Caitlin Patton is the co-founder and Executive Director of OuterArts Maryland, a nonprofit organization that operates the National Music Festival, the Resonance Concert Series, The Phanos Project, an Instrument Loan Program, and the Fiddlesticks! Youth Strings Program. She is also a published freelance writer, farmer, musician, and a Standards for Excellence® Licensed Consultant.
Caitlin graduated in 2010 from the Master of Public Administration program at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina, where she focused her studies on Arts and Nonprofit Administration. Upon her graduation, she was inducted into Pi Alpha Alpha, the national public administration honor society, and received the MPA program’s Outstanding Student Award in recognition of her 4.0 cumulative GPA and involvement in the MPA community.
Caitlin grew up on Maryland’s Eastern Shore where she developed a passion for reading, writing, and music as well as animal rescue and equestrian pursuits. Homeschooled from 5th grade on, she was admitted to Washington College at the age of 15 and graduated magna cum laude four years later with majors in Humanities and Music and minors in Creative Writing and English.
Both during and after college, she taught violin and horseback riding lessons and trained horses professionally. Her arts administration experience includes positions with Spoleto Festival USA, the Boston Symphony Orchestra (at the Tanglewood Music Center), and as the first Executive Director of the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra. Her training includes a Professional Certificate in Arts Management from the University of Massachusetts Amherst Arts Extension Service, and the Essentials of Orchestra Management seminar at the League of American Orchestras. She also holds a Certificate in Nonprofit Board Consulting from BoardSource.
While studying for her master’s degree, she was active in the Charleston community in her role as the Community Service Chair for the College of Charleston Master of Public Administration Student Association, and also through her volunteer work for Lowcountry Animal Rescue.
Having returned in 2012 to her hometown of Chestertown, MD, Caitlin sings in the Chester River Chorale as well its smaller ensembles, the Chester Chamber Singers and River Voices, the Chorale’s community outreach ensemble. She served as the Chorale’s President for several years and taught violin, viola, and cello lessons for two decades. In the fall of 2012, she taught Introduction to Arts Leadership at Washington College. In addition to serving for seven years on the Board of Directors of the Chester River Chorale , she served for six years on the Board of the Animal Care Shelter for Kent County.
Caitlin and her husband, National Music Festival Artistic Director Richard Rosenberg, live on Double Forte Farm, a small farm in Maryland with their son, Asher. Their menagerie includes four cats, six dogs, fifteen goats, five horses, several beehives, and a variety of chickens, turkeys, guinea fowl, ducks, and geese.