Chief Marketing Officer for Washington, D.C.’s Arena Stage
Shonali Burke is Chief Marketing Officer for Washington, D.C.’s Arena Stage, one of the country’s leading non-profit regional theaters, and the first to transfer a production to Broadway (The Great White Hope). Shonali oversees Arena’s earned revenue function, while also leading its marketing, communications, brand strategy and audience experience.
Earlier in her career, Shonali led communications for the ASPCA, where she spearheaded its response to the 2007 pet food recall and Michael Vick case, and also launched its pet insurance product. Former clients include Cirque du Soleil, Oxfam America and USA for UNHCR, for whom she designed its now-textbook digital “Blue Key” campaign.
An early adopter of social media, Shonali’s accolades include being the first Indian American woman to be named to PRWeek’s “Top 40 Under 40” list of U.S.-based PR pros. She is adjunct faculty with The Johns Hopkins University’s M.A. in Communication, and a 2021 graduate of the Harvard Business Analytics Program. Shonali is writing her first book, The Non-Obvious Guide to Public Relations & Communication. An unabashed fan of ABBA and Elvis, Shonali is owned by Pickles the Corgi, who pays her dues in lickies and snuggles.