News

CHICAGO DRAMATISTS NAMES EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 

[CHICAGO, November 9, 2026] Chicago Dramatists has appointed Kimberly Dixon-Mays

its next Executive Director, effective December 1. A playwright and arts leader, Dixon-Mays

has spent more than 20 years working as an artist and administrator in Chicago’s arts and

culture sector, while also building a branding and audience engagement

strategy consultancy. Dixon-Mays succeeds Victoria Podesta, who will complete her

planned, two-year term as Executive Director in December and remain a member of the

Chicago Dramatists Board of Directors.

“In Kimberly Dixon-Mays, we have found an exceptionally creative and collaborative leader

with a deep history and commitment to Chicago Dramatists’ mission of developing and

supporting dramatic writers at every stage of their evolution,” said Debra Rosenberg, chair

of the Board of Directors. “Her own experience writing, as well as facilitating other writers’

and organizations’ creative work as a strategist, administrator and instructor/coach, makes

her exceptionally well-suited to build on the successes of past leadership and steer the

organization into the future.”

“I am honored to lead Chicago Dramatists, whose commitment to playwrights remains

deeply rooted in and vitally relevant to the Chicago theatrical community and beyond,”

said Dixon-Mays. “Together with the Board, artistic team and dedicated volunteers, we will

focus on building our financial and organizational strength and deepening how we engage

and serve our playwrights, audiences, and the broader theater community.”

About Kimberly Dixon-Mays

Kimberly Dixon-Mays, Ph.D. has led strategy for communications, design, innovation and

programming for brands and nonprofits. Her nonprofit work has focused on arts/culture,

education and philanthropy, both as a consultant and as a former Executive Director

(operations and programming) for live literature presenter Guild Literary Complex. Dixon-

Mays has also helped establish organizations’ new strategy practices.

Dixon-Mays is a poet and playwright. She has developed plays at theaters including

National Black Theatre, Windy City Playhouse, Strawdog, Crossroads, and Plowshares

Theatre Companies, and Goodman, Rivendell, Shattered Globe, Stage Left, and The Gift

Theatres. Most recently, Lifeline Theatre produced the world premiere of her play Rabbits

in Their Pockets in 2025. A former Russ Tutterow fellow, Dixon-Mays is currently a Resident

playwright with Chicago Dramatists and a member of TimeLine Theatre Company’s

Playwrights Collective.

Dixon-Mays has also been a nominee, semi-finalist/finalist, fellow or artist in residence for:

3Arts Award, American Blues Theater’s Blue Ink Award, Congo Square Theatre Company’s

August Wilson New Play Initiative, Definition Theatre’s Amplify, National Black Theatre I

Am Soul Playwright Residency, Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, and the

Theodore Ward Prize for African-American Playwrights. She has received grants and

awards from agencies including the Illinois Arts Council, and City of Chicago Department

of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.

Dixon-Mays earned a B.A. in psychology/theater studies from Yale University and an

Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Theatre & Drama from Northwestern University.

About Chicago Dramatists

Since 1979, Chicago Dramatists has been a creative home for playwrights, screenwriters,

lyricists, and storytellers seeking to explore their artistic vision and realize their creative

potential.

Today, our community of theatre artists, teachers, mentors and peers provides an array of

opportunities for writers throughout the country to develop their craft. With membership

programs, classes taught by working professionals, services for one-on-one development

and writing coaching, and new play festivals and staged reading series, we help writers take

their work from an idea to the page and on to the stage.

For more information, contact theatermanager@chicagodramatists.org