OSF announces appointment of interim executive director

Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Oregon Shakespeare Festival sign. Graham Lewis photo
June 1, 2023

Former Adobe executive, Ashland resident Tyler Hokama to lead business and financial operations effective immediately

Ashland.news staff report

A former top Silicon Valley executive who retired to Ashland in 2016 will take up the reins at Oregon Shakespeare Festival on an interim basis effective immediately, the company announced today, June 1.

Tyler Hokama takes over from an OSF board committee, which itself succeeded interim Executive Director Nataki Garrett, who added those responsibilities on top of her artistic director role with the departure of prior Executive Director David Schmitz on Jan. 11. Garrett’s resignation, announced May 2, was effective Wednesday, May 31.

Tyler Hokama

“Tyler brings to OSF exceptional leadership skills, finance expertise, business acumen, and turnaround experience in complex organizations,” says OSF Board Chair Diane Yu. “He has been active in the Ashland community, including serving on two regional theater company boards and advising local businesses for years. He will help us in numerous ways — to revamp our finance operations; develop a more sustainable business model; foster relationships with local businesses, audiences, and donors; and strengthen our fragile infrastructure.”

Hokama was senior director, chief of staff for technology and corporate development when he left Adobe in 2016 after nearly 10 years with the software colossus headquartered in San Jose, California. Prior that he was director for corporate development for mergers and acquisition integration, after serving as director of business operations.

That followed eight years with Hewlett-Packard as a director in customer operations, and shorter stints with Bank of America and T. Rowe Price.

Hokama earned a bachelor’s degree at Pomona College and master’s at Duke University.

He currently serves as a board member with Camelot Theatre and Rogue Theater Company. He was also a consultant and business advisor with the Southern Oregon University Small Business Development Center for more than two years.

“I’m a lifelong theater lover. In 2016, my wife and I decided to make the move and retire in Ashland, and we’ve now been coming to OSF for 19 seasons,” Hokama said in a statement released by OSF. “I’m committed to OSF because it deserves to thrive. The organization has some of the most talented and dedicated people that I know. However, OSF has grown up to be one of the largest regional theaters in the country without bringing along systems and processes to support it. We need to stabilize that so we can support our fundamental operations, as all businesses our size should. The other challenge is that we need to improve the business model so that it is viable for the long-term.”

Hokama’s appointment comes at a critical time for fundraising at OSF, the company said in the announcement. In April, a fundraising campaign called “The Show Must Go On: Save Our Season, Save OSF” launched with the goal of reaching $2.5 million to complete the 2023 season. Shortly after announcing the campaign, the Tykeson Family Foundation offered to match up to $500,000 in donations — an amount raised in only eight days following the match announcement, the release said. Thanks to the success of the campaign, the largely grassroots effort raised over $2.7 million and enabled OSF to kick off its season, with “Rent” and “Romeo and Juliet” playing to packed houses and rave reviews in the Angus Bowmer Theatre. The summer outdoor season launched this week with the return of the fan-favorite Green Show and the start of performances for “Twelfth Night” and “The Three Musketeers” in OSF’s iconic Allen Elizabethan Theatre.

With the first critical phase of the fundraising campaign complete, the company said it is now focusing on reaching its annual fundraising and ticket sales goals by the end of its fiscal year on Oct. 31. This will mean raising an additional $7.3 million, which will allow OSF to complete its season as planned.

Additional fundraising and ticket sales goals for 2024 will be announced following the annual budgeting process later this summer, OSF said.

Email Ashland.news Executive Editor Bert Etling at [email protected] or call or text him at 541-631-1313.

Picture of Bert Etling

Bert Etling

Bert Etling is the executive editor of Ashland.news. Email him at [email protected].

Related Posts...

‘Do No Harm, Be a Good Neighbor’: Community event on immigration Monday

The Ashland Sunrise Project is hosting an opportunity for community members to learn about current immigration issues and how to be in solidarity with those potentially impacted by the changing political climate on immigration. The event, titled “How To Do No Harm and Be a Good Neighbor,” is set for 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24, at Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (RVUUF), 87 4th St., Ashland.

Read More »

Our Sponsors

Klamath Bird Observatory Experience the wonders of Souteast Brazil Ashland Oregon
Conscious Design Build Ashland Oregon
Pronto Printing Ashland Medford Southern Oregon

Latest posts

Ask Strider: The fire outside

Ask Strider: A reader wants to know why a dog advice column is taking up space when the world is on fire. And another reader asks if Strider is prepared for a fire on his home turf. As usual, our Dog About Town does the best he can to pour water on the flames of anxiety.

Read More >

‘Do No Harm, Be a Good Neighbor’: Community event on immigration Monday

The Ashland Sunrise Project is hosting an opportunity for community members to learn about current immigration issues and how to be in solidarity with those potentially impacted by the changing political climate on immigration. The event, titled “How To Do No Harm and Be a Good Neighbor,” is set for 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24, at Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (RVUUF), 87 4th St., Ashland.

Read More >

Obituary: Eliane Viner

Obituary: Eliane A. Mueller Trapp Viner, 86, died on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024 — on her own terms and surrounded by loved ones — in Medford, Oregon, after three months of hospice care. A celebration of life will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 1, in Ashland, Oregon, and online.

Read More >

Our Sponsors

City of Ashland Public Notice Ashland Oregon
Ashland Parks and Recreation Ashland Oregon
Ashland.news House Ad

Explore More...

Last week's extended stretch of snowy weather tested Ashland's capacity to offer the unhoused shelter out of the storm. With just 14 sleeping spots available at the city's shelter, other organizations opened additional spaces, and the city temporarily raised its capacity due to emergency conditions.
The Ashland Sunrise Project is hosting an opportunity for community members to learn about current immigration issues and how to be in solidarity with those potentially impacted by the changing political climate on immigration. The event, titled “How To Do No Harm and Be a Good Neighbor,” is set for 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24, at Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (RVUUF), 87 4th St., Ashland.
Two weeks after its first February meeting was canceled due to unsafe road conditions due to snow, the Ashland City Council takes up business Tuesday, Feb. 17, it had expected to handle on Feb. 4. Its Feb. 3 study session, however, which was also canceled, is still pending as Monday, Feb. 17, was Presidents Day.
Family, community members and longtime friends of Medford native Bill Thorndike Jr. were collectively at a loss for words over the weekend at the sudden loss of a man they say had a hand in nearly anything good to happen in Southern Oregon for much of the past half-century. Thorndike, 71, suffered a heart attack early Saturday morning, just following a Valentine’s Day spent with his wife, Angela Thorndike, at a family cabin on Whidbey Island in Washington’s Puget Sound.
About 150 people rallied on Ashland Plaza on Monday, part of a series of nationwide protests on Presidents Day, most organized by the 50501 Movement, which stands for "50 protests. 50 states. 1 movement," in a response to what organizers describe as "the anti-democratic and illegal actions of the Trump administration."
ashland.news logo

Subscribe to the newsletter and get local news sent directly to your inbox.

(It’s free)

Don't Miss Our Top Stories

Get our newsletter delivered to your inbox three times a week.
It’s FREE and you can cancel anytime.