Carmen Creel

Carmen Creel is the Board Relations Manager at the San Francisco Ballet. Carmen has worked in the arts fundraising field for over 25 years. Carmen has a wealth of experience in arts administration, donor relations, and event planning.

Carmen began their career as an Arts Fundraising Consultant with their own LLC. Carmen then became the Senior Manager of Donor Relations and Event Planning at the PC&S Foundation. In this role, they were responsible for managing a portfolio of donor relationships and coordinating all foundation events.

From there, Carmen went on to work as the Music Director Liaison at the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. In this role, they were responsible for communicating with music directors and coordinating their travel and performance schedules.

After a brief stint as the Manager of Artist Communications at Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT Inc.), Carmen returned to arts administration as the Associate Artistic Administrator at the New World Symphony. In this role, they were responsible for assisting the artistic staff in all aspects of concert production.

Carmen then transitioned to higher education, taking on the role of Director of Principal Gift Recognition at the University of Chicago. In this role, they were responsible for working with major donors and coordinating their gift recognition activities.

After several years at the University of Chicago, Carmen returned to the arts world as the Director of Programming and Stewardship at the Smithsonian Institution. In this role, they were responsible for overseeing all programming and stewardship activities for the Smithsonian’s donors.

Most recently, Carmen served as the Executive Director at THE FISCHOFF NATIONAL CHAMBER MUSIC ASSOCIATION INC. In this role, they were responsible for leading the organization and managing its day-to-day operations.

Carmen is a passionate advocate for the arts and is dedicated to promoting access to high-quality arts education and experiences.

Carmen Creel has a Bachelor's degree in Clarinet Performance from Eastman School of Music and a Master's degree in Clarinet Performance from San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

They are on a team with Karin Birkland - Director of Human Resources, Katharine Chambers - Assistant to Senior Executive Staff. Carmen Creel reports to Rob Sánchez Nelson, Chief Diversity Officer.