Becky Brett is the Fund Development Director, responsible for building the relationships and funding streams that will support future businesses and nonprofits across Hawai’i Island.
Since 2016 Becky Brett has helped more than 150 nonprofit leaders raise over $37M collectively for their organizations by empowering their teams, aligning their board leadership, and beating back burnout.
Prior to moving to Hawai’i, Becky was an award-winning festival producer, having created over 7,000 events for more than 1.3 million people. She has served as executive director of the Virginia Highlands Festival in Abingdon, Virginia, interim executive director at The Princeton Festival in Princeton, New Jersey, and played a key role in the Chicago Improv Festival as it transitioned from a for-profit to a nonprofit organization.
In 2012 she became the first-ever executive director for the Virginia Highlands Festival in Abingdon, Virginia. VHF is a 75-year-old multi-arts festival producing organization that reaches audiences of 50,000 and up each year.
While at VHF, she doubled sponsorship dollars in her first year by revitalizing fundraising efforts, innovating programming, and creating a year-round presence in the community. This innovation was the subject of Becky’s TEDxHickory talk, “The Art of Connection,” in November, 2019.
A graduate of Northwestern University, Becky spent her early career in Chicago with Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Chicago Humanities Festival, and the Chicago Improv Festival (among other organizations). She has produced international arts programs and festivals since 1992.
In her personal life, Becky is a lifelong learner and creative soul. She teaches and performs improv comedy throughout the island with Big Island Comedy Theater. Her superpower is lightening heavy situations, and she is endlessly delighted with humanity. She loves exploring Hawai’i, and can often be found on the lava cliffs by the ocean with her dog, Oakley, or on the Mauna Loa access road communing with the stars.