Fort Worth Opera’s general director Afton Battle. Photos courtesy Fort Worth Opera
In a press release Thursday, the Fort Worth Opera (FWO) announced that its general director Afton Battle has been appointed to the Board of OPERA America, the national advocate and service organization for opera. Battle was also elected to serve as council co-chair of the membership and development council. She joins the OPERA America Board of Directors and Membership Council less than a year after being appointed general director of Fort Worth Opera.
“I am thrilled that Ms. Battle has been selected to serve the international opera community and represent Fort Worth Opera on the Board of OPERA America and as council co-chair of OPERA America’s membership and development council. I am also extremely pleased that Dr. Ryan Krause will succeed me as chair this fall. His exemplary leadership of Fort Worth Opera’s general director Search and Governance Committees, along with Ms. Battle’s inspiring leadership of our amazing staff gives me great confidence that the future of Fort Worth Opera is in the best of hands,” board of trustees chair Nelson Claytor said in the release.
The announcement also included news that Ryan Krause was unanimously elected as the incoming chair of FWO’s board of trustees. After serving on the board for eight years and seven months as FWO’s acting general director in 2020, Claytor will complete his two-year term as chair of the board of trustees. Krause has served on the board since January 2020 and helped navigate the company through the pandemic.
“I am honored and humbled to be stepping into the role of board chair as we return to theaters with our 75th Anniversary Season,” Dr. Krause said in the release. “We are so unbelievably fortunate to have Afton Battle leading our company at this time, and I am truly excited to be able to work with her to continue rebuilding and strengthening FWO. Afton is a true visionary, and I share her ambition of making opera accessible to all the people of Fort Worth and the surrounding areas. She intends to make Fort Worth Opera ‘The People’s Company’ and I intend to do anything I can to help her make that vision a reality. I also want to express my sincere appreciation to Nelson Claytor for his tireless efforts as board chair — and for a while as acting general director — during one of the most difficult moments in the history of the operatic art form. Nelson’s commitment and dedication to FWO are an inspiration to me as I step into this role.”
In the release, FWO declared its dedication to establishing a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion which “starts from the top down.” With five new board members, the company stated that its spectrum is expanded with a selection of young professionals who also bring in broader BIPOC representation to the board. FWO’s new board members include Keon Anderson, Ashley Lacamp, Katherine Hernandez Polenz, Ebony R. Rose and Hayne Shumate.
— Rich Lopez
Fort Worth Opera’s newly elected board of trustees officers. From left: Ryan Krause, chair, treasurer Barbara Jordan and secretary Nicole Duvall.
FWO’s newest board members. From left: Keon Anderson, Hayne Shumate, Ashley Lacamp, Katherine Hernandez Polenz, Ebony R. Rose.