Charlotte Muir, PAC development director
Charlotte Muir is the Highlands Performing Arts Center’s development director, a newly created position.
“Charlotte’s role will be to cultivate and steward donor relationships, lead our annual fundraising campaigns, write and manage grant proposals, oversee donor communications, and maintain our donor database and records,” said Jeanne Piazza, executive director for Highlands Performing Arts Center.
Piazza said the role was created to strengthen the fundraising efforts, and to help build lasting relationships with donors.
“As we continue to grow, this role is vital to ensuring the financial sustainability of our programs and expanding access to the arts in our community. We are so fortunate to have found Charlotte who not only has established relationships in this community but also has a great passion for the arts. She was the perfect fit,” Piazza said.
Muir will lead their fundraising initiatives to support program expansion and enhancement plans. Muir said her appointment comes at a pivotal time for PAC as it continues to thrive as Highlands’ home for the performing arts.
“We’ve just completed such a huge capital expansion, and so now it’s moving into how we can elevate everything else, how we can elevate our programming, our outreach and education programs and to ensure that this wonderful facility remains top notch,” she said.
Muir has more than 15 years of nonprofit leadership experience, along with a track record in fundraising, board relations and strategic growth. Within Highlands, Muir has been involved with local nonprofits for the past nine years. Prior to moving to Highlands, she served as the theater director for the Vilar Performing Arts Center in Beaver Creek, Colorado.
Muir said she looks forward to using the skills acquired from her nonprofit background and bringing them to a mission she loves.
“I’ve always loved the arts. I grew up going to like every musical theater performance I could get to,” she said. “Before we moved here, I was at a Performing Arts Center in Colorado, and it was my dream to be there immersed in the arts, kind of making it all happen. I’m just thrilled to get back to my favorite mission, which is the arts.”
Muir said she looks forward to the additional programming the theater has to offer, teasing an upcoming performance of “Peter Pan,” which is slated to take flight next year.
“Last year we did ‘Matilda.’ Next year we’re doing ‘Peter Pan’ and we want to raise enough money so Peter Pan can fly,” she said.
Muir said she is eager to serve the community she cherishes. It takes a lot to run a facility in a small area such as the Plateau, she said, but she is excited for the full community of support that she will be receiving.
“I hope that (everyone) will join me in my enthusiasm for the arts and in my appreciation for having a facility like this in Highlands that is truly special. Most towns of our size have nothing of this caliber and so it should be celebrated and cherished and utilized by everybody,” she said.
- Kevin McCall
reporter@highlandsnews.com