Laura Aden Packer
Program Director, Arts

“New Jersey is home to an incredible array of theaters, museums, dance companies, symphonies and community-based arts programs.   I am truly honored to work with our state's extraordinary cultural community.  And being at the Dodge Foundation allows me to combine a lifelong love of the arts with an opportunity to make a difference."

Laura Aden Packer’s journey to her present position at the Dodge Foundation began in her family's music and art-filled home in New York City and continued through her early years as a piano student at the Juilliard School's Preparatory Division.  A chance performance of the musical “Two Gentlemen of Verona" at her neighborhood playground, however, proved pivotal. The performers included Raul Julia and Clifton Davis, the touring company was the New York Shakespeare Festival, and "the experience that evening changed my life," she explains. "My friends and I started playing handball less and going to the theater more."

Leaving New York behind, Laura traveled to the University of Wisconsin - Madison where she received her B.A. in Political Science and English. Following a two-year stint as a legislative aide in the Wisconsin State Senate, Laura worked as a paralegal for Western Wisconsin Legal Services. Fateful federal cuts in the Legal Aid budget led Laura back to theatre, and for six seasons, she worked at American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin in a variety of administrative roles. Her experience there proved a valuable training ground; she eventually came home to the east coast to assume the role of General Manager of the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival.
 
In 1988 Laura was tapped to become the New Jersey Theatre Alliance’s first Executive Director, a position she held for 13 years. During her time there, she received numerous awards for her work, including The Prudential Prize for Non-Profit Leadership, New Jersey Monthly’s Pride Award, and the Arts Council of the Morris Area's "Advocate of the Year” Award.  In 1998, Laura was named by the Star-Ledger as one of the "25 Most Influential People in New Jersey Arts.”

Laura was a founding board member of ArtPride/New Jersey, the state’s arts advocacy organization. She was also a member of the 1996 class of Leadership New Jersey, an intensive year-long program that prepared her well to work across the Foundation’s diverse program areas. 

Laura joined the Dodge staff in July 2001.