On Nov. 5, Proctors Collaborative, a collaboration of Capital Region creative initiatives, announced the retirement of CEO Philip Morris after 25 years in the role. His place will be taken by current president Jean Leonard, who has been President since 2024 and worked with the organization for 15 years.
Morris will officially retire in March 2027 after being at the helm of Proctors Collaborative in downtown Schenectady since 2002.
“I became an arts administrator with a focus on connecting to community while still in college. I really had no idea at the time that a lifetime of work and joy would result from that decision. 25 years in Chautauqua County and now 25 years in the Capital Region could not have been more rewarding,” Morris said.
From 2003–2007, Proctors underwent a $40 million expansion which expanded the MainStage to accommodate touring Broadway productions, established the GE Theatre at Proctors, renovated the company building and added new public, performance and administrative spaces. Proctors became the only performing arts center in the country to heat and cool itself with district energy in 2005 with the completion of Marquee Power, a district energy system.
Morris was driven by establishing Proctors as an anchor of downtown Schenectady’s revitalization and growing the organization’s impact throughout the Capital Region. This was the philosophy behind the decision to pursue collaboration rather than competition with the region’s art organizations.
In 2011, Proctors and Capital Repertory Theatre, two of the Capital Region’s leading performing arts institutions, entered a partnership with one another, laying the groundwork for Proctors Collaborative. Four years later, Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs entered an alliance with Proctors that led to the 2020 reopening of the Hall as a transformed year-round performance venue.
This transition of power coincides with Proctor’s 100 year anniversary season. Morris and Leonard have worked together to create a solid foundation for the company’s second century.
“Jean, for 15 years, has demonstrated her commitment to community and to the arts. She has been a fantastic partner for 15 years and will be a terrific leader on her own,” Morris said.
Before becoming president in 2024, Leonard served as chef of staff and director of programming.
“Working, learning, and leading alongside Philip has been the privilege of a lifetime,” Leonard said. “While carrying out our mission, he helped an entire Capital Region reimagine what an arts organization could do to support, strengthen, and grow a community. He planted that mission firmly in my heart, and I look forward to carrying that work into the next century at Proctors.”
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