Circus Arts Conservatory co-founders step down

Pedro Reis and Dolly Jacobs, co-founders of the Circus Arts Conservatory, are stepping down from the helm of the Sarasota nonprofit they founded to preserve and advance circus arts worldwide.

The husband-and-wife team will be succeeded by Jennifer Mitchell, who has been named president and CEO by the CAC board in a leadership transition that has been long in the making. 

Mitchell was previously CAC executive vice president and chief operating officer, a position she held for more than a decade. She joined the circus arts organization in 2008, when it was known as Circus Sarasota, as marketing and public relations coordinator.

Although Reis and Jacobs are relinquishing their management titles, they will continue to provide guidance and support to the CAC. Both are former circus performers. Reis is a native of South Africa and helped bring the glamour of European-style circus to Sarasota.

Jacobs is a former aerialist and the daughter of famed clown Lou Jacobs, a longtime performer with the Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Circus. Her mother, Jean Rockwell Jacobs, was a fashion model who became a circus artist. 

Dolly Jacobs was a featured performer with both Ringling Bros., which made its winter home in Sarasota, and the Big Apple Circus in New York City.

Together Reis and Jacobs have created a vibrant organization dedicated to keeping circus arts alive. 

In a statement, the CAC credited Mitchell with the 2011 acquisition of the Sailor Circus, which led to the creation of the conservatory in 2013. 

During Mitchell's tenure as COO, the CAC participated in a Circus program at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 2017 and completed a $5 million campaign to renovate and add air-conditioning to the Sailor Circus Arena. Mitchell also served as the lead strategist in developing circus magnet programs at Sarasota High School and Booker Middle School.

"Our board knows that, in Jennifer, there is a deep knowledge of our mission and clear passion for our work in the circus arts," said CAC board Chair Shari Ashman in a statement. "She is a highly effective leader with proven ability to consistently position CAC for success as a rapidly evolving organization."

Added Reis, "Jennifer is very highly regarded in the circus arts world and local communities, and her passion and knowledge of the CAC's business model, educational programming and community outreach is unsurpassed." 

Mitchell's connection to the CAC is more than just professional. Her daughter, Emma Clarke, trained for over a decade with the Sailor Circus Academy. Clarke is performing professionally this year with Wonderland, the holiday circus formed by Nik Wallenda and the CAC in 2023. Its "Illuminate" performances will be held from Nov. 29 through Jan. 5. at a new big top near the UTC mall.

This year, Clarke was honored with the 2024 Next Generation Award by the Ring of Fame Foundation.

In a statement, the CAC said that Jacobs, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellow, will continue to share her knowledge of circus arts and will act as a global ambassador for both the CAC and circus arts in general.

Reis, who is a respected circus producer, will advise the CAC at an executive level and continue to pursue new initiatives, such as bringing a circus festival to Southwest Florida. 

In addition to its shows under the big top during season in Sarasota, the CAC also performs at The Ringling's Historic Asolo Theater during the summer months. In July, the CAC brought a show called "Sommersaults in the Berkshires" to the Duffin Theatre, in Lenox, Massachusetts. 

In the last fiscal year, the CAC presented 250 performances to 117,000 audience members, educated 9,000 students across 45 schools and five counties in Florida and trained more than 120 year-round student athletes through the Sailor Circus Academy.

The group also trained 1,000 summer campers and mentored 110 in-school circus students through magnet programs.