Oregon Shakespeare Festival announces new interim executive director

ASHLAND, Ore. – The Oregon Shakespeare Festival has a new interim executive director.

OSF’s board of directors announced Thursday that Tyler Hokama will take over for Nataki Garrett, who left the position at the end of May.

According to OSF, Hokama is a retired technology and business operations who lives in Ashland.

“Tyler brings to OSF exceptional leadership skills, finance expertise, business acumen, and turnaround experience in complex organizations,” said 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. At the same time, he will adhere to the enduring values of OSF, including its artistic legacy and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The Board of Directors is delighted that he will be joining OSF as Interim Executive Director, and are confident that he will be a great partner to all of us who love OSF.”

OSF said along with working at several Fortune 500 companies, Hokama has served on the boards of directors for two local companies: Camelot Theatre and Rogue Theatre Company.

“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,” said Hokama. “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 theatres 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. Many regional theatres face this real struggle, with rising costs and limited revenue growth opportunities. So, this is truly challenging work, but I believe that if we make a conscious effort to focus on some critical areas, we can continue to present our world-class art in perpetuity.”