MADISON — Overture Center for the Arts and incoming President and CEO Sandra Gajic recently announced the appointment of Emily Gruenewald as vice president of development.

“We are very pleased that Ms. Gruenewald is coming on board to lead our development team,” Gajic said. “Her background in both fundraising and the arts provide incredible expertise to advance the department and strategize to substantially increase contributed support for Overture.” 

Gruenewald, a Monroe native, comes to Overture with over 17 years of nonprofit management experience, specializing in major gift fundraising, volunteer engagement and strategic planning with a focus on the arts and higher education.

In 2002, Gruenewald began her career with Children’s Theater Madison as education and outreach coordinator and has held executive director roles with the Madison Youth Choirs, Janesville Performing Arts Center and most recently served as executive director of philanthropy and alumni engagement at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater for the past five years.

Previously at UW-Whitewater, Gruenewald held the position of director of development and advancement liaison to the College of Business and Economics. 

For several years, Gruenewald served as a reviewer for Overture Center’s Jerry Awards, one of Wisconsin’s high school musical awards programs, which encourages, recognizes and honors excellence in high school musical theater. She holds a BA in Theatre from the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities and an MBA from UW-Whitewater.

“In many ways, joining the Overture administration is a homecoming,” Gruenewald said. “Its predecessor, the Madison Civic Center, was where my love of the arts was stimulated as a child and I began my professional career working with its resident arts groups. Overture Center is a gem for the Madison region and I look forward to working with the community to ensure it remains a world-class facility where all are welcome, entertained and inspired.”

On Oct. 8, Grue-newald will step into the position formerly held by Glenda Noel-Ney, past vice president of advancement at Overture Center of the Arts, who accepted a position at Jazz at Lincoln Center in April.

Overture Center for the Arts in Madison features seven state-of-the-art performance spaces and five galleries where national and international touring artists, 10 resident companies and hundreds of local artists engage people in nearly 600,000 educational and artistic experiences each year.