Dr. EveMarie Bessenbach
EveMarie Bessenbach, Ph.D, is an Assistant Professor of Arts Administration at the University of Kentucky. Her research focuses on the survival and longevity of small dance companies while addressing research gaps relating to the sustainability of small arts organizations and the development of a formalized set of indicators to evaluate the financial health of a nonprofit performing arts organization. She is also a Consulting Editor for the Journal of Arts, Management, Law, and Society, after serving as the journal's Editorial Assistant for over seven years, and she is a Grant Reviewer for the Indiana Arts Commission.
Previously, Dr. Bessenbach served as the inaugural Senior Director of Development and Communications for Hendricks Live!, the new performing arts center in Plainfield, Indiana, where she was responsible for building a brand-new $2 million nonprofit organization from the ground up in partnership with the Town of Plainfield and the Hendricks County Community Foundation, utilizing her expertise in arts administration, fundraising, marketing, communications, board development, community engagement, and program development. She is a graduate of Leadership Hendricks County’s Class of 2023, and she served on the advisory board for the Hendricks County Arts Council. Dr. Bessenbach has also worked as the Donor and Grants Manager for the Indianapolis Opera and as the Director of Development for Allegro Dance Project.
Dr. Bessenbach is a current member of the Audit Subcommittee for Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK), the National Leadership Honor Society, and she has served on ODK’s Board of Trustees as Co-Chair for the 2022 National Leadership Conference and as Chair of the Sponsorship Committee for the 2021 National Leadership Conference.
She has danced professionally for over a decade with Lexington Ballet, Dance Theatre of Tennessee, Hosanna Sacred Arts, Allegro Dance Project, Gale Force Dance, Indianapolis Opera, and four seasons with Missouri Ballet Theatre as a demi-soloist. She has taught and choreographed throughout the Midwest, including the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Kentucky, DePauw University, Lindenwood University, Lexington Ballet, BalletMet Dance Academy, Frankfort School of Ballet, Gloria Deo School of the Arts, Magnum Opus, Indy Convergence, The Children’s Ballet, and Bailando International Dance Festival.
Dr. Bessenbach earned her Ph.D and MA in Arts Administration at the University of Kentucky along with Graduate Certificates in Fundraising and Development and Research Methods in Education. As a graduate student at UK, she served as a Teaching Assistant (MA) and as a Research Assistant (Ph.D) for a federally funded study that mapped the gaps of the National Register of Historic Places. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Pedagogy, Summa Cum Laude with Highest Departmental Honors, from Butler University.