The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts has announced that Robert van Leer will step down as Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of The Wallis to assume the role as the new Performing Arts Program Director of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation beginning Feb. 23, 2026. Van Leer has held his present post at The Wallis since April 1, 2023.
Daphna Nazarian, Wallis Board Chair, said, “Robert’s vision, dedication and his belief in a collaborative arts community has broadened our core mission. We are deeply grateful for Robert’s strong leadership and the many contributions he has made during his time with us. His decades of experience expanding access to the arts and breaking down barriers and divides across genres made him a great fit to set the stage and foundation for our organization as we embarked on the second decade in the history, growth and evolution of the Wallis Annenberg Performing Arts Center.”
During van Leer’s tenure at The Wallis, he established a new template for the programming. In a short time, The Wallis became the region’s most important home for a number of widely regarded performing arts companies based in Southern California. Van Leer also brought and/or continued relationships with LA Opera led by Christopher Koelsch, Sebastian Paul and Marybelle Musco President and CEO, that had a triumph with the world premiere of Beth Morrison Projects’ HILDEGARD; Pacific Jazz Orchestra founded by Chris Walden, National Theatre Live, Seth Rudetsky, the new Scott Dunn Orchestra performing the music of classic Hollywood film composers, Film Independent, MUSE/IQUE led by Artistic Director Rachael Worby, the ASCAP Musical Theatre program with composer lyricist Stephen Schwartz, and performances by the Colburn School, among others.
Van Leer led the team of 50 at The Wallis in presenting more than 140 productions, with over 150 curtains each season. This provided audiences and education program participants with an advanced access to the arts, and expanded programming that integrate legacy art forms with contemporary ones.
