Massachusetts, in a Masters of
Arts Administration and Education
program. While at Lesley she began
her new arts management career as
the gallery and theater manager for
the Institute of Contemporary Art in
Boston.
In 1996, Calicchio applied for a
position as director of theater
operations at Ohlone College in
Fremont. “I wasn’t very good at
staying in one place for very long
and had always wanted to check
out California and specifically the
Bay Area because of it’s theatre
and culture. I was told on the
interview that Fremont was close
to San Francisco -a jump on BART,”
Calicchio says with a laugh. She got
the job, moved to California and
made her West Coast debut.
A few years later, she decided to
make a switch, and her love of
dance brought her to her next
position, Executive Director of the
Diablo Ballet in Walnut Creek,
during their heyday. And in 2001,
Calicchio moved to Marin County,
where she spent the next six years
as managing director of Marin
Theatre Company (MTC) in Mill
Valley. She also fell in love – with
actor Michael Janes. They married
and now have two children, Isabella
and Elia.
While at MTC, Calicchio was
recruited to take the managing
director positon at the Children’s
Theatre Company in Minneapolis.
“I was very proud to be a part of
this program,” says Calicchio. The
Children’s Theatre is one of the
nation’s highest-profile children’s
theaters, and is the only company
focused on a young audience to
receive a Tony Award for regional
theater. But the weather soon
became a problem.
“I loved the job, but hated the
cold,” says Calicchio. “Winter was
coming and I received a call from
a recruiter letting me know that a
“I must have been 8 or 9 years old and
I knew from that moment that the
theater was the life I wanted. It was a
passion that I was able to hold onto
and a passion that I was able to follow.”
position was open at the Walt Disney
Family Museum in San Francisco. I
grew up in a tiny town in Vermont
with no television and had never
been to Disneyland. I also had never
run a museum,” she explained.
She won the postion after an
extensive nationwide search,
bringing her back to the Bay
Area in 2011. While there, she
increased their profile, doubled the
attendance, developed a special
exhibitions program, increased
public engagement and created a
strong strategic plan to establish
the museum as a popular tourist
destination. After successfully
carrying out these initiatives, she
left the museum in 2013 to pursue
consulting work.
In the summer of 2014, Jim Farley,
the director of the Department of
Cultural Services for the County of
Marin, retired after 40 years. Enter
Calicchio, selected by the Board of
Supervisors to take his place.
Immediately, Calicchio was off and
running at full speed, dealing with
decades of deferred maintenance,
and launching a strategic planning
process. In December of 2015 she
started a new nonprofit named
Marin Cultural Association whose
mission is to support art and culture
in Marin County including enhancing
the programs and facilities at the
Marin Center and Marin County Fair.
In 2018 she will launch a planning
process to develop an inclusive
countrywide art and culture plan.
The plan includes working with the
Marin Coalition for the Arts and
other organizations to increase the
profile of the arts in our community
and eventually get a dedicated
funding source for the arts. Through
both the strategic planning process
and the countywide art and culture
plan she will continue working on
the Marin Center campus with the
goal of transforming the campus
to an art and cultural hub for the
community.
Calicchio’s duties also include
running the beloved Marin County
Fair. Under her direction, in 2016, the
fair themed “On With the Show!”
won top honors and 34 other awards
from the Western Fairs Association.
This included the Merrill Award, the
highest award in the fair industry,
for the ongoing “healthy fair”
initiative, promoting healthy choices
from food vendors, maintaining a
smoke free fair, and and ensuring all
vendors selling alcohol go through
responsible beverage service training.
In 2016, the, the 75 th anniversary of
the Marin County Fair, Western Fairs
Association honors also included
“featured program award” for the
collaboration with Schools Rule
Marin. Attendance at the fair has
increased for each of the years under
Calicchio’s management.
The theme for this year’s Marin
County Fair, running June 30 to July
4 is “Let the Funshine In.” They will
be celebrating the 50 th Anniversary
of the Summer of Love, so put on
your bell bottoms and tie-dye and
come take a “trip” back in time,
with headliners including the 5 th
Dimension, the Commodores and
Ann Wilson of Heart. Far out! MAC
MARIN ARTS & CULTURE 33