Colleen Kollar Smith

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT COLLEEN KOLLAR SMITH

Colleen Kollar Smith is the Inaugural Executive Director of UC San Diego\'s Campus Performance and Events Office where she oversees ArtPower, Campus Events, the Epstein Family Amphitheater, and the Loft. Prior to stepping into this role, she served as the Executive Producer for Moonlight Stage Productions and Operational Manager for the Recreation and Community Services Department for the City of Vista where she oversees the operations of the Moonlight Amphitheatre, 385-seat Avo Playhouse, Wave Waterpark, historic Rancho Buena Vista Adobe, and Public Arts Program. She specializes in sustainable program and revenue growth, donor cultivation and stewardship, creative programming, and collaborative partnerships. She believes in the power of art to bring communities together and is passionate about building resilience within the arts and civic sectors. A native San Diegan, Smith began her career in theatre as a performer, choreographer, director, and creator. Over the years, she has received four Craig Noel Awards from the San Diego Critics Circle for her creative work. She has a BA in Drama from the University of California, Irvine and an MA from University of San Diego in Nonprofit Leadership and Management. In 2019, Smith became a Lecturer for the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of California, San Diego where she teaches a three-part series of theoretical courses for graduate Stage Management students each fall. She was an inaugural grantee of the Murray Galinson Fellowship through the Association of Fundraising Professionals and is proud to volunteer at her daughters’ schools and serves as an advisor for various nonprofits, including Blindspot Collective and LEARN Foundation.