Lisa Kitei has been promoted to president of the Broward Performing Arts Foundation. She previously served as its executive director.
Kitei also serves as vice president of development for the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. In her dual role, she is responsible for the development, planning and implementation of fundraising strategy to support the Broward Center’s capital needs as well as programming, education and engagement initiatives for the South Florida community.
Most recently, Kitei led the $60 million Encore! capital campaign to renovate, renew and revitalize the Broward Center. The Encore! project was completed in the summer of 2015, and resulted in the construction of two new facilities and renovations to all of the existing buildings on the campus. The fundraising campaign raised nearly 50 percent more than was originally projected, allowing for the project to be completed on schedule and within budget.
Before joining the leadership team of the Broward Center in 2008, Kitei was vice president of corporate communications for JM Family Enterprises overseeing public relations, corporate events, charitable giving and community affairs for JM Family, Southeast Toyota and JM Lexus. She began her South Florida career at the Broward Center in 2002 where she directed the launch of the Riverwalk Arts and Entertainment initiative.
Prior to that, she spent ten years in marketing and communications with The Walt Disney Company in New York City serving as vice president for both Walt Disney Theatrical Productions and for Disney Publishing. She previously had a successful career in book publishing at HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster.
Active in the community, Kitei is currently a member of Funding Arts Broward (FAB!), and the Children’s Opportunity Group (COG) and volunteers for PAWS for the Humane Society of Broward County where she served multiple years as co-chair of PAWS on the Green. She has served on the executive committee of the board of directors of Habitat for Humanity of Broward, the board of the Association for Fundraising Professionals and the board of the Planned Giving Council and is a past-chair of the Leadership Florida Regional Advisory Council. She is a graduate of both Leadership Florida (Class XXIII) and Leadership Broward (SEO 2004).
Kitei earned her bachelor’s degree in English from Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. She is a resident of Fort Lauderdale.
For more than 25 years, the Broward Performing Arts Foundation has been instrumental in providing support for the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. The Foundation was established in 1985 to deliver the required private funding to build the Center and create an endowment to sustain its operations. Over the years, the Foundation has successfully raised funds to support the Broward Center’s innovative and diverse programming, arts-in-education initiatives, community engagement activities and capital projects.
About Broward Center for the Performing Arts
The Broward Center for the Performing Arts, located at 201 SW Fifth Avenue in Fort Lauderdale, is one of North America’s premier performing arts venues and the cultural heart of Broward County. Presenting more than 700 events each year to more than 700,000 patrons, the Broward Center offers a wide range of exciting cultural programming and events to South Florida residents and thousands of tourists annually. The Broward Performing Arts Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, receives and maintains funds to promote, foster, sponsor and develop the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. For additional information, visit www.BrowardCenter.org.
