Liz Gray

Arts & Nonprofit Consulting

I hold an MFA in Arts Leadership and a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit and Nongovernmental Organization Management from Virginia Tech. Previously, I attended NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts (Stella Adler Studio, BFA Theatre), the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (London, Certificate), and the Upright Citizens Brigade (NYC). My values revolve around joy, candor, humor, and reliability.

As an arts leader, consultant, and theatre-maker, I have collaborated with nonprofit organizations, schools, and theatres across the country. Currently, I serve as the Managing Director of Capital Stage, a 501(c)3 theatre company in Sacramento, CA. As a consultant, I have worked as a strategic planner, communications specialist, capital campaign designer, financials researcher, and as a fundraiser. As an educator, I have taught collegiately as an instructor of accessible communications and as a theatre arts professor. As a theatre-maker, I have been a performer, director, and company and stage manager. In my spare time, I volunteer as the Director of Development with Backyard Stages, a theatre company based in New York City.

I have presented research on nonprofit fiscal embeddedness in city-entity structures at the League of Historic American Theatres’ 48th National Conference, and have facilitated workshops on applied communication methods at Rutgers University and for the Society for In Vitro Biology. I also present on disability aesthetics and perform audits with performing arts centers to expand intentional and inclusive accessibility initiatives.

Outside of work, my interests include wandering around farmers markets with my husband, watching and performing long-form improvisation, and taking an insane amount of pictures of my cat, Ellett.