Mar 23, 2023
David Fischer
How to innovate a 3,000-year-old business

David Fischer’s professional background in the arts began as a professional theater artist in 1977. His degrees in theater and film (BA, MFA), combined with his Leadership Certificate from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, furthered by his work experience, have allowed him to become deeply invested in the arts through theater production, performing arts presenting, youth education, arts management, fundraising, advocacy, university teaching, and urban design. Previously, he has worked as:

  • Producing Artistic Director for Tacoma Little Theatre
  • Executive Director of the Pierce County Arts Commission
  • Deputy Executive Director of Broadway Center for the Performing Arts
  • Executive Director of the Luther Burbank Center in Santa Rosa, California

Fischer reorganized the Luther Burbank Center, including its staff, fundraising, capital investment, endowment growth, governance, and programmatic impact resulting in an improvement to the balance sheet of $14 million in 5.5 years, and the creation of a new community hospital adjacent to the arts campus.

Since 2006, Fischer has served as Executive Director of Tacoma’s non-profit performing arts center, Tacoma Arts Live, working to transform the organization to focus on strengthening its service to the community, particularly in:

  • Education through the arts,
  • DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion, and access)
  • Historic facility improvements and preservation
  • Economic development for Pierce County
  • Professional theater production
  • Advocacy for public funding of arts, heritage and science non-profits.