Edward J. Lewis III Appointed Senior Vice President of Institutional Advancement

Dear Berklee community,

I’m pleased to announce the appointment of Edward J. Lewis III as Berklee’s new senior vice president of institutional advancement (SVP IA), effective May 15. Working in close partnership with the senior leadership team, Ed will serve as the central architect of establishing and achieving our ambitious institutional advancement priorities and executing a strategic and cohesive global fundraising and engagement program. He brings more than 20 years of experience in higher education fundraising, performing arts management and fundraising, and financial management to this position. Plus, Ed is a musician and lifelong advocate for the arts who identifies strongly with Berklee’s mission to educate and empower the next generation of artists and creative leaders. 

A mission-focused, data-driven strategist and performing arts advocate, Ed comes to Berklee from the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts in Katonah, New York, where he has served as president and CEO since 2021. At Caramoor, he navigated the organization through COVID-19 and successfully implemented an ambitious five-year strategic plan. His work to align strategies between marketing, development, and programming to drive ticket sales resulted in near historic sales in 2024. Ed established the first major gifts program in Caramoor’s 79-year history to increase philanthropy. His efforts included revamping Caramoor’s recruitment practices to diversify staff and board membership, ensuring a broad representation of artists across all presented genres. Ed’s work with the board included revitalizing the Trustee and Governance Committee, resulting in recruiting eight new members, updating the bylaws and onboarding processes, and establishing first-time term limits. Additionally, he helped develop a community engagement program with meaningful celebrations of diverse communities in Westchester County that has been lauded for making Caramoor a more open, equitable, and accessible cultural institution. He received the 2025 Trailblazer award from the county for these efforts. He also developed deeper relationships between Caramoor and artistic partners, including Jazz at Lincoln Center, City Winery, and the Sphinx Organization. 

Prior to Caramoor, Ed served as vice chancellor for advancement at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) for six years, where he implemented and led the university’s historic multi-award-winning fundraising initiative, Powering Creativity: The Campaign for UNCSA. The campaign raised over $75 million (surpassing its $65 million public goal) to support innovative new programs, student scholarships, faculty endowments, facilities improvements, and community engagement initiatives. Under his leadership, the UNCSA Foundation endowment grew through fundraising efforts from $35 million in 2015 to over $70 million in 2021. Ed also served in development leadership roles at the University of Maryland’s Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center and College of Arts and Humanities in College Park. He has extensive experience as a violist and has performed professionally as a member of ensembles, including the Dallas Opera Orchestra, the Dallas Chamber Orchestra, Santa Fe Pro Musica, the Toledo Symphony, and Aspen Chamber Symphony.

Ed holds a Master of Viola Performance, Music, from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and a Bachelor of Arts, Music, from Northwestern University in Chicago. He completed his doctoral program postgraduate studies at the University of Maryland School of Music.  

This appointment is the result of a comprehensive national search conducted by an internal committee, assisted by search firm Heidrick & Struggles. I’d like to thank the members of the committee for dedicating their time and providing valuable input for this search. I’d also like to recognize and thank Maura Lynch, associate vice president for institutional advancement, for her leadership during this interim period. Maura will work closely with Ed to ensure a smooth transition.

Please join me in congratulating Ed on his appointment and welcoming him to the Berklee community.

Thanks,

Jim Lucchese
President