Deborah F. Rutter is a nationally respected arts executive with over four decades of leadership in premier cultural institutions. From 2014 to 2025, she served as the first female president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, leading a period of transformative growth while centering artists in all aspects of the institution’s work.
A champion of artistic voices, Rutter believes artists hold a mirror to society, and her role is to uplift their work. She has collaborated with and appointed renowned artists throughout her career, including Renée Fleming, Jason Moran, Q-Tip, Mason Bates, Mo Willems, Gianandrea Noseda, Carlos Simon, Riccardo Muti, and Yo-Yo Ma. During her tenure at the Kennedy Center, Rutter expanded the institution’s artistic and educational programming across genres and audiences, including the 2019 introduction of Social Impact programming, an emphasis on the exploration of arts and well-being, and the opening of the Center’s first physical expansion, the REACH.
Previously, Rutter was president of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association (2003–2014), where she secured Riccardo Muti as music director and cemented the CSO’s reputation as a top-tier orchestra. As executive director of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra (1992–2003), she oversaw the construction of Benaroya Hall.
A pianist and violinist, Rutter earned a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and an MBA from USC. She serves on the boards of Vital Voices and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Born in Pennsylvania and raised in California, she is married with one daughter and enjoys reading, gardening, and attending performances.