Cynthia Fuhrman

Vice President, Executive Search

Cynthia Fuhrman has worked in arts administration for over 30 years, most recently as Managing Director at Portland Center Stage in Portland, Oregon, where she is based. Cynthia has served in staff leadership positions encompassing responsibilities in marketing, public relations, fundraising, finance, human resources, strategic planning, arts advocacy, and community engagement at several of the country’s largest theater companies, including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Seattle Repertory Theatre. Throughout her career she has served as an advisor and consultant to numerous other arts producing and service organizations (ranging from the Portland Area Theater Alliance to the Americans for the Arts) and has held board positions at Theater Communications Group (TCG), the League of Resident Theatres (LORT), Oregon’s Cultural Advocacy Coalition, and the national Professional Non-Profit Theatre Coalition. In two forays away from the arts world, Cynthia became COO at the launch of eyescream interactive, which within three years grew to be the largest digital advertising agency in the Northwest with a client base including Microsoft, Universal Studios, and Proctor & Gamble; and spent a year with the City of Portland’s Office of Sustainable Development as Director of Communications, charged with the behavioral change challenge of converting the city’s residents to a new recycling program.

Cynthia has had the pleasure of presenting at numerous conferences and convenings over the years for TCG, the National Arts Marketing Project, and the Kennedy Center’s ASPIRE program, among others; and has been a guest lecturer in arts administration for the University of Portland, Willamette University, Oregon State University, and Portland State University. She was in the inaugural cohort of ArtEquity’s Facilitator Training Program and has served as a mentor in the LORT Equity committee’s professional development program. Cynthia attended the University of Oregon, Richmond College/the American University of London, and Southern Oregon University, and holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in Humanities.