John Schreiber, President & CEO of the NJPAC announced this week that Peter H. Hansen, will be promoted effective immediately to be the organization’s Senior VP of Development. Hansen is currently NJPAC’s VP of Development.
Hansen, who first started with NJPAC in 1992, had rejoined NJPAC as Vice President of Development in 2007 and successfully completed a $180 million capital campaign in 2009 which in part helped establish a $70 million endowment for NJPAC, making it one of the largest endowments for a performing arts center in the United States. Since 2009, Hansen has effectively managed an annual fundraising campaign which raises in excess of $10 million. He has also created innovative programs such as NJPAC’s Business Partners Roundtable, a corporate breakfast forum, which has brought business leaders including Arianna Huffington, Mort Zuckerman, Ken Frazier (Chairman & CEO of Merck), and Bill Demchak (Chairman & CEO of PNC Financial Services) to NJPAC to address the State’s top corporate executives.
From 1992 to 2002, he served in a variety of senior fundraising positions at the Arts Center, including Vice President of Development, and was a critical member of the team that raised $187 million to build NJPAC which opened in 1997. In between his time at NJPAC, he was Director of External Affairs for the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City and Assistant Vice President of Development at Bowdon College in Maine.
Hansen’s promotion is part of NJPAC’s significant expansion of its fundraising program to support an ambitious new five-year strategic plan. Two new positions, Vice President of Development and Senior Director of Individual Giving, will be added to the Development Department, to provide resources to help fund new strategic priorities. The national search for the new positions is managed by Lois Lindauer Searches of Boston.
“Peter has a long track record of impressive accomplishments at NJPAC,” said Schreiber. “He is also considered a national leader in performing arts fundraising. His new role and the additional investment in fundraising will ensure that we have the capacity to achieve our new strategic plan which will set a bold trajectory for NJPAC. Peter has a deep dedication to the Arts Center and is without question the best choice to lead our expanded fundraising program.”
“NJPAC has reached a critical inflection point in its young history,” said Hansen. “Under John Schreiber’s leadership, the organization has successfully redefined its business model. Now, the Arts Center, which is a national model for urban performing arts centers, is preparing to launch a new comprehensive strategic plan which will increase its commitments to diversity, excellence in performance, arts education, civic engagement and the economic redevelopment in Newark. I am truly excited and honored to have this new role and to help advance the mission of New Jersey’s anchor cultural institution.”
Prior to his first engagement with NJPAC in 1992, Hansen served in senior fundraising roles for the Dance Theatre of Harlem and the US Committee (now Fund) for UNICEF.
