Understanding Opera's New Audiences Webinar
Dan Cooperman, chief advancement officer, OPERA America
Dan Cooperman, chief advancement officer, joined OA in 2015 and oversees the organization’s development, membership, marketing, and communications. He previously served as director of development for BalletX, a contemporary ballet company in Philadelphia.
Matthew Jenetopulos, senior research associate, Slover Linett
An experienced research manager and methodologist, Matthew Jenetopulos collaborates with Slover Linett’s project directors and leadership team to conduct and interpret strategic, equitable studies that help our cultural clients achieve their community goals. He has played key roles in our pandemic-era national research and strategy collaboration, Culture & Community reporting specifically on Massachusetts residents, and has been keenly focused in exploring digital engagement, co-authoring a section of Slover Linett’s “Centering the Picture” report. He has also helped orchestral clients (Minnesota Orchestra and The Cleveland Orchestra) explore what comes next after the pandemic. In addition, he has designed survey research and led statistical analysis for the Brookfield Zoo, Morton Arboretum, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Irvine Foundation, and Levitt Foundation, among other projects.
Prior to joining Slover Linett in 2019, Matthew worked in both research and the arts. He ran a small regional orchestra in Connecticut and later coordinated programs, marketing, and development for Midwest Young Artists, one of the largest ensemble-based youth music programs in the country. He later switched to social research, becoming a research analyst for aQity Research, where he programmed surveys, recruited respondents, and managed research studies for clients including park districts and financial services companies.
After graduating from Interlochen Arts Academy, Matthew began his undergraduate studies at Lawrence University in violin performance, graduated from the University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music with a bachelor’s degree in music management, then earned an MBA in marketing and data analytics from Loyola University Chicago’s Quinlan School of Business. Outside of work, he can be found performing with the South Shore Orchestra, running, playing piano, and cooking in northwest Indiana where he lives with his wife Malorie and their children Elinor and Henry.
Anh Le, director of marketing and PR, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
Anh Le is the Publications and Brand Manager at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Prior to moving to St. Louis, she served as the Communications Associate for The Santa Fe Opera and the Associate Director of Marketing at Yale Rep. A lifelong arts lover, she has also worked with companies including the Yale School of Music (New Haven, CT), Opera Holland Park (London), and A.R.T. (Cambridge, MA). Anh received her BA from Harvard University in 2012, where she was awarded the Robert E. Levi Prize for excellence in arts administration. In 2015, she also received an MFA in Theater Management from the Yale School of Drama.
Marc A. Scorca, president & CEO, OPERA America
Marc A. Scorca joined OPERA America in 1990 as president and CEO. Since that time, the OPERA America membership has grown from 120 opera companies to 3,500 organizations and individuals. Under his leadership, OPERA America has administered two landmark funding initiatives in support of the development of North American operas and opera audiences and launched an endowment effort in 2000 to create a permanent fund dedicated to supporting new works and audience development activities. In 2005, Scorca spearheaded OPERA America’s relocation from Washington, D.C. to New York City and the subsequent construction of the National Opera Center, which opened in 2012 and serves 80,000 guests each year. The Opera Center’s recital hall was dedicated as Marc A. Scorca Hall in 2015 in honor of Scorca’s 25th anniversary with the organization.
Scorca has led strategic planning retreats for opera companies and other cultural institutions internationally, and has participated on panels for federal, state, and local funding agencies, as well as for numerous private organizations. He also appears frequently in the media on a variety of cultural issues. A strong advocate of collaboration, Scorca has led several cross-disciplinary projects, including the Performing Arts Research Coalition and the National Performing Arts Convention (2004 and 2008). He is currently a member of the U.S. delegation to UNESCO. Scorca serves as an officer on the boards of the Performing Arts Alliance and the Curtis Institute of Music, and is on the Music Advisory Board of Hunter College (CUNY). Scorca attended Amherst College, where he graduated with high honors in both history and music.
Tanya Treptow, co-director, senior research scientist, Slover Linett
A user-experience researcher, story-seeker, and meaning-maker, Tanya Treptow helps museums, performing arts, and cultural organizations (loosely defined) to evolve new roles in their communities. She uses anthropological and sociological tools to understand the deeper mechanisms of public engagement: how people see the world, how they connect to each other, and how cultural experiences fit into the picture. Tanya’s passion for naturalistic and participatory research methods, coupled with her background in experience design, has helped her support individual arts and culture organizations as well as broader change initiatives and learning communities, including OF/BY/FOR ALL, the Irvine Foundation’s New California Arts Fund, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Cleveland Orchestra, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and Folk Alliance International. Tanya has contributed to several of Slover Linett’s recent national public reports, including Black Perspectives on Creativity, Trustworthiness, Welcome and Well-Being: A Qualitative Study (part of Culture + Community in a Time of Transformation: A Special Edition of Culture Track) as well as Turn Up the Mic , Tune Up the Future: A National Research Study of Roots Musicians in the U.S (funded by Whippoorwill Arts).
Before joining Slover Linett in 2015, Tanya worked in curatorial departments at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, researching and curating exhibitions of Egyptian, Indian, and Himalayan art. She was also a senior user experience specialist at Centralis, a research and design consultancy. She has presented on evaluation and technology at conferences including Museums and the Web, EdUI, and Museum Computer Network. Tanya began her academic training in computer science but switched to the social sciences, earning a B.S. in anthropology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and a PhD in Islamic archaeology from the University of Chicago. While there, she also worked at UChicago’s Center for the Study of Languages and is conversant in Arabic (while also dabbling in Turkish, French, German, Polish, and Chinese). Tanya enjoys the adventures of parenthood and sharing her love of nature and camping with her young sons, Jasper and Roscoe.
Bayaz Zeynalova, senior research associate, Slover Linett
Bayaz Zeynalova joined the Slover Linett team in July 2021 as Research Manager, bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge that adds to the project management efficiency and overall rigor of our research. She is already hard at work supporting both qualitative and quantitative project teams across the firm, including engagements with, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The High Line and Brookfield Zoo.
Prior to joining Slover Linett, Bayaz came from a background in international non-profit management. She managed multi-stakeholder projects in the fields ranging from refugee assistance and fighting human trafficking, to education and public health. Early in her non-profit career Bayaz developed a strong interest in program evaluation and social research; to pursue this interest, she initiated several learning and assessment initiatives. She conducted research on small business environments, female entrepreneurship, prevalence of drug use, road safety, as well as program evaluation for OECD, German Development Cooperation, SOS Children’s Villages and Junior Achievement in the South Caucasus.
Bayaz holds a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Michigan and bachelor’s in economics from Baku State University. She recently earned a certificate in museum studies from Northwestern University and a Project Management Professional certification. She is passionate about evaluation of informal learning and family engagement in museums. Bayaz enjoys spending time with her daughters, making macrame creations and taking care of her houseplant collection.