Stephen Sunderlin: President
Stephen Sunderlin is the Producing Artistic Director of Vital and a founding member.


Kirsten Berkman: Vice President
Kirsten is currently an Associate Producer with East of Doheny, a Broadway and film production company. Formally the New Works Director at the National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) and the Head of Development and Marketing Manager at The Araca Group. Before that Kirsten worked at The Lark Play Development Center as Director of Arts Learning and Community Relations and at Coleytown Middle School in Westport, CT teaching 8th Grade History. Shows she has worked on include THE WEDDING SINGER, THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, SHOUT!, THE MOD MUSICAL, THE GOOD BODY, and NIGHT' MOTHER. She has also worked on many new shows as an independent producer. Kirsten holds a BA from Northwestern University and her Masters degree in Educational Theatre from NYU. She is on the board of Vital Theatre Company, Artfully Unforgotten and serves on the leadership counsel of The Women’s Project Theatre Company.

Deborah Adelman : Secretary/Treasures
Debbi spent her career teaching English in several Bronx high schools. She was a founding member of the New York City Scholastic Press Association which fostered excellence in high school newspaper production. She was chosen by the American Forum for Global Studies in 2002 to study and train with a group of educators for an in-depth month-long educational trip to China after which she created global studies and English curriculum for their national website. Debbi was a member of the Lincoln Center Teachers Project in which she collaborated with high school teachers and theater arts professionals to develop arts curriculum across all disciplines and to connect students with live theater. As Coordinator of the Bronx site of City-As-School H.S., she was a member of the New York City Consortium, formed to create curriculum, monitor standards and harness political support for alternative education. She also created a Vital Theatre internship for her students. As a member of the National Diffusion Network, Ms. Adelman faciliated trainings with school districts to develop alternative high schools based on the City As School model in Hawthorne, San Diego, Syracuse, Portland, and Los Angeles. Most recently, she lent her knowledge and experience to help found Vital Theatre Company's Brooklyn Theatre Arts High School.

Richard Jacobson: Member
Richard works as a Senior Managing Director at Stern Capital, a family partnership. Prior to Stern Capital he was a Vice President and Managing Director in the merchant banking group of Indosuez Capital. Prior to Indosuez, he was a Vice President in the leveraged finance group of SG Cowen. Prior to SG Cowen he was an associate in the leveraged finance group of Chemical Securities, Inc. Mr. Jacobson began his career as an attorney for the law firm of Jacobs, Persinger and Parker. Richard holds a BA from Tulane University, a JD from American University Washington College of Law and an MBA from Columbia University.  He lives in NY with his wife Amy and daughters Gabrielle and Alex. They have been regulars at Vital since 2000.

If you are interested in becoming a Board Member Contact us via e-mail: office@vitaltheatre.org or call Stephen Sunderlin at 212.579.0528

Our Great Thanks To:
Sephora
American Theatre Wing
Axe-Houghton Foundation
Edith Blum Foundation
New York City Department of Cultural Affairs
Byrom J. and Victoria M. Smith Family Charity
Senator Thomas Duane
Borough President Scott M. Stringer
Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
The JPMorganChase Regrant Fund, a project of A.R.T./NY, Parents as Arts Partners-Center for Arts Education
The League of American Theatres and Producers
New York State Council on the Arts, A State Agency
Robert Sterling Clark Foundation
for their support of Vital Voices!