Palace Theatre director named Cultural Trust interim CEO

The Westmoreland Cultural Trust has named the operations and programming director for The Palace Theatre in Greensburg as its interim chief executive.

Teresa Baughman, who has worked for the Trust since 1995, will lead the Trust in the role as interim CEO, in the wake of its former CEO leaving the organization last month.

Tim Fedele, chairman of the organization’s board of directors, announced the move Thursday.

“Teresa has the board’s unequivocal support to continue the Trust’s important role in the community,” Fedele said. “She was far and away the best candidate. Teresa is terrific.”

The former CEO, April Kopas, left the organization June 20, according to a statement the nonprofit issued last month. The Trust did not offer an explanation for the departure of Kopas, a former Westmoreland County planning director who had led the organization since June 2019. Kopas has not offered a public comment on her departure.

Baughman, a Unity resident, said she is honored to be selected as the interim CEO. She believes that “the most important thing is to maintain stability right now.”

The Cultural Trust, which also operates the Greensburg Garden and Civic Center, is still recovering from the aftereffects of the pandemic, when performers did not resume national tours until July 2021, Baughman said.

She is on the board of the Greensburg Civic Theatre and is a member of the Consortium of Eastern Regional Theatres. Inc. and the Association of Performing Arts Professionals.

A search firm will be hired and the board will conduct a national search for Kopas’ replacement, Fedele said. The process could take several months before a new CEO is hired.

The search committee has not yet written a job description for the next CEO, Fedele said.

He said internal and external candidates will be considered.