Congratulations to our incoming Fellows of the Institute: Kimberly Corbett Oates, Jim Streeter, and Dana Taylor!

Fellows achieve this recognition through many years of exceptional participation in various aspects of USITT and the live entertainment industry. To USITT, the Fellows are Members who are leaders in their craft or field and are an indispensable resource in continuing the work of the Institute. Fellows work together as peers to support the Institute in its advancement, fundraising, and outreach efforts.

Our new Fellows will be honored on Thursday, March 19 at 2:00 p.m., at our Awards Awards Awards ceremony in Long Beach as part of our 66th Annual Conference & Stage Expo. We hope to see you at the ceremony in Long Beach!

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Kimberly Corbett Oates

Since completing her MFA at Yale in 2005, Kimberly Corbett Oates has dedicated her professional life to actively applying her training in both stage productions and Theatre Facility projects as a member of the American Society of Theatre Consultants (ASTC) with Schuler Shook. The extent and quality of Kimberly’s work as a theatre consultant led to her becoming a full Partner in 2021. She has produced several publications, including Where Disciplines Meet: Designing the Creative Campus of the Future, International Council of Fine Arts Deans Program Book. October 2025, Production All Around: Immersion in Performing Arts Spaces, International Council of Fine Arts Deans Program Book. October 2023, Prepare for Immersive Environments, Venue Professional. Mar/Apr 2023, Next Up: The Hybrid Audience, International Council of Fine Arts Deans Program Book. October 2021, and Choosing Your Performing Arts Venue Type, International Council of Fine Arts Deans Program Book. October 2019.

Kimberly has also been very active with other professional organizations, including the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM), the AIA Dallas chapter, and the International Council of Fine Arts Deans (ICFAD). She is on the Board of Directors for IAVM Region 6. Kimberly was previously a member of the ESTA Technical Standards Program, serving the TSC and Floors, Rigging, and Control Protocols Working Groups.

Kimberly Corbett Oates joined USITT in her final year of her MFA in 2005. Quickly, she became involved in her interest in the Engineering Commission. Her dedicated involvement became obvious, and she was asked to serve as USITT Engineering Commissioner from 2011 to 2018. After, she took on a new task as Coordinator for Special Projects in the Engineering Commission from 2018 to 2022. She became a Member of the USITT Board of Directors in 2021 and is now serving a term on the Board until 2027.

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Jim Streeter

Jim Streeter began his professional career by completing the course of study at the famed Polakov Studio and Forum of Stage Design in New York City in 1985. Jim also completed two internships, one with Philadelphia Theatre in the Parks and the second with Syracuse Stage, prior to graduation. He then freelanced as a lighting and scenic designer throughout the Northeast for several years until taking a job as lighting designer and master electrician for the Program in Theatre and Dance at Princeton University in 1990. In 2000, he accepted the position of Production Manager, Performing Arts Services at the Frist Theatre at Princeton, the position that he continues to hold today. It is from here, at one of the most prestigious universities in the country, that he continues to train and mentor young people into our profession.

Jim’s USITT activities and commitment to the Institute have also been prolific and consequential. A Member for more than 30 years, he attended his first Conference in Pittsburg in 1997. From 2004 to 2010, Jim became very involved with the New York Section Board of Directors, serving in several capacities from Bylaws Committee Chair to Chair of the Section.

Starting in 2006, Jim presented his first program session at the Conference in Louisville, and by 2014, he had become a familiar face involved at Conferences. In 2016, he started his first of three terms on the Board of Directors, a position he continues to serve in today. Also in 2014, he was recruited by the Lighting Commission to become the Institute’s first Vice Commissioner for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, a position he ably served in for the next seven years and became the model for all the V.C.s for DEI of all commissions who have come after. He also served as a mentor for the USITT Gateway Scholars Program in 2014 and 2016.

In 2021, Jim was tapped to take up the position of Vice President for Special Exhibitions. In this capacity, he was not only responsible for the logistics of all exhibits at our annual conferences, he also was called upon to help curate several of those exhibits. This included exhibits focused on, Seattle Rep and the August Wilson Century Cycle Designs, Katherine Dunham, and The St. Louis Black Rep.

Dana Taylor

Dana Taylor served as director of Vocal Music and Technical Theatre for thirty years at the Mt. Vernon Senior High School Fine Arts Academy (Mt. Vernon, IN) and currently is an adjunct faculty member for theatre and music at the University of Evansville.

As a Member of USITT, Dana serves as a Vice-Commissioner for Education (Secondary Schools), as a member of the Campaign Cabinet for the Setting the Next Stage campaign, the eSET Lighting and Electrics working group, and as the leader of the BACKstage Exam, a comprehensive capstone examination for high school technical theatre students. A frequent presenter and panelist at the Annual Conference and Stage Expo, Dana focuses on the needs of secondary school students and their teachers.

As an author, he has contributed to PLSN, High School Today, Dramatics Magazine, and Teaching Theatre Journal. Additionally, he served as the technical editor for Basic Drama Projects 9th Edition, Concert Lighting: The Art and Business of Entertainment Lighting 4th Edition as well as Teaching Theatre Journal and Dramatics Magazine.

Dana served six years as the individual member director for the Entertainment Services and Technology Association (ESTA) and also was a board member for The ESTA Foundation. Dana was named Technical Theatre Educator of the Year by Stage Directions Magazine, and the Educational Theatre Association honored him as the recipient of the Founders’ Award for significant contributions to theatre education in the United States. In 2014, USITT designated Dana as the recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award in Education.

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