Lyric Opera of Chicago announces Jennifer Elaine Boyd as the new Vice President of People & Culture

CHICAGO (9/14/2022) – The Leadership team at Lyric Opera of Chicago is pleased to announce that Jennifer Elaine Boyd will join the company as its new Vice President of People & Culture. Boyd comes to Lyric as the next step in a successful career as a senior human resources executive and consultant. She has worked with several significant nonprofit organizations, including YMCA of the USA and After School Matters.

"Jennifer Elaine Boyd’s extensive experience is sure to advance Lyric’s goals, for this department and for the company. Through her commitment to promoting a culture of inclusion and the advancement of Lyric’s mission, Jennifer will be an integral force in the company’s future," says Roberta Lane, Lyric’s chief financial and administrative officer. "Jennifer is already well-versed in human resources within the nonprofit sector, with both corporate and arts organizations being a part of her work history. Her dedication to serving communities aligns with Lyric’s tradition of engaging audiences through the power of opera. Her 15-year career will further enrich our connection to the city and our employees."

A self-described champion of people, Boyd’s impressive career includes substantial experience with the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago, where she managed talent acquisition and HR operations for the organization's more than 30 extension sites and its roughly 5,000 employees. At YMCA of the USA she became the Senior Director of Talent Acquisition and Employee Engagement, managing nationwide recruitment and leading employee engagement during her tenure. Prior to joining Lyric, she held the role of Director of Human Resources for After School Matters, a non-profit organization that provides life-changing after-school and summer program opportunities to nearly 19,000 Chicago high school teens each year. Her career has also included collaborations with the University of Chicago, Boston Consulting Group, and many other significant partner organizations. She holds an MBA in human resources management and a bachelor’s degree in management from Robert Morris University in Illinois.

The nationwide search for Lyric's new Vice President of People & Culture was conducted by Koya Partners. Boyd begins her new role on October 10, 2022.

About Lyric

Lyric Opera of Chicago is committed to redefining what it means to experience great opera. The company is driven to deliver consistently excellent artistry through innovative, relevant, celebratory programming that engages and energizes new and traditional audiences.

Under the leadership of General Director, President & CEO Anthony Freud, Music Director Enrique Mazzola, and Special Project Advisor Renée Fleming, Lyric is dedicated to reflecting, and drawing strength from, the diversity of Chicago. Lyric offers, through innovation, collaboration, and evolving learning opportunities, ever-more exciting, accessible, and thought-provoking audience and community experiences. We also stand committed to training the artists of the future, through The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center; and to becoming increasingly diverse across our audiences, staff, programming, and artists—magnifying the welcoming pull of our art form, our company, and our city.

Through the timeless power of voice, the splendor of a great orchestra and chorus, theater, dance, design, and truly magnificent stagecraft, Lyric is devoted to immersing audiences in worlds both familiar and unexpected, creating shared experiences that resonate long after the curtain comes down.

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