Lisa Merrill Hickok joins The Friends of Chamber Music as Executive Director, assuming leadership at a historic milestone as the organization celebrates the conclusion of its 50th anniversary year. Tasked with steering our financial administration, strategic marketing, and philanthropic growth, Hickok steps into the role to spearhead the journey into our next half-century, ensuring the organization’s continued position as one of the region’s premier cultural anchors.
A consummate non-profit arts leader and fundraising strategist with more than three decades of experience, Hickok brings a lifelong passion for chamber music and an elite track record of driving institutional visibility. Most recently, from 2020 to 2025, she served as Executive Director of the International Center for Music at Park University, where she successfully guided the renowned conservatory through unprecedented pandemic-era challenges while significantly elevating its national and international profile. Her administrative expertise across the classical music landscape is further underscored by past leadership roles as Executive Director of Summerfest Concerts, Director of Marketing for the Kansas City Ballet, and as Founder and President of Merrill LLC Consulting, where she crafted audience-development and campaign strategies for numerous premier Midwestern cultural institutions.
Complementing her professional tenure is a monumental civic footprint within the Kansas City community. Hickok has served in major leadership capacities for the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and the City of Kansas City Municipal Art Commission. As a chair, president, and board member across these vital institutions, she has directly helped generate more than $10 million in community investment for the arts, education, and social services. A graduate of the University of Missouri–Columbia with a Master of Arts in Speech and Communications and a Bachelor of Journalism, Hickok couples an undeniable institutional pedigree with deep civic relationships, positioning her to fiercely champion our mission and patrons for decades to come.
