Barbara Lamb
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2015 New Haven Jazz Festival – Celebrating Women In Jazz Unsung Heroes Award Recipient Barbara Lamb Reception – Thurs, Aug. 6th on the patio at 116 Crown from 6:00 to 8:00 pm hors d’oeuvres, silent auction, music by Isabella Mendes RSVP to info@jazzhaven.org |
For the past three years Jazz Haven has presented the “Unsung Heroes Award” to those in the Greater New Haven Community who have worked behind the scenes to advance the culture of jazz and the arts in New Haven. Jazz Haven proudly awards the Unsung Heroes Award to Barbara Lamb.
Barbara served as the Director of Cultural Affairs for the City of New Haven for 14 years, responsible for producing the New Haven Jazz Festival from 2001 until 2006. A graduate of the London School of Economics & Political Science with a Masters Degree in Urban Planning, Barbara was hired by the City of New Haven to be part of the Economic Development Administration and remained a member of that team representing arts, culture, tourism & marketing until her retirement in 2011. It was during her tenure that the Jazz Festival rose to great prominence, attracting tens of thousands of spectators to the NH Green each Saturday evening to hear the likes of Ray Charles, Diane Reeves, Chris Botti, Arturo Sandoval and other preeminent jazz greats. With the help of Jazz Haven, she oversaw the expansion of the festival to include jazz concerts in neighborhood parks, noontime jazz concerts, jazz performances during the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament and introduced the “Jazz in the Clubs” component to highlight a month-long city of music.
After the City’s unfortunate decision to combine the jazz fest with its other summer concert series, Barbara supported Jazz Haven’s efforts to assume responsibility for reviving and restoring the festival to its rightful place on the NH Green. Working with Doug Morrill and, later, Craig O’Connell, Martha Meng and others, Barbara helped to secure sponsorship dollars and city support for marketing, public safety and permitting in order to minimize costs and maximize volunteer efforts.
Prior to her time at City Hall, Barbara worked in marketing & communications for much of her professional career, not only in government but in corporate America and the non-profit world, including the Arts Council of Greater New Haven and the International Festival of Arts & Ideas. She was the staff person supporting & managing the creation of Market New Haven, the city’s marketing arm and served on the board of the Town Green Special Services District as well as the Arts Council and New Haven Sister Cities. She is a former Peace Corp Volunteer and stays active in the international arena currently overseeing the city’s sister city relationship with Hue (pronounced “hway”), Vietnam.
The past recipients of Jazz Haven’s Unsung Heroes Award have been:
- 2012 – The Monk Family
- 2013 – Kim Futrell
- 2014 – Jeff Fuller
