Cody Renard Richard, Herrick Goldman Appointed to Educational Theatre Foundation Board of Directors

The additions will help strengthen ETF's commitment to supporting theatre education in K-12 schools.

March 12, 2026 By Logan Culwell-Block

The Educational Theatre Foundation has appointed stage manager Cody Renard Richard and lighting designer Herrick Goldman to its Board of Directors. Both will help the Foundation's continued efforts to increase access to theatre education in K-12 schools.

Currently part of the creative team of Broadway's upcoming Cats: The Jellicle Ball, Richard's prolific career as a Broadway stage manager includes work on more than 20 productions, including The Last Five Years, Lempicka, the 2023 revival of Sweeney Todd, 2022's revival of Into the Woods, Freestyle Love Supreme, Hamilton, and Ragtime. Richard is also a Tony-winning producer, with credits including the recent revival of Parade, A Strange Loop, Thoughts of a Colored Man, and Othello. He's also the founder of The Cody Renard Richard Scholarship that supports early career theatre makers of color, now a program of the Black Theatre Coalition; and is a founding member of the RISE Theatre Directory.

“I’m honored to join the Board of Trustees for the Educational Theatre Foundation,” says Richard in a statement. “We share a mission of giving young people access to the arts and the tools to grow. As someone who benefited from the resources of EdTA as a young Thespian, I could not pass up this full circle moment to give back. I’m especially excited to connect with fellow alumni and serve as a Thespian Alum Ambassador as we prepare for the 100th anniversary. I’m ready to serve and be of service.”

Goldman joins the Board after a more than 30-year career in the theatre, designing lights for productions Off-Broadway and at regional theatres across the country, along with large corporate events, permanent installations at Madame Tussauds New York and Las Vegas, LaGuardia Airport's signature water feature, and several national tours. He has taught lighting design at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“This foundation is a continuation of the work I have tried to do throughout my career,” says Goldman in a statement. “My life was changed by a passionate high school drama instructor in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, who brought us to the Massachusetts High School Drama Festival. That experience changed the way I saw theatre and introduced me to hundreds of peers and creative processes. After founding Evoke Collaborative, I established a diversity scholarship initiative to do what ETF is already doing. I look forward to broadening those goals with the entire board and staff. Theatre education is so important in this moment. The ability to relate to strangers and build empathy and understanding is everything theatre teaches.”

“Herrick Goldman and Cody Renard Richard are extraordinary leaders whose careers reflect the power of theatre education,” adds Board Chair Matt Conover. “Their artistry, mentorship, and commitment to expanding opportunity will help guide our work as we continue to support the next generation of theatre makers.”

Launched in 2017, ETF is the philanthropic arm of the Educational Theatre Association, a professional association for theatre educators and the parent organization of the International Thespian Society.

Visit Foundation.SchoolTheatre.org.