Jennifer Basten
Jennifer Basten is an arts administration professional with eighteen years of experience in opera. As Chief Advancement Officer, she leads an integrated marketing, communications, and development team focused on building audiences and philanthropy. She joined Austin Opera in 2017 as Chief Development Officer and has increased individual giving by 80% since then. She was responsible for launching the Austin Opera Forward Campaign in 2020, which raised $10 million in three years to support artistic excellence, operatic innovation, and community impact. In 2024, the company announced the purchase of its new headquarters and plans for a performance center with 50% of the capital funds raised as part of Inspire 2030, a campaign to achieve broad relevance and sustainability by 2030. Under her leadership, the company has seen record-breaking ticket sales in the last three seasons.
She began her career at Opera New Jersey in company management and artistic administration before turning her focus to fundraising. She was a member of the development staff at Opera Philadelphia for seven years, culminating in her role as Director of Individual Giving. In that role she was responsible for managing the company’s individual giving programs, overseeing development department operations, and VIP donor services. While under her direction, Opera Philadelphia’s annual fund revenue increased by 44%.
Jennifer earned an M.S. in Nonprofit Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. She holds a B.M. in Voice Performance and a minor in Business Administration from the University of Florida. Jennifer received a certificate in Arts and Culture Strategy from the University of Pennsylvania in partnership with National Arts Strategies and is an alumnus of OPERA America’s Leadership Intensive Program and the American Express Leadership Academy for Women in Music. From 2021-2023 she was a Bloomberg Tech Fellow as part of Austin Opera’s participation in the Bloomberg Digital Accelerator Program.
Jennifer is on the Board of Austin Rainbow Theatre serving as Vice Chair, volunteers for Todos Juntos Learning Center, and is a member of SoCo Women’s Chorus.