Laura Penn has been Executive Director of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) since 2008. During her tenure, the Union has focused on strengthening the rights of the Membership, expanding jurisdiction, and amplifying the leadership role of directors and choreographers in the industry. She has led bold and successful negotiations, elevated the Union’s profile, and launched strong new initiatives that support SDC Members wherever they live and work.

Recognized for her advocacy on behalf of theatre, the arts, and the labor movement, she serves as Secretary of the Board of the Entertainment Community Fund and was a member of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities under President Biden. A member of the Tony Awards Administration Committee, she is Co-Chair of the Coalition of Broadway Unions and Guilds, the first woman to hold a leadership position with this coalition of 18 influential unions representing workers on Broadway. She serves on the General Board of the Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) and is an active member of DPE’s Arts, Entertainment, and Media Industry Coordinating Committee (AEMI).

Previously, Laura served as a panelist for the New York State Council for the Arts and was a site evaluator for the National Endowment for the Arts for more than a decade, Vice President of the League of Resident Theatres, and a two-term Chair of the Seattle Arts Commission. Recognized with Seattle’s Distinguished Citizen Medal, she is an advocate for civic dialogue and public participation and has been dedicated throughout her career to the idea that artistic excellence and community engagement are intrinsically connected. Laura served as an arts executive for Intiman Theatre and Seattle Repertory Theatre and began her career at D.C.’s Arena Stage, Living Stage Theatre Company.

She currently teaches Labor Relations in the graduate program at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale.

Bio as of March 2026