Christopher Wingert is a Managing Director with Aspen Leadership Group at ZRG, bringing more than 20 years of experience and leadership in 300+ executive searches across the arts and culture sector. Chris is deeply committed to the idea that nonprofit organizations—and the people who lead them—can be transformational forces for good, building stronger, more creative, and more equitable communities through the power of mission-driven leadership.

Prior to joining Aspen Leadership Group, Christopher spent two decades with the Catherine French Group, where he managed national searches for orchestras, opera companies, performing arts centers, educational institutions, and other nonprofit arts institutions. He held early career roles at Arizona Arts and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, working in artistic planning, fundraising, and artist relations across a broad spectrum of disciplines.

Based in Washington, DC, Chris remains deeply engaged in the city’s arts community. A versatile performing artist, Chris regularly is a pianist, vocal coach, accompanist and conductor, and has served as music director for the Helen Hayes Awards since 2024.

A long-time advocate for arts education, Chris taught musical theatre at the University of Mary Washington from 2006 to 2020 as an adjunct professor and has been a teaching artist and music director at Sitar Arts Center in DC since 2005; he has served as a member of Sitar’s Board of Directors since 2019.

A native of Tucson, Arizona, he studied piano and French horn and earned degrees in music performance and education from the University of Arizona.