Long Wharf Theatre Welcomes Lee Cruz and Joseph Roach to the Board of Directors

Two new Board members join a dynamic roster of civic, corporate, and community leaders

Long Wharf Theatre is pleased to announce the election of two new members to the Board of Directors: New Haven community activist Lee Cruz and theatre historian and professor Joseph Roach.

Cruz and Roach were elected at the November 2022 Board meeting. The Long Wharf Theatre Board of Directors is composed of 23 members – civic, corporate, and community leaders from across Greater New Haven – working collectively to lead the organization’s Path Forward to a more inclusive, community-focused, and sustainable future.

“We are honored to welcome Lee Cruz and Joseph Roach to the Long Wharf Theatre Board of Directors,” said Nancy Alexander, Board Chair. “Lee brings tremendous knowledge about the nonprofit sector and has deep roots in the New Haven community, especially with close ties to organizations and residents in the city’s Fair Haven neighborhood. Joe is a well-known and well-respected academic and historian whose contributions to American theatre are legendary. Their perspectives, talents, and expertise are tremendous assets to the organization in this time of transition.”

Under Alexander’s leadership, the board has undergone a number of changes including the removal of the mandatory give-get requirement for members and an enhanced focus on equity, inclusion, and diversity.

Last year, Long Wharf Theatre’s board unanimously voted in favor of the institution’s Path Forward, with many members reiterating their confidence in and support of its leadership’s bold vision and plan for its next chapter.

“I am excited to join the Long Wharf Theatre Board of Directors at this time of challenge and opportunity,” said Cruz. “I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Board and all in our community who believe in the power of the theater to entertain, to unite, and to heal.”

“Honoring the history of the room where it happened, I am thrilled to be able to support Long Wharf Theatre in the new rooms where it is happening for everyone,” said Roach.

See the list of Long Wharf Theatre’s Board of Directors.

More information on Long Wharf Theatre’s Path Forward can be found here.

About Lee Cruz

Lee Cruz is the Outreach Director at The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. In this role, Lee connects nonprofits, civic leaders, and the business community to create social and economic benefit for Greater New Haven. Previously he has held the positions of: Executive Director of the Ronald McDonald House of Connecticut, Connecticut’s home away from home for the families of children in need of hospitalization, and Director of Community Development at Mutual Housing Association, a regional not-for-profit affordable housing developer. Lee is also a Co-founder of the Chatham Square Association, a group of organized residents, nonprofits and small businesses in Fair Haven working together to build and sustain community in their neighborhood. He lives in Fair Haven with his wife Sarah and two children, Pablo, and Mateo. When he is not walking in Fair Haven, you will find Lee on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter promoting and supporting New Haven civic leaders, nonprofits, and small businesses. Current affiliations include: Co-Chair of Fair Haven Community Management Team (2021-Present), Governor’s Council on Climate Change (2019-Present), and Chatham Square Neighborhood Association (Founding Member, 2009-Present).

About Joseph Roach

Joseph Roach, Sterling Professor of Theater and Professor of English, Emeritus, at Yale University, retired after forty years of teaching, research, and administration in theater, performance studies, and English literature. After earning his BA from the University of Kansas, MA from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne (UK), and PhD from Cornell University, he went on to chair theater programs at Sweet Briar College, Washington University in St. Louis, Northwestern University, and New York University. He came to Yale in 1997 as Chair of the Theater Studies program. Recognized by a Lifetime Scholarship Award from the American Society for Theatre Research, a Distinguished Achievement Award from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Oscar Brockett Prize for Outstanding Teaching from the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, and an Honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Warwick (UK), he is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (elected, 2012).  He is co-founder of the Creede Repertory Theatre and the World Performance Project at Yale.