LCA Welcomes Two New Staff Members

Welcoming Elsa Hiltner as our new Associate Director of Programs.

Starting on June 1, the full-time staff of Lawyers for the Creative Arts will increase by a whopping 33% with the addition of a new position — Associate Director of Programs. Elsa Hiltner is joining LCA as the first holder of that position.

Elsa brings a wealth of experience in the performing arts community. She began in theater as a costume designer and she has worked in various capacities for Collaboraction theater, including her prior position as head of Development. Along the way, Elsa developed insights into many of the structural challenges facing arts organizations and arts workers, and she has devoted her time and passion to making a difference. In particular, she has worked hard to create progress in the challenging area of pay equity. She has a national reputation as an arts advocate, based on her essays in industry publications, speaking on panels, and creating pay equity tools and resources for arts organizations. She is currently completing a project for a major Chicago arts school in analyzing and improving their compensation-related protocols. 

LCA’s Executive Director Jan Feldman stated, “The past few years have seen a huge expansion of LCA’s portfolio of educational programs, each created from the learned experience of representing tens of thousands of individual artists and arts organizations with their legal needs. We’re incredibly excited to have Elsa’s unique background to assist us in developing new programs to help those in the arts to thrive in uncertain times.”


Daryl Ritchie is our new Operations Manager.

Daryl Ritchie, the current Executive Assistant and Financial Officer of The Den Theatre, will be replacing John O’Neill as LCA’s Operations Manager. Daryl is completing a Masters degree in Performing Arts Administration at Roosevelt University. Their undergraduate degree is from Tennessee State University in Communications with a focus in theater production. A lifelong learner and advocate for art’s power to build community, Daryl has worked extensively with the Harriet Tubman Effect Institute, a human resource center and institute for justice advocacy research. Daryl also serves on the board of Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre, where they previously held the staff positions of Company Manager and Managing Director.

“We’re of course thrilled to have someone of Daryl Ritchie’s caliber and experience to assume this important position,” said Jan Feldman. “We’ve got so much going on at LCA – with two major programs during June, and the ongoing celebration of our 50th Anniversary. We were looking for someone who can hit the ground running, and in Daryl we have certainly found that person!”

Our Operations Manager is at the center of everything we do at LCA, and our current Operations Manager, John O’Neill, has truly made LCA a stronger, more productive, and better organized company in all kinds of ways. John will be completing a Masters in Education at DePaul University before pursuing teaching at the high school level next year. “We are certainly disappointed to lose him,” said Jan Feldman. “It’s no exaggeration to say that we will continue to benefit from John’s great work for many years to come. We wish him the best of luck in his new profession.”

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