some of the nation’s most illustrious theater-makers, including Anna Deveare Smith, Shakespeare and Company, Augusto Boal, Sojourn Theater, The Civilians, and others.
PROJECT Director
“No matter where I’ve worked or lived, I’ve always referred to Port Angeles, Washington as home. Now not only have I returned to the place I love but I also get to be a part of the most exciting and important project of my lifetime.”
Prior to joining the project, Chris led strategic planning and business development for the Petrizzo Group, a D.C.-based bipartisan lobbying firm whose Pacific Northwest clients included Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, and Vulcan, Inc.
Chris previously served as Director of Grants and Contracts for the Geneva Foundation overseeing more than 160 military medical research studies conducted at over 40 U.S. Department of Defense sites worldwide.
From 2010 to 2013, Chris served four tours as Country Director for Clear Path International on behalf of the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in Afghanistan.
From 1994 to 2004, Chris directed federal government affairs for Airborne Express where he managed all legislative, regulatory, and external affairs pertaining to the domestic, international and airline operations of the company, including its hub in Wilmington, Ohio, the largest privately-owned airport in the world. In the aftermath of 9/11, Chris was named interim director of Airborne’s Aviation Security Department, a role he performed in addition to his government affairs duties for the next two years. In 2003, he successfully directed the nine-month lobbying and public affairs campaign to secure Congressional and regulatory approval of Airborne’s merger with DHL Worldwide.
Prior to joining Airborne Express, Chris worked for three years as Special Assistant for Trade Development with the U.S. Consulate General in Vancouver, B.C. He later worked eight years with the WRG Corporation, a Seattle-based security assistance management company where he ultimately served as Executive Vice President and Managing Director.
A native of Port Angeles, Chris holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Saint Martin’s College and a Master of Science from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, as well as a Certificate in Languages from the Goethe Institute in Bremen, Germany. Chris was also a member of the adjunct faculty of the University of Washington’s nationally ranked Foster School of Business from 2000 to 2010.
OFFICE MANAGER
“Field Hall and the Port Angeles Waterfront Center will showcase the best of what our community has to offer, as well as foster growth opportunities for local artists and businesses.”
Jess was born and raised in rural Maine. She studied in New York City, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from St. John’s University. Immediately after graduation, Jess went on tour with the Adirondack Shakespeare Company for their 2012 summer season, which featured her original children’s play, The Seven Labors of Hercules. Upon returning to the city, Jess worked as a special events coordinator at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and a marketing consultant specializing in nonprofit theaters and Shakespeare.
Jess and her husband Sam moved to Port Angeles in 2018. Prior to joining the team at Field Arts & Events Hall, Jess worked in development at Peninsula Behavioral Health. She is particularly proud of the $4 million SAMHSA grant which she earned with the support of the PBH executive team. Jess was elected marketing lead by her professional peers during the 2019 Clallam Gives, which raised over $25,000 for local nonprofits.
Jess enjoys hiking and backpacking in the Olympics, as well as writing, playing guitar, and spending time with her cat, Tomato.
Bookkeeper
“This project represents hope for Port Angeles’ future in becoming more than a jumping-off point to the rest of the Olympic Peninsula. We will be able to provide residents and visitors access to much more culture than we currently can.”
Legal Counsel
“Recent generous financial gifts have provided a once in a lifetime opportunity to build a community gathering place that will transform our community. It is now up to all of us as citizens to work together and support this project, so our community has the chance to prosper culturally and economically for decades to come.”
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