Facilitating Operations Staff
Sunshine Deffner is currently serving as the General Manager for California Symphony leading operations and building partnerships with the communities served by the orchestra. Ms. Deffner has engaged her 25+ year career in many of the arts disciplines, including Theater, Musicals, Museum, Dance, Opera, and Symphony. She has previously worked with the Asian Art Museum, John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, and Opera San Jose. Most recently, Ms. Deffner completed a 2-year fellowship position as the Associate Managing Director at Berkeley Repertory Theatre spearheading a new programmatic initiative to address deep community relationships and forge authentic engagement strategies. Ms. Deffner serves on the board of Theatre Bay Area, the Walnut Creek Community Service Day Committee, is an alum of California State University at Fullerton, and a former fellow of the DeVos Institute for Arts Management at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts.