Met Opera appoints first chief diversity officer
Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Marcia Lynn Sells has been appointed to the new role at the Metropolitan Opera, taking up the position in February.
Sells comes from Harvard Law School, where, as Dean of Students, she led on the creation and implementation of a range of diversity programmes.
At the Met Opera she will be responsible for developing new diversity initiatives, enhancing existing programmes, and managing the company's HR department.
Peter Gelb, the Met's general manager said: 'At a time when social justice rightly demands that we address the inequities of our art form, I'm pleased that we have chosen the ideal candidate in Marcia for implementing long overdue and necessary change.
'We need to create artistic and administrative pathways for people of colour to achieve equity among our artists and artisans and for all of our employees and members of our board.'
Sells said: 'I am thrilled to be joining the Met's very talented team, which is clearly committed to dismantling racial inequalities within the institution.
'I look forward to expanding the work that the Met has embarked on to create a more inclusive workplace that values the diversity of its staff and the audiences it serves. As someone who started out as a dancer, it feels like a wonderful homecoming to return to a performing arts organisation, especially one that is determined to elevate all voices and identities.'
One of Sells's first responsibilities will be to put into place a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) plan, which will inform the Met's hiring, artistic planning and audience-engagement initiatives.
She will also work to identify systemic and structural inequities across the company.
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