In a news release, the organization said a national search firm was engaged to locate candidates for the position. However, after five months as interim, Brzozowska decided to put her name into consideration. The DCDC board of directors, seeing that all requirements for the position were being met by the interim, discontinued the search and offered Brzozowska the executive director position.
Brzozowska has four decades of arts management. In 1980 she co-founded and developed Cityfolk, a traditional and ethnic arts organization. She also directed Cityfolk for 18 years. Upon leaving Cityfolk, she served as DCDC executive director from 1999 to 2003. In 2003, she moved to Chicago and worked as the executive director of Luna Negra Dance Theater, a Latino contemporary dance company, until Feb. 2007. In Feb. 2007, she moved to Prescott, Arizona to work with Robert Gonzales at the Center for Living Compassion. She worked with Gonzales until her retirement in 2019.
DCDC states during Brzozowska’s previous tenure as executive director, she provided staff leadership that resulted in a notable turnaround. In her time as interim, she has “developed a strong, trusting rapport with the current artistic and administrative staff.” She is also credited as a “seasoned fundraiser with considerable skills in marketing and financial management.” Her plans to steer the company back to the profitable arena of touring will hope to ensure a significant revenue stream as in the past.
“We are pleased to formally select interim Executive Director Phyllis Brzozowska as the new executive director,” stated Charlotte Harris, acting board chair.
“I am extremely excited to be in this co-leadership model with Phyllis,” added DCDC Artistic Director Debbie Blunden-Diggs. “Having her step back into the space with her knowledge of the dance sector and her intimate knowledge of DCDC is exactly what we need to launch us into our 55th season.”
DCDC plans to unveil its 55th season Wednesday, June 21.
For more information, visit dcdc.org.
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