Laura Penn is in her 14th season as INTIMAN’s Managing Director. Under her leadership INTIMAN has served as an advocate and catalyst for civic dialogue and community building in the Puget Sound. She received the "Seattle Distinguished Citizen” Medal from Mayor Paul Schell in 2001.

During her tenure, she has established the five-year American Cycle series of classic plays and free public programs, created numerous education programs for multigenerational audiences and fostered ongoing collaborations with community leaders and institutions that are committed to social justice issues in our region. She has also guided INTIMAN to new business models, overseen the establishment of the INTIMAN Theatre Foundation and successfully completed a remodel of the public spaces at the INTIMAN Playhouse. World premieres under her leadership include Kent Gash’s adaptation of Richard Wright’s Native Son; Craig Lucas’s Prayer for My Enemy and Singing Forest; The Light in the Piazza by Craig Lucas and Adam Guettel, based on the novel by Elizabeth Spencer; and Joan Holden’s Nickel and Dimed, based on the nonfiction book by Barbara Ehrenreich.

She currently serves on the Board of Leadership Tomorrow and as a Fellow of the World Affairs Council. She also serves as an Advisor for the Puget Sound Business Journal Women of Influence honors, on advisory committees for Arts Corps and Freehold Studio/Theatre Lab, and as a site evaluator for the National Endowment for the Arts. She previously served as a Vice President of the League of Resident Theatres, held a two-term appointment as Chair of the Seattle Arts Commission and was a steering committee member of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce’s Forum on Race. She participated in the Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue, founded by Anna Deavere Smith. Prior to coming to INTIMAN, she was associate managing director at Seattle Repertory Theatre and worked with Bob Alexander and the Living Stage Theatre Company at Arena Stage.