PuSh Festival Managing Director Announces Departure

November 25, 2013

For immediate release: November 25, 2013

Minna Schendlinger, the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival Managing Director since 2005, announced today her departure from the Festival’s administrative leadership role. The Festival will launch a leadership transition process this winter, and Schendlinger will officially step down from the position in June 2014.

Of her decision to step down, Schendlinger says: “Eight years ago I wanted this job so I could get in on the ground floor of a brand new organization and build something solid and lasting. PuSh turns 10 this year, a milestone to celebrate in our industry, so I know that I have done the job that I set out to do here. PuSh is a fantastic organization, built and carried by the best team of people around. After 10 years of growth and expansion, the organization is in a position to bring in a new manager with a vision for the next 10 years of PuSh.”

The PuSh Festival Board President, Peter Dickinson, praises Schendlinger’s integral contribution to the Festival’s continuing success, evolving from a small series with one full-time staff member to a thriving $1.8 million Festival on the eve of its 10th anniversary. “The PuSh Festival would not be the signature event it is today without the administrative brilliance and strategic foresight of Minna Schendlinger. She has worked tirelessly to ensure that the Festival’s organizational growth has consistently matched its artistic goals. I know I speak for everyone on the Board in saying that she will be terribly missed; at the same time, we wish her every success as she moves on to the next phase of her career.”

Norman Armour, the Festival’s Artistic and Executive Director, says: “What do we do when someone has spent eight years dedicating herself to building an organization, a festival, a brand? When she has consistently set new standards for what it means to produce a festival, to run a social-profit organization, to be true to one’s word and one’s deed? Well, for one thing, we say thank you! Then we congratulate her on the legacy she is responsible for. We herald and celebrate the results of her unwavering visioning, strategic thinking, diligence, passion, honesty, persistence, humour and generosity. And, lastly, we wish her all the best in whatever endeavour she chooses to take on next. In the coming months, during the 2014 Festival, and beyond, there will be countless individuals who will join the PuSh staff, the Board of Directors and myself to do just that—again, and again, and again.”

The position for the Managing Director will be posted in December.

About Minna Schendlinger

Minna Schendlinger’s career in arts and culture began in 1997 as the volunteer coordinator for the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, a position she held until 2004. In 2005, she became the Managing Director for the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival Society. Schendlinger has also worked with the Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival, First Night 2000 and the World of Children’s Choirs 2001. Schendlinger attended Capilano College part-time from 1995 to 1999 when she discovered there was enough work for an experienced administrator to keep her busy year-round. She has served as a board member for the Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards Society, the Alliance for Arts & Culture and is currently on the board of the Society to Bridge Arts & Community and a member of the professional advisory committee of the Vancouver Community College School of Music.