Guy Yedwab, League of Independent Theater

Guy Yedwab is a graduate of the Executive Program in Arts & Culture Strategy class of 2017 and the Managing Director of Operations for the League of Independent Theater. Based in New York City, The League is an all-volunteer run (this includes Guy’s position) advocacy organization formed to unify the voices and protect the interests of those who work in and enjoy independent theater throughout the city.

Getting strategic was Guy’s primary goal when enrolling in the Executive Program in Arts & Culture Strategy. The League had been existing, “a bit hand to mouth,” as Guy describes it. He knew that if they kept managing like they were a small theater production, the team would keep burning out and they wouldn’t be able to scale in order to do consistent work, which they were ready and willing to do.

“My ability to lead and manage strategically is now night and day to what is was before I entered the program,” says Guy. He credits the program with building confidence in his leadership abilities, helping him find a much clearer path of where he was headed and what he was asking of others, both internally and externally. While participating in the Nonprofit Finance course, a cornerstone to the program’s curriculum, Guy applied for two grants on behalf of the League. These were the first grants the organization ever applied for. Both were awarded. The grantor of the larger grant they received had never worked with an organization as small as the League. The CFO was brought into the process in order to approve the grant because the review team was set on awarding the League this grant. Guy believes that, “a huge part of getting their buy-in was us having the confidence. We were able to say, ‘Yes, we are tiny, but we have the processes and the materials in place to be treated seriously and set the expectation that we can accomplish what we are setting out to do.’”