Laura Nekola the Broadway box office treasurer will be retired on 4/26/25. Laura has worked all different box offices while subbing but has called the Broadway home for many years.  After a 37 year career she is finally going to retire and take the time to rest and relax.

There is a lot of talk about DEI and what it is, and what it isn’t. There are even executive orders being signed dismantling DEI under the misperception that anything DEI related is inherently a racist policy. People are calling for merit-based hiring as opposed to DEI hiring.  However, if companies and people hired based off merit, we wouldn’t need DEI. There have been numerous studies that show ethnic names on resumes receive less call backs than white sounding names.  Candidates have stopped putting their graduation dates on resumes, so recruiters can’t calculate their possible age. They have also stopped putting their address so hiring managers can’t draw conclusions based on where they live. So, what is then, if it’s not what we’ve been led to believe. In simple terms, DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) refers to efforts to ensure that organizations and communities value and include people of all backgrounds and create a fair environment where everyone has equal opportunities. 

Similarly to the word woke, the term DEI has been weaponized and no longer reflects its original intention. DEI is not just Black or Brown people.  It’s not unqualified people of color getting the job over a white person. DEI is about allowing all qualified people the same opportunity as everyone else. That white woman VP is a DEI hire. The veteran sitting next to you in the staff meeting is a DEI hire. The neurodiverse manager is a DEI hire. The student from Appalachia sitting next to you in your 8am Econ class is a DEI admission. 

The reason you can navigate the cities with your strollers and suitcases is because of DEI policies. Sidewalk cutouts were initially implemented to make sidewalks and streets accessible to wheelchair users, particularly disabled veterans returning from World War II. This design feature was a direct result of activism and advocacy by disability rights groups.

​This is a great example of how when we are more inclusive in our policies and actions, we all benefit.  

Last night (April 6th) the staff at the Broadway Theatre celebrated Lori Bokun, who is retiring as the Head Usher as of Sunday, April 13th.  Lori has been there since the original run of Les Miserables and the Broadway Theatre won’t be the same without her!  She will remain a part of the Shubert Broadway family as a ticket taker at the Longacre Theatre.  Congratulations to Lori and best wishes for the future!

​As the Education and Training Committee enters our fourth year of the Shubert Internship Program, it’s important to take a look at the impact we’ve had.

• Haley Faith Collier – Class of 22’ – Haley was in our inaugural internship class. She worked with Kenny Nunez at The Shubert Theatre, as a theatre management intern. While there she worked in collaboration with the staff from the show, managers, stage managers and others.  Working with us gave Haley the skills and experience needed to receive a job offer.

• Christopher Lim – Class of 22’ – We knew Chris was going to be a shoe in for an internship with us when he popped up on the zoom screen in a full suit, and we were not disappointed.  While working with Rick Mone in Facilities, Chris implemented a CMMS (computerized maintenance management system) for Shubert's Engineering Department.  He surveyed the newly renovated James Earl Jones Theatre and its design documents recording building system and equipment information into the CMMS and establishing preventative maintenance schedules and procedures.  The system that he configured has since been expanded to include all Shubert theatres. We were so impressed with Chris that once his internship was completed; he was offered a position with New World Stages. More recently Chris has worked in production for Radio City Entertainment on the Christmas Show.

• Ian Colton – Class of 24- Ian worked with our Broadway Inbound department planning our presence at the annual conference of the Student Youth and Travel association.  The staff at the association were so impressed with the work Ian did that they are asking Broadway Inbound if they can work with him directly this summer for more conference planning.

 
When this internship was first implemented the committee hoped that we could expose students to the various jobs that take place beyond the curtains of Broadway. We are happy that not only have we exposed the students but have put them on a trajectory to be successful once they graduate from our program.  Congrats to the Education and Training Committee. Four internships down, numerous to go.  

There are times when the only way to know the impact that you've made is to hear it from the people that you have directly impacted. Please read the words of Jocelyn Espinal, head porter, at The Majestic.
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Good afternoon. I'm Jocelyn Espinal. I am the head porter from The Majestic Theatre. Just want to tell you a little about my son Angel Rodriguez. He was born June 13,2008, at Lincoln Hospital in The Bronx. When he was 1 year old, he was evaluated with mild autism. So, I got him early intervention for many years which helped a lot. All his schools been in the Bronx. Always been an amazing student, always thinking ahead. We never expected for him to actually like acting. He is super passionate and talented when it comes to acting. He really got into acting when he saw Hamilton on TV, and he is a big fan of Lin Manuel. I guess that opened up his mind of theater, also us working here for the Shubert Organization and him coming to see shows as well open his mind more for theater. He's been in a lot of programs like kidz teen, epic, all in and amazing plays at his high school Tapco from day one. He always told us that he's going to make it on a big stage one day, and he did at the Shubert Theater on March 24, 2025 with The Shubert Foundation High School Theater Festival for NYC public schools. He was so excited when he was told that he was coming to Broadway. He was in tears. His words were (I made it). We are so proud of him and how far he's gotten and going and his dreams will come true.