Butkas, Bonnie
Consultant
Freelance
She has served in senior leadership roles in fundraising and communication in higher education, regional theatres, and NYC arts organizations including York Theatre Company, TADA! Youth Theatre, Rochester Institute of Technology, Geva Theatre Center, and Bristol Valley Theatre. As a choreographer, she co-founded Lexington Dance Collective in Buffalo, NY and served as a Directing Assistant on The Lion King on Broadway. Her professional achievements include a successful $10 million capital campaign at Geva and pivotal funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for RIT. At MRT, she oversaw the company’s 40th Anniversary Gala breaking previous fundraising records; led MRT through a yearlong artistic director search and transition; posted three best-selling shows; secured a prestigious Barr Klarman Massachusetts Arts Initiative grant; and led sustained growth in contributed income. She teaches at Middlesex Community College and serves on the Board of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT). Previously she volunteered with Girl Scouts of Western New York, YWCA of Monroe County, and co-founded Action Together, a progressive coalition of volunteers.
Originally from the Finger Lakes region of NY, Bonnie lives in Westford on land taken from the Pawtucket-Pennacook nations. She spends as much time as possible in the woods and water; loves to garden, write and draw; and is an enthusiastic player of board games with her family.
Bonnie holds two B.A.’s from the University at Buffalo: one in Dance and one in Journalism, and is working on a Master’s in Public Policy.