We’re are thrilled to share that Dafna Linzer has been appointed the first-ever Vice Chair of NY Classical's Board of Directors!
We’re incredibly grateful to Dafna for taking on this newly created leadership role. Her experience, insight, and commitment to our mission will help us take on more ambitious projects, strengthen our Board, and grow NY Classical—bringing even more free, professional theatre to communities across New York City.
Dafna Linzer is a Canadian-American journalist and media executive who currently serves as Adviser to the CEO of U.S. News & World Report, where she previously served as Executive Vice President and Editorial Director from 2023 to 2026. She was Executive Editor of POLITICO from 2022 to 2023.
Previously, she served as Managing Editor of Politics for NBC News and MSNBC, overseeing political coverage across broadcast and digital platforms, including the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Her career also includes serving as Managing Editor for Digital at MSNBC, Senior Investigative Reporter at ProPublica, Foreign Correspondent for the Associated Press, and National Security Correspondent for The Washington Post.
Dafna first discovered NY Classical during a performance of All’s Well That Ends Well in Battery Park in 2025. At our 2026 Gala, she reflected on that experience and why she chose to get involved:
“I’ve spent my career telling stories. As a journalist and news executive, I believe deeply that stories are how we make sense of the world.
Shakespeare understood something that every great journalist understands: that a story told well doesn’t just inform—it transforms. There’s something extraordinary about sitting in a public park, among your neighbors, and watching these timeless stories unfold. That’s not entertainment. That’s civic oxygen.
No walls. No velvet ropes. No ticket price standing between a New Yorker and Shakespeare. That is access. That is what it means to say art belongs to everyone.
That’s why I chose to get involved with NY Classical. Its mission is a wonderful reflection of my own values—how I think about art, about access, and about the kind of city and the kind of country I want to live in.”
Please join us in congratulating Dafna! We’re incredibly grateful for her leadership and excited for what’s ahead.
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New York Classical Theatre thrives because of people who believe that great theatre should be free, accessible, and shared. Whether you have a few hours or want to take on a leadership role, there’s a way to get involved.