Staff

Joseph Berardelli

Chief Financial Officer/Corporate Treasurer

Joe Berardelli joined the Arena staff in May 2001 and is responsible for overseeing and managing all fiscal and fiduciary responsibilities of Arena Stage including financial planning, administration and budgeting.  In this capacity, he supervises the Business Office, reports to the Executive Director and serves on the Finance, Investment and Audit Committees. Joe holds an MBA from the State University of New York and has been an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate Arts Management program at George Mason University since 2008. Prior to joining Arena’s staff, he was the Controller at the nation’s oldest community music school, Third Street Music School Settlement, on the Lower East Side of New York City. At Third Street, Joe was responsible for all accounting, budget and human resources functions. He has also served as the Business Manager for the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and Theatre Operations Manager at Symphony Space also in New York City.

Shonali Burke

Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer, Vice President.

Formerly a working actress/director, Shonali Burke cannot be more delighted to join the Arena Stage family as its chief marketing officer. A digital marketing pioneer, Shonali has a unique ability to ethically and powerfully tell data-driven stories for social impact and equity. Over the years, her creative strategies have resulted in packed houses for Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai, Singalong Sound of Music, and the world premiere of Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam. Her expertise in building communities of influence to amplify brand storytelling has benefited, among others, Oxfam America, the United Nations Foundation and USA for UNHCR, for whom she designed its now-textbook digital “Blue Key” campaign. Shonali also led media and communications for the ASPCA at an extraordinary time in animal welfare: during the 2007 pet food recall and Michael Vick case. Her efforts, which included launching its pet insurance product and ASPCA^® Mission: Orange^™, a series of local-national coalitions aimed at creating a country of humane communities, one community at a time, were key to growing the ASPCA’s visibility, trust and revenue. An early adopter of social media, Shonali’s numerous awards and accolades include being the first Indian American woman to be named to PRWeek’s “Top 40 Under 40.” She teaches multiple courses for The Johns Hopkins University’s M.A. in Communication and is a 2021 graduate of the Harvard Business Analytics Program. 

Robert Hand

Director of Production

Robert Hand is the director of production at Arena Stage, where he leads the very talented costume, lighting, props, scenery, sound and stage management teams. Before relocating to Washington, D.C., he was the production manager at American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, where he also served as the project manager for the renovation of the historic Strand Theatre which opened in 2015. Formally trained in lighting design from the North Carolina School of the Arts, he has designed shows for many companies including American Conservatory Theater, where he received the Theater Bay Area Award for Outstanding Lighting Design for his work on Chester Bailey; San Francisco Playhouse; North Carolina Theatre; Atlanta Ballet; Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre; Nevada Ballet Theatre; Orlando Ballet Theater; English National Ballet; Milwaukee Ballet; Scottish Ballet; and, for the movies, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues and Scary Movie 5. 

Sean-Maurice Lynch

Director of Community Engagement

Sean-Maurice Lynch is a Washington, D.C. based theater producer, arts administrator, community organizer, director and actor who currently serves as Director of Community Engagement at Arena Stage leading education and community outreach programming. Since 2007, Sean-Maurice has been a teaching artist for Arena Stage instructing acting techniques. In 2013, he received the Allen Lee Hughes Senior Fellowship. As the Senior Education and School Programs fellow, where he helped manage the DC Ticket Partnership, developing theater educational materials. In 2014, he traveled to India with the Arena Stage Voices of Now program devising plays with students and adults from Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, and Hyderabad. From 2016 - 2020, he served as Training Programs Manager at Arena Stage where he revitalized the Allen Lee Hughes Fellowship Internship Program, and the Actors Arena Professional Development program serving over 400 local DC area actors and co-created the DC Arts Culture Career Development Fair. As Associate Producer of New Play Development at Theater Alliance, he cultivated partnerships with DC community organizations like Ben's Chili Bowl and the D.C. Public Library. At the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, he served as Artistic Producer for Theater of Young Audiences where he produced plays adapted from books by authors Jacquline Woodson and Jason Reynolds. A few of his acting credits include Arena Stage; Toni Stone, Ford's Theatre; Twelve Angry Men, and Washington National Opera; Lost In the Stars.

Ryan E. Merkel

Chief Development Officer

Ryan E. Merkel is currently the Chief Development Officer for Arena Stage, overseeing all aspects of contributed revenue to the theater. Before moving into this position, Ryan was the director of major gifts for Arena Stage. Prior to finding a home at Arena Stage, Ryan held a number of positions at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., culminating in service as the director of individual giving where his work included cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of mid-range and major donors, as well as special event coordination and management of all the Newseum’s annual membership programs. A devoted champion of the arts and culture sphere, Ryan has also held major gift positions at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Symphony Orchestra, and was a member of the Steering Committee of Emerging Arts Leaders of D.C. Ryan is also a Trustee of Synetic Theater in Arlington, Virginia, and a member of the Florida Cicerone Alumni Advisory Council at the University of Florida. Ryan earned a master’s degree in communication management from the University of Maryland, while he also worked as a public speaking instructor and an alumni relations coordinator for the Department of Communication. He is a very proud graduate of the University of Florida and enjoys running the streets of D.C. when he isn’t trying, and inevitably failing, to stay current on the New Yorker. 

Teresa Sapien

Associate Artistic Director

Teresa Sapien joined Arena Stage's artistic staff in 2019, after seven seasons at La Jolla Playhouse, most recently as associate producer. At the Playhouse, she helped guide more than 50 productions on the mainstage and out in the San Diego community, including new plays by Martyna Majok, Will Power and Hansol Jung. She was the curator and producer of the 2019 Without Walls Festival of site-based and immersive theater which hosted more than twenty international and American companies. As the co-producer of the annual DNA New Work Series, she supported the development of more than 38 new plays and musicals. In addition to producing, she was the Playhouse’s local casting director for numerous plays and musicals, including the world premieres of Wild Goose Dreams, Junk and Come From Away. She is a reader for The Playwrights Realm, Playwrights’ Center Minneapolis, Native Voices at the Autry and a proud contributor to the Kilroys’ List. Teresa is a graduate of the University of Evansville’s theater department.

Alicia Sells

General Manager

Alicia Sells started with Arena Stage as a freelance stage manager in 2013 and joined as a full-time staff member in 2016. Over the years, she has worked in various departments across the organization, including production, operations and general management, revitalizing various processes and procedures with an eye on streamlining resources and promoting interdepartmental collaboration. Now, as general manager, she oversees artists contracts, relations and company management. Prior to joining Arena full time, she worked on more than 30 productions as a freelance stage manager for companies such as Adventure Theatre, Arts on the Horizon, Folger Theatre, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Olney Theatre Center, Signature Theatre, Studio Theatre and Woolly Mammoth Theatre. She has extensive experience as both a freelance stage manager and production manager for corporate events, several of which she continues to work on an annual basis. She is also a proud company member of Arts on the Horizon, to whom she provides production management consultation. She is a graduate of Vanderbilt University with a B.A. in English, history, and theater and a minor in economics.