Kelly Stolar, CFRE, will become the Executive Director of the Benedictine Sisters’ Inner-city Neighborhood Art House effective October 15, 2021. “Kelly has been Development Director at the Art House for the past three years and has become a valued part of the Art House family in that time. Her dedication to the children at the Art House is evident in her commitment to building and funding programs to help them create dreams for the future. She has also grown to value the Benedictine charism that is at the core of our work in the inner city,” said Benedictine Prioress Sister Stephanie Schmidt,OSB, when she made the announcement.
Kelly brings an extensive knowledge of and relationships with the philanthropic and arts networks in Erie to her new position. She is the current treasurer and past president of the Association of Fundraising Professionals Northwestern Pennsylvania Chapter. Kelly is a dance artist and has taught dance in a variety of venues since her move to Erie in 2000. Prior to coming to Erie, she founded and voluntarily directed Spring Hill Dance Academy, a free dance program on Pittsburgh’s North Side, for over ten years. The program was designed for children whose limited economic, educational, and social opportunities mirror those of the children served at the Art House.
Sister Annette Marshall, OSB, who has been the Art House executive director since 2010, said, “I am very grateful to be handing leadership of this important inner-city ministry into the hands of someone as capable, committed, and visionary as Kelly Stolar. The Benedictine Sisters began the Art House in 1994 because we believe ‘that the need for art and beauty in the inner city is as real as the need for bread.’ I believe that Kelly, along with our dedicated staff, will carry that mission forward in ways that meet shifting cultural and population needs.”
“I am thrilled to continue the journey of my love of the arts together with my fundraising career. I enjoy sharing first-hand experiences on how the arts can impact a student’s life. I am equally passionate in discussing why supporting programs such as the Inner-City Neighborhood Art House is meaningful and significant. These conversations come naturally for me and come from the heart. I feel privileged to be entrusted with the Executive Director’s position and I look forward to what the future holds,” said Kelly.
