Shane Fernando is the Vice President of Advancement and the Arts at Cape Fear Community College, overseeing institutional advancement, as well as leading the artistic and business vision for the Wilson Center. Consulting with design and creating the organizational structure, programmatic mission, business plan, and outreach strategies, the Wilson Center is the largest and most technologically advanced performing arts center in eastern North Carolina, presenting national Broadway and headlining tours, as well as a full series devoted to dance.
The dance series, “Move!” includes a comprehensive engagement and education program, regularly hosting technical residencies, and the commissioning of new work. He previously served at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Wilmington for almost 10 years, lastly serving as director of Campus Life Arts and Programs, overseeing performances, visual arts, film, and lecture programming; he also taught as an adjunct professor in the Department of Communication Studies.
Fernando earned a communication studies degree and a master’s degree in public administration from UNC Wilmington. 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 in Wilmington, NC and is also the programming consultant for the Hall, overseeing the booking of the Main Attractions Series. Fernando is serving in his fourth year as an advisor to the National Dance Project by the New England Foundation and is a member of the South Arts Dance Touring Initiative. He also serves as immediate past-president for the North Carolina Presenters Consortium. He was recognized as the “Best Director of a Musical” for the Wilmington Theatre Awards in 2015 and serves on the North Carolina Arts Council Choreography Fellowship Panel. In addition, Fernando 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. Fernando is also a backyard beekeeper.
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