Shane Fernando

Vice President for Advancement & The Arts
sfernando@cfcc.edu

Shane Fernando has been serving in the public and arts administration field for over twenty years; one major focus of his work has been developing programs and opportunities to engage students in his organizations’ work, leading to the major tenet of CFCC’s Wilson Center mission – “to serve as a laboratory for student learning .”

He previously served at UNC Wilmington, as Director of Campus Life Arts and Programs, overseeing UNCW Presents, the Arts in Action Performance and the Leadership Lecture Series, Ann Flack Boseman Gallery, and Lumina Theater; he also taught as an adjunct faculty member in the UNCW Department of Communication Studies.  

Fernando earned a communication studies degree and a master’s degree in public administration from UNC Wilmington.  As senior class president, he conceived and spearheaded the concept and fundraising for the UNCW Millennium Clock Tower, which still is the largest student organized gift project in the nation.  After graduation he moved to Washington, DC to work in the U.S. Senate.  He currently serves as a trustee for Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts and is also the programming consultant for the Hall, overseeing the booking of the Main Attractions Series.  He received the NAPAMA award for Presenter of the Year in 2019.

Fernando also serves as a trustee for DanceUSA.  He was appointed in 2017 as an advisor to the National Dance Project by the New England Foundation for the Arts; he is also a cohort member of the South Arts Dance Touring Initiative, advocating for the dance genre across the American South.  His work at the Wilson Center supports the creation and development of new work, including techs for national Broadway tours and dance companies, as currently workshopping a new musical with BD Wong.  He serves on the North Carolina Arts Council Choreography Fellowship Panel, as well as the advisory committee for the Masters of Public Administration program at UNC Wilmington.

He was recognized as “WilmingtonBiz 100 – one of the region’s most influential people” in 2019 and “Most Intriguing People of 2014” by the Greater Wilmington Business Journal, “One of the 12 to Watch in 2015” by the Wilmington Star News, and was recognized as the “Best Director of a Musical” for the Wilmington Theatre Awards in 2015.  He serves on the North Carolina Arts Council Choreography Fellowship Panel, as well as the advisory committee for the Masters of Public Administration program at UNC Wilmington.

Fernando currently serves as president of the North Carolina Presenters Consortium, is a public arts commentator for WHQR Public Radio and a member of the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA).  He has been a director, property master, and actor in over 150 Wilmington theatre productions. 

Shane is also a backyard beekeeper.