Maurine Knighon From The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation:
The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) today announced the appointment, following a nationwide search, of Maurine Knighton as the new program director of the foundation’s Performing Arts Program.
“We are thrilled to welcome Maurine to the foundation. Her deep familiarity with the needs of artists, organizations and communities comes from years of hands-on experience,” said Ed Henry, president of DDCF. “With a clear commitment to the value of the arts in our communities, Maurine will both continue and expand the work of the foundation.”
Maurine Knighton, currently senior vice president at the Nathan Cummings Foundation, brings a wealth of experience and perspective from her work with artists, arts organizations and communities in prior roles. Her previous positions include executive producer and president of 651 Arts; senior vice president at the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone; program manager at the Nonprofit Finance Fund, where she established and managed the Community Alliances Program of the Cultural Facilities Fund; and managing director of the Penumbra Theatre Company in St. Paul, MN. Knighton has also served as board member of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters and Grantmakers in the Arts, and panelist and advisor to the National Endowment for the Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts, Arts Presenters Ensemble Theater Program and others. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, MS.
Knighton began work at the Nathan Cummings Foundation as program director of arts and culture in 2010 and was involved in all areas of the foundation’s grant making, strategic planning and administration, rising most recently to the position of senior vice president. At the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, she formulated and implemented approaches to using arts and culture resources to stimulate local economic vitality. As executive producer of 651 Arts, Knighton developed and curated mainstage, residency, educational and humanities programs while overseeing all administrative and operational activities.
“I am delighted to join the staff of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation,” said Knighton. “The foundation’s commitment to the art forms of theater, jazz and contemporary dance, as well as to the artists who advance those forms, is truly impressive. I look forward to helping build on DDCF’s important achievements.”
ABOUT THE DORIS DUKE CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation is a private foundation with a mission to improve the quality of people’s lives through grants in the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research and child well-being. The Arts Program of DDCF focuses its support on contemporary dance, jazz and theatre artists, and the organizations that nurture, present and produce them. The Environment Program of DDCF enables communities to protect and manage wildlife habitat and create efficient built environments. The foundation was established and endowed through the will of philanthropist Doris Duke. Since making its first grants in 1997, the foundation has distributed more than $1.4 billion in funding. In addition to its grant programs, the foundation operates Duke Farms, a 2,700-acre center for environmental stewardship, and Shangri La, a center for the study of Islamic arts and culture, and funds Rough Point, Doris Duke’s former residence in Newport, RI through the Newport Restoration Foundation. For more information, please visit www.ddcf.org.
The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) today announced the appointment, following a nationwide search, of Maurine Knighton as the new program director of the foundation’s Performing Arts Program.
“We are thrilled to welcome Maurine to the foundation. Her deep familiarity with the needs of artists, organizations and communities comes from years of hands-on experience,” said Ed Henry, president of DDCF. “With a clear commitment to the value of the arts in our communities, Maurine will both continue and expand the work of the foundation.”
Maurine Knighton, currently senior vice president at the Nathan Cummings Foundation, brings a wealth of experience and perspective from her work with artists, arts organizations and communities in prior roles. Her previous positions include executive producer and president of 651 Arts; senior vice president at the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone; program manager at the Nonprofit Finance Fund, where she established and managed the Community Alliances Program of the Cultural Facilities Fund; and managing director of the Penumbra Theatre Company in St. Paul, MN. Knighton has also served as board member of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters and Grantmakers in the Arts, and panelist and advisor to the National Endowment for the Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts, Arts Presenters Ensemble Theater Program and others. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, MS.
Knighton began work at the Nathan Cummings Foundation as program director of arts and culture in 2010 and was involved in all areas of the foundation’s grant making, strategic planning and administration, rising most recently to the position of senior vice president. At the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, she formulated and implemented approaches to using arts and culture resources to stimulate local economic vitality. As executive producer of 651 Arts, Knighton developed and curated mainstage, residency, educational and humanities programs while overseeing all administrative and operational activities.
“I am delighted to join the staff of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation,” said Knighton. “The foundation’s commitment to the art forms of theater, jazz and contemporary dance, as well as to the artists who advance those forms, is truly impressive. I look forward to helping build on DDCF’s important achievements.”
ABOUT THE DORIS DUKE CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation is a private foundation with a mission to improve the quality of people’s lives through grants in the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research and child well-being. The Arts Program of DDCF focuses its support on contemporary dance, jazz and theatre artists, and the organizations that nurture, present and produce them. The Environment Program of DDCF enables communities to protect and manage wildlife habitat and create efficient built environments. The foundation was established and endowed through the will of philanthropist Doris Duke. Since making its first grants in 1997, the foundation has distributed more than $1.4 billion in funding. In addition to its grant programs, the foundation operates Duke Farms, a 2,700-acre center for environmental stewardship, and Shangri La, a center for the study of Islamic arts and culture, and funds Rough Point, Doris Duke’s former residence in Newport, RI through the Newport Restoration Foundation. For more information, please visit www.ddcf.org.
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