Meet Justine Porter, CIPC’s Director of Stewardship and Special Events. Having joined the organization in December 2014 she’s one of the newest members of the team, but already she’s had a major impact.
Mrs. Porter is responsible for building relationships, organizing special events, and developing new ideas for capturing the interest of potential donors. She works on an ongoing basis with CIPC board members and volunteers, donors and patrons, and representatives from corporations and foundations that make contributions and grants to the organization.
“Justine is indispensible to CIPC,” said President and CEO Pierre van der Westhuizen. “She has helped organize our fundraising efforts and brought her own unique style to all of our special events.”
Those events include Bravo Piano, the hugely popular black tie gala that’s held at Severance Hall on the final night of the Cleveland International Piano Competition, and Encore!, a brand new event taking place in August featuring dinner and a special performance by the four winners from the 2016 competition. (More HERE.) Her favorite event? “The Valentine’s Day dinner concert we’ve been presenting for the past two years,” she says without hesitation. “It’s the perfect date night and people love it.”
Like most of the CIPC staff, Mrs. Porter is a musician. She studied cello performance at the University of Akron with Martha Baldwin, who is a member of The Cleveland Orchestra. Married for less than a year, she and her husband Marty live in the Kamm’s Corner neighborhood of Cleveland with their two rescues – Chip (the dog) and Franz Schubert (the cat).