Meet the whole team

Jacob G. Padrón

Artistic director
He/Him

Jacob G. Padrón is the Artistic Director of Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut. He is also the Founder and Artistic Director of The Sol Project, a national theater initiative that works in partnership with leading theater companies to amplify the voices of Latinx playwrights in New York City and beyond. Padrón has held senior-level artistic positions at theater companies across the country.

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Kit Ingui

Managing Director
She/Her

Kit Ingui joined Long Wharf Theatre in 2017 as Associate Managing Director and was promoted to Managing Director in October 2019. Prior to Long Wharf, she was an Associate General Manager for Joey Parnes Productions (JPP), a Broadway producing and management firm.

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Avery Anderson

Director of Marketing & Communications
They/Them

Avery Anderson, a distinguished arts leader, Emmy Award-winning video producer, and the Director of Marketing and Communications at Long Wharf Theatre, possesses a rich background with a degree in communication and theatre from Metropolitan State University of Denver. At American Stage in St. Petersburg, FL, Avery orchestrated a rebranding and redesigned the pricing structure for the annual outdoor production, resulting in unprecedented sales. Avery

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Rachel Alderman

Associate Artistic Director
She/Her

Rachel Aldermen is a director, producer and co-creator of theater experiences who is fiercely committed to building ensemble onstage and off. She proudly started as the Associate Artistic Director of Long Wharf Theatre in July 2022; prior to that, she contributed to the artistic health and growth of Hartford Stage for over 7 years. Rachel is a founding ensemble member of the award-winning A Broken Umbrella Theatre with whom she has collectively devised original, site-specific theater inspired by the history of New Haven, CT for more than 15 years.

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Kate Moore Heaney

Associate Producer
She/Her

Kate Moore Heaney is a theatre director, producer, and dramaturg. Kate is the Associate Producer at Long Wharf Theatre, Artistic Producer of Noor Theatre, and a founding board member of the Middle Eastern and North African Theater Makers Alliance (MENATMA). She has directed and/or developed new work with The Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, The Playwrights Realm, Premiere Stages, The Civilians’ R&D Group, New York Theatre Workshop, NYU Abu Dhabi Institute (NYC), The Amoralists, The Flea, The Shakespeare Society, The 24 Hour Plays: Nationals, and other companies.

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Vanessa Soto

Company Manager
She/Her

Vanessa Soto is a New Haven native, attended Foote & Hopkins schools and graduated from Vassar College with a BA in Theater and Women & Gender Studies. She trained as an actor and theater director at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Theater Institute (NTI). She attended the Stanislavski Summer Program at ART where she had the honor to train with professors from Moscow Art Theater School (MATS). She also participated in the Lincoln Center Theater Director’s laboratory in 2007.

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Awoye Timpo

Artistic Ensemble
She/Her

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Bryce Pinkham

Artistic Ensemble
He/Him

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Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi

Artistic Ensemble
She/Her

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Allison Jackson Backhaus

Assistant Director of Production
She/Her

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Jessica Durdock Moreno

Chief of Staff
She/Any

Jessica Durdock Moreno joined Long Wharf Theatre in 2022. She was appointed Artistic Director of the Sherman Playhouse; a century’s old community theater in Connecticut in 2023, and founded Pale Horse Craft, a Neurodiversity centered theater company in 2019. She has produced her plays with the Chain Theatre and at the Hollywood Fringe (won: Encore! Producers Award; nominated: Inkwell Theater Playwright’s Promise Award).

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Kelly Brown

Creative Content Manager
She/Her

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Nancy Meguerditchian

Director of Finance
She/Her

Nancy Meguerditchian joined Long Wharf Theatre in 2016 as the Business Manager. She was promoted to Director of Finance in January 2022. Nancy's interest for accounting started when she was a junior in high school while she was interning for a manufacturing company. Nancy worked as the Staff Accountant and later Controller for Harstan's Jewelers, and then joined The United Way of Connecticut.

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Jill H. Coulter

External Relations Operations Manager
She/Her

Jill has worked in non-profit theater since 1982. Beginning her career with Seattle Repertory Theatre, she has been with Long Wharf Theatre since January 1998, beginning as a consultant and in August 1998 moved to Connecticut to join the LWT staff as the Box Office Manager.

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Halima Flynn

Individual Giving Coordinator
She/Her

Halima Flynn holds her Master of Arts in Directing from Goldsmiths College, University of London and is an artist-activist who believes that theatre has the capacity to transform society. She shares her passion for theatre and community in her everyday life as Long Wharf Theatre’s Individual Giving Coordinator.

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Emma Joy Hill

Elm City Tickets Manager
She/Her

Emma Joy Hill is a marketing manager with experience in influencer relations, business development, project management, and the ticketing industry. In addition to her initiatives in marketing strategy, brand awareness, and client relations, Emma is also a professional playwright and theatre artist, having had work produced and developed across the country.

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Kahleem Poole-Tejada

Video Producer
He/Him

As an East Coast Cinematographer and Director, Kahleem Poole-Tejada began as a comic book illustrator, independent animator and working in the game development field. Growing up in The Bronx, NYC, he’s worked with high profile companies such as Rockstar Games, Gameloft, Scholastic and THQ (under Kaos Studios), so design, technology and creativity are second nature to him.

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Ann M.K. McLaughlin

Institutional Giving Consultant
She/Her

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