Adam Philipson became the CEO and President of the Count Basie Center for the Arts on November 1, 2012. In his eight plus years at the helm of the Basie he has assisted in ushering a complete turn-around of the theatre operationally and fiscally. He is responsible for doubling the operational budget and successfully rebranding the Basie to more prominently feature its education and outreach activities and its non-profit mission as a community change agent that inspires, educates and entertains. He has diligently aligned the Board, staff and community around a unified vision for the future and secured almost $27 million for its capital campaign which doubled the square footage, added a new venue, 5 new classrooms and created a barrier free environment. Prior to Covid, the Basie has been lauded as the #1 seated venue in the State of New Jersey and top 25 in the world based on the number of audience members served.
Despite being closed since March 12, Adam and the team are leading the spectacular recovery effort to make it through the pandemic and continue the important work of the not for profit Basie Center.
Adam is currently on the Board of Red Bank River Center and has been appointed to Governor Murphy’s task force to reopen the arts as well as Senator Gopal’s reopening Monmouth County work group.
Among other activities, Adam is most proud of producing “Rock the Rhythm, Beat the Odds” in partnership with Remo Drums casting a national spotlight on the need for the arts for the social and emotional well-being. Most recently Adam has ushered the Basie into the leadership role with mindAligned where the Basie is the backbone agency for a regional collective impact initiative bringing creative teaching strategies to Monmouth and Ocean County teachers.
Adam is currently an adjunct Professor at Monmouth University where he teaches an Arts Management and Concert Promotion course in the Music Business Department.