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involvement. The opera house has received 2017 Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year and SCORE’s
2018 National Outstanding Community Impact Award. De has a Bachelor’s in Music Education, Masters in
Education and her family resides in Corning, Iowa.
Temah Higgins is a Principal of Bond Theatrical Group. Temah has been booking and marketing shows across
North America for twenty years. Past projects include A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Beautiful-The
Carole King Musical, Edward Scissorhands, Hair, Jersey Boys, Les Misérables, Matilda, Miss Saigon, Oklahoma!,
South Pacific, Swan Lake, and War Horse among others. She spent 9 years as the Executive Vice President
at Broadway Booking Office, and prior to that served as the Vice President for Booking and Engagement
Management at AWA Touring Services. She started her career at the Kennedy Center, where she was the
Programming Manager for all dance, festivals, jazz and performance art. Temah is a proud member of ATPAM
and The Broadway League, and is the grateful recipient of the Broadway League’s 2015 George MacPhearson
Award.
Lila Honaker has been working in the entertainment marketing industry since 2005 in the music, performing
arts, and television sectors. In her current role, she is responsible for the overseeing the Tennessee Theatre
brand and its marketing strategy, creating awareness for the non-profit organization and its mission, fundraising
through donations, grants, and sponsorships, and developing special events, educational programming,
and community partnerships. Lila has a background as a performer and arts educator and is a member of
Tennesseans for the Arts and Americans for the Arts. She serves on the marketing committees for Visit Knoxville
and Knox Heritage and branding committee for Knoxville’s Central Business Improvement District.
Philip Horn was Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) from 1993 to 2015. He received
the Sidney R. Yates Advocacy Award from the Association of Performing Arts Presenters. While Program
Manager for Touring and Presenting at the California Arts Council he led the first study of Presenting as an
arts discipline. PCA was recognized by the Kennedy School of Government through Harvard’s Innovations
in American Government competition. He received the National Accessibility Leadership Award from the
NEA and VSA International for Excellence; National Leadership Award from the National Guild of Community
Schools of the Arts; and the Gary Young Award from National Assembly of State Arts Agencies. He has served
on the national PTA board of directors. He holds an honorary doctorate from Juniata College in Pennsylvania
and been recognized with a lifetime membership in the Pennsylvania PTA among many other honors.
Vincent Innocente is the Manager of Marketing and Audience Services at St. George Theatre Restoration
Inc, the non-profit organization that operates the historic St. George Theatre and is dedicated to its ongoing
restoration. In this role, Vincent is responsible for marketing/public relations, social media management, and
customer affairs, and assists with event planning, education programs, artist relations, and fundraising initiatives.
Prior to joining St. George Theatre, Vincent served as Business Associate and Special Events Coordinator at Snug
Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, where he was involved in many events, film shoots, and rentals.
In 2012, he co-curated an art exhibit entitled “Island Sounds: Celebrating 500 Years of Music on Staten Island” in
the Main Hall highlighting the great contributions Staten Island has made to the world of performing arts.
Vincent has been very active in his community for many years, volunteering with organizations such as the Unity
Games, Major League Baseball, March of Dimes, American Cancer Society, St. Roch School, St. Peter’s Boys
High School, St. John’s University, and others. An accomplished musician, he performs both solo and with his
band Cause and The Effects.
He is a 2016 recipient of the SIEDC 20 Under 40 Award, recognized as one of 10 Up and Comers in Staten Island
in the 2018 City & State NY magazine, and is a proud member of the Executive Club of Staten Island, a network
of young professionals and community leaders who share a desire to succeed.
Vincent holds a B.S. in Communication Arts and a MBA in Marketing Management from St. John’s University.
Geoffrey Kershner is the Executive Director at the Academy Center of the Arts (Lynchburg, VA) and the
founder of the Endstation Theatre Company. Under his leadership, Endstation was the winner of the 2012 Rising
Star Award (Virginians for the Arts). In his time at the Academy Center of the Arts, the organization increased
need-based scholarships for arts programming by 124% and increased the overall operating budget by
approximately 200%. Geoffrey has served on Virginia Commission for the Arts (Area 2, statewide) grant review
panels and was a member of the National Arts Strategies’ 2014-2015 Chief Executive Cohort. Currently, he is a
member of the Americans for the Arts’ Emerging Leaders Council.
43rd National Conference & Theatre Tour July 2019 INLEAGUE | PAGE 47