The Nantucket Dreamland, a nonprofit film and performing arts center, announced the selection of longtime Nantucket summer resident Joe Hale as its new Executive Director. Hale will fill the vacancy created by Melissa Murphy, who is leaving the position at the end of this week. The selection was made after a national search and selection process.
“We are very pleased to welcome Joe to the Dreamland,” said Bill Liddle, president of the Dreamland. “Joe will bring leadership and development skills to the Dreamland’s programs, as well as a deep commitment to the arts on Nantucket. He has a broad base of knowledge based on his professional and nonprofit experience which will serve the next phase of growth for the Dreamland very well.”
“I look forward to building upon the impressive work of Melissa Murphy and the staff at the Dreamland. It is a unique opportunity to blend my passion for and experience in the arts with my love of Nantucket and my business experience,” remarks Hale. “In addition to continuing the Dreamland’s decades long tradition of presenting quality films, I am also excited about enhancing the cultural opportunities for our year-round residents and making the Dreamland a true cultural center of Nantucket.”
Hale brings decades of experience and expertise in both the private and nonprofit sectors. He has recently served as volunteer founder and President of The Global BrightLight Foundation, the largest US based NGO providing solar lanterns to off grid families around the world. Prior to creating The Global BrightLight Foundation, Mr. Hale served as vice president & chief communications officer of Cinergy Corp. (now Duke Energy), and as President of Cinergy Foundation. During his 14-year career at Cinergy, he also served as president of Cincinnati Gas and Electric Company and of PSI Energy. Until recently, Mr. Hale was also an advisor to the Chairman of Duke Energy. Prior to his work in the energy industry, Hale worked in commercial real estate development and architecture.
Hale began his career as a high school teacher of theater, both in the US and in Germany. He then worked for the Indiana Arts Commission, Historic New Harmony, Inc., and served as executive director of the Metropolitan Arts Council of Indianapolis.
He has been a Trustee of more than a dozen nonprofit organizations, including Theatre Workshop of Nantucket, the Community Foundation for Nantucket, the Sconset Chapel, the Sconset Trust, and the Egan Maritime Institute, the National Underground Freedom Center, Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati Zoo, Taft Museum, Contemporary Arts Center of Cincinnati, Holocaust and Humanity Education Center, Hanover College, the Ohio Arts Council and Tennis for Charity, Inc,. He also served on the board of Fifth Third Funds for 13 years. He founded and chaired the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon and was a member of the Greater Cincinnati Port Authority. He has spoken on corporate citizenship to community and corporate audiences throughout the country.
During the past 15 years, Mr. Hale has raised more than $100 million for nonprofit organizations. He chaired the successful $37 million capital campaign for the striking new home of the Cincinnati Contemporary Art Center, and he chaired the $10 million campaign for the new Lindner Family YMCA in downtown Cincinnati.