Annie Burridge was named General Director & CEO of Austin Opera in October 2016. Amongst other achievements there, she launched a new artistic initiative, Opera ATX, bringing groundbreaking artists to unexpected and unique venues; appointed the company’s first curator of Hispanic and Latinx Programming; increased grant and endowment fundraising; and established numerous community partnerships including the Consulate General of Mexico in Austin. Before that, Burridge spent nine years at Opera Philadelphia, where she most recently served as Managing Director. She is an OPERA America council member and has been a keynote speaker at SXSW, OPERA America, Tessitura, Creative Partnerships Australia, and Culture Business in Switzerland. Burridge holds a graduate certificate in nonprofit administration from the University of Pennsylvania and as masters of music in voice performance and opera studies from the New England Conservatory. She graduated the valedictorian of Penn State University’s College of Arts and Architecture, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in voice performance with a business administration minor.