ADVISORY BOARD AND TEAM
Thank you to the generous individuals of the Advisory Board who have offered their support and guidance to SFDanceworks:
Joanna Berman
Davidson Bidwell & Edwin Waite
Sally Glaser & David Bower
James Sofranko & Cynthia Sheppard Sofranko
Timothy Streb & Myra Gamble
BRETT CONWAY
GENEVIEVE WEEKS
TEAM
CHRISTINA RUTTER
Operations and Administration
With a background rooted in arts administration and a love for getting things organized behind the scenes, Christina has spent the past two decades working with some of San Francisco’s most iconic cultural institutions. She currently serves as Board Relations Manager at the San Francisco Symphony, where she ensures board operations run smoothly and strategically. Prior to that, she held several roles at San Francisco Ballet, most recently as Dean of School Administration, where she oversaw everything from budgeting and enrollment to student wellness and operational planning.
Born and raised in San Francisco, Christina spent most of her free time in a dance studio—and the rest on MUNI getting there. She trained primarily at San Francisco Ballet School before discovering a passion for nonprofit arts administration. She earned her Bachelor of Business Administration with a focus in arts management from American University in Washington, D.C.
Christina is grateful to live and work in her hometown and is dedicated to supporting resilient arts institutions through behind-the-scenes excellence and thoughtful leadership.
LAUREN STRONGIN
Marketing
Lauren Strongin (she/her) was born in Los Gatos, California, and grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona. At 11, she was offered a full scholarship to attend The Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, DC. In 1999, she was awarded a full scholarship to the John Cranko-Schule in Stuttgart, Germany. She was a finalist at the Prix de Lausanne International Ballet Competition in Switzerland and IBC at Jackson, Mississippi.
Lauren joined Sarasota Ballet and quickly was promoted to Principal dancer. She then danced for Houston Ballet and finally, as a soloist for San Francisco Ballet. Her classical repertoire includes principal roles in Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Les Sylphides, Paquita, Giselle, Balanchine’s Coppélia, The Nutcracker, Le Corsair, and Cranko’s Onegin among others. She danced principal roles by Ashton, MacMillan, Balanchine, Robbins, Van Manen, Bourne, Tudor, Cranko, Kylián, Morris, Tharp, Possokhov, Wheeldon, Tomasson, Ratmansky, and Forsythe. She created roles in ballets by Scarlett, Morris, Elo, Barton, Peck, and others.
Lauren retired from a professional ballet career in 2019. She is a certified instructor for the Dance for Parkinson’s program, has interned with the SF Ballet in their wellness department, focusing on mental healthcare accessibility for dancers, and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco in their development department and has designed costumes for SFDanceworks and other companies. Lauren has managed social media and marketing for several small companies. Currently, she is a stager and trustee for the Liam Scarlett Trust and is completing her degree in American Studies and Masters in Communications at Stanford University.
She is most proud to be mother to her daughter Cy with her husband Joseph Walsh. They live in San Francisco.
Photo credit: Ryan Strongin