Townshend, Blaire

Lecturer

Blaire Townshend (AR 752 – Strategies for Performing Arts Businesses) currently serves as Assistant Director of Membership Services & Professional Development at The Broadway League, the trade association for the Broadway industry both in New York and across North America. The League represents the employers of the industry – theatre owners and operators, producers, presenters, and general managers, among others. Blaire began at the League as an intern in 2016 and has remained in the Membership department ever since, moving from Associate to Manager and, most recently, to Senior Manager. In this capacity, Blaire liaises with the Membership, Professional Development, Intra-Industry, Road Group Sales, and Road Marketing Committees, and oversees various professional development initiatives, including the Biennial Leadership Conference, Spring Road Marketing Conference, Road Group Sales and Road Marketing Forums, Rising Stars Professional Development program, and Broadway Speakers Bureau program, among others. Blaire’s professional passions center on best practices in professional development and cultivating the next generation of theatre leaders through education, access, and the facilitation of meaningful mentorship and networking opportunities.

Originally hailing from Cape Cod but of Canadian origin, Blaire earned her Bachelor of Arts in Literature, Music, and Drama from the University of Toronto before moving to New York to complete a Master of Arts in Arts Administration at Columbia University, taking courses at Columbia Business School, the Executive MBA Program, and the Theatre Management & Producing Concentration at the School of the Arts. During her time at Columbia, Blaire completed a Masters thesis focused on engaging millennials with operatic programming, and also served as Co-President of Student Advocates for the Arts, an organization that lobbied for arts interests in Washington, D.C. An avid bookworm and keen vocalist, Blaire likes nothing more than to discuss books, Broadway, and ballads over a cup of tea.