Sarasota Opera names new marketing director

Ahead of its Winter Opera Festival, which runs through March 29, the Sarasota Opera hired Lael Mohib as director of marketing.

A native of Bradenton, Mohib recently moved back to the area after living abroad for 15 years. She has nearly two decades of experience working as a communications and international development specialist. 

Mohib succeeds Stephen Baker, who served as marketing director of the Sarasota Opera from 2021-23. 

Courtesy image

During her career, Mohib has served as a strategic communications consultant for the World Bank and the former government of Afghanistan. 

In London, she created educational and media development programs for BBC Media Action. She has been public relations advisor at the Afghan Embassy in Washington, DC. 

Most recently Mohib was executive director of the Enabled Children Initiative, a nonprofit she co-founded in 2013, which supports children with disabilities. Mohib is the mother of three children.

She has a bachelor’s degree in communications with a minor in Music Theory from Mary Baldwin College and a master’s degree in international relations and journalism from Boston University. 

“Our goal as a department is to enrich the experience of opera for our loyal audiences as well as to expand this experience to others in the community who may be new to town or new to opera,” Mohib said in a statement. 

Assisting Mohib are Hallie Geyh, a digital marketing and communications manager who has been with the company since November, and Olivia Baylou, a marketing coordinator who joined Sarasota Opera in March 2023. 

Before joining the opera, Geyh was digital communications manager at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she led digital projects to develop new audiences, and launched the school’s newsletter, connecting students, alumni, faculty and staff.

Baylou, who is fluent in Japanese, Korean and Mandarin Chinese, collaborates with creative teams to develop marketing strategies that drive audience engagement and retention. 

“I’m thrilled that we’ve been able to assemble such an accomplished team to help promote the message of our extraordinary work and to help build a community of opera lovers in Sarasota,” said Richard Russell, Sarasota Opera general director, in a statement. 

The Sarasota Opera's 2025 Winter Festival includes four programs: the twin bill of "Cavalleria Rusticana" and "Pagliacci," two operas featuring the wily servant Figaro — Rossini's "The Barber of Seville" and Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" — and "Stiffelio," a lesser-known opera by Verdi, whose works have been championed by Sarasota Opera Maestro Victor DiRenzi during his 42 seasons at the helm of the opera.