Get the Eat. Sip. Play. newsletter in your inbox
Available now: Sign up here for the best food, drink and entertainment coverage in Stanislaus County.
The Gallo Center for the Arts is losing its chief executive officer.
Chad Hilligus will step down in June after five years in his top role at the downtown Modesto performing arts venue, according to a press release.
“It has truly been an honor to lead this beloved institution,” Hilligus said in the release. “Together, with an incredible team, we’ve made remarkable strides in the last five years.”
He’s moving on to become executive and artistic director at the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts at California State University Northridge (The Soraya).
In the press release, he cited expanding the Gallo Center’s arts education programs, free community engagement initiatives, a “deeper commitment” to locally produced theater, and diverse and innovative programming during his tenure.
The center also has broadened the donor and patron reach to 15 counties and created a new multi-year strategic plan, he said.
Chief Operating Officer Al Poulus, who has been with the center since before it opened in 2007, will serve as interim CEO after June 10. The board of directors will conduct a national search for Hilligus’ permanent replacement.
“We are grateful to Chad for his leadership and numerous contributions to the center and to the community,” board chair Ginger Johnson said in the release. “He leaves the organization in fantastic shape, and we wish him nothing but the best in his next chapter.
Hilligus took over the reins of the Gallo Center in July 2021, replacing longtime CEO Lynn Dickerson. He arrived just two weeks prior to the venue’s reopening following the COVID pandemic shutdown, the release noted.
He leaves as a CEO who also performed at the Gallo Center — when he’d previously spent three years as the only non-Australian in the touring group The Ten Tenors, a 2021 story in The Bee noted.
According to the release, Hilligus’ tenure has seen the Gallo Center notch a record number of sold-out shows and repeatedly gaining national recognition from trade publication Pollstar as a Top 10 worldwide venue with less than 1,500 seats.
“The board is committed to maintaining the momentum that Chad has established,” Johnson said.
The Gallo Center’s new 2026-27 season is expected to be announced later this month, with tickets on sale to the public June 1.
The release teased one of the upcoming season’s major performers: “Wicked” and “Frozen” star Idina Menzel.
For a look at the remaining shows set for the current season and more on the center, see galloarts.org.
“I’m so proud of the team here,” Hilligus said, “and I’m confident the center is in extremely capable hands.”
