Inside CHQ – The Podcast
Welcome to “Inside CHQ,” the podcast, designed to take Chautauqua Institution’s patrons on a deeper dive into issues important to Chautauqua’s purpose and vision for the future.
We started this series in 2021, as the Institution and the world were recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. What launched as an annual video series, publishing three or four episodes a year, is now coming to life as a podcast that will release new episodes every Thursday during Chautauqua’s Summer Assembly.
You can find Inside CHQ on Spotify, Apple and Amazon Music platforms. Listen now.
The host of Inside CHQ is Chautauquan Cindy Abbott Letro. Her guests each week are the people of Chautauqua — staff, community members and others who find themselves here during the Summer Assembly.
Let us know who you’d like us to interview on future episodes, and send us any questions you’d like us to raise and answer on the show! If we share your question on the podcast, we’ll get you a Chautauqua tote bag packed with goodies from the various shops here on Chautauqua’s grounds.
Inside CHQ Video Series Episodes
Episode 1: Institution Governance with Candy Maxwell, Part 1
Episode 2: Institution Governance with Candy Maxwell, Part 2
Episode 3: A Look at Finances with Sebastian Baggiano
Episode 4: All About Programming with Deborah Sunya Moore
Episode 5: Talking About Weekly Themes with Matthew Ewalt
Episode 6: Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility with Amit Taneja
Episode 7: Chautauqua’s Recreational Offerings with Meg Pickard
Episode 8: Behind the Scenes with Director of Production Joseph Futral
Episode 9: Project 360: Chautauqua’s Technology Roadmap with Emily Morris
Episode 10: Talking Religion with Melissa Spas
Episode 11: The Education Pillar with Jordan Steves
Episode 12: The Performing and Visual Arts Pillar with Laura Savia
Episode 13: Buildings and Grounds with John Shedd
Episode 1: Institution Governance with Candy Maxwell, Part 1
The Chautauqua Institution Charter and Bylaws can be found at chq.org/board
Chautauqua Property Owners Association (CPOA) can be found at here.
Episode 2: Institution Governance with Candy Maxwell, Part 2
The Chautauqua Institution Charter, Bylaws and Board of Trustees Quarterly Meeting Minutes, and Trustee Nomination Process can be found at chq.org/board
Chautauqua Property Owners Association (CPOA) can be found at here.
Episode 3: A Look at Finances with Sebastian Baggiano
Episode 4: All About Programming with Deborah Sunya Moore
Episode 5: Talking About Weekly Themes with Matthew Ewalt
Episode 6: Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility with Amit Taneja
Episode 7: Chautauqua’s Recreational Offerings with Meg Pickard
Episode 8: Behind the Scenes with Director of Production Joseph Futral
Episode 9: Project 360: Chautauqua’s Technology Roadmap with Emily Morris
Episode 10: Talking Religion with Melissa Spas
Episode 11: The Education Pillar with Jordan Steves
Episode 12: The Performing and Visual Arts Pillar with Laura Savia
Episode 13: Buildings and Grounds with John Shedd
Please submit your questions, feedback and ideas for future episodes of Inside CHQ to questions.chq.org.
About Cindy Abbott Letro
Cindy Abbott Letro is committed to strengthening the fabric of our community through volunteerism, philanthropy and leadership. She is the past chair of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra Society Board of Directors and its “Carnegie Hall Committee” which oversaw a successful performance at the Spring for Music Festival at Carnegie Hall in 2013. Ms. Letro is a past chair of the Burchfield Penney Art Center. During her chairmanship the Center fulfilled its dream of building a new $35 million dollar facility on the corner of Rockwell Road and Elmwood Avenue on the campus of Buffalo State College.
In April of 2008, Governors Elliot Spitzer and David Patterson nominated Ms. Letro to the Niagara Frontier State Park, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commission, a nomination that was subsequently confirmed by the New York State Senate. She currently serves as the chair of the commission. She also chairs the Buffalo Niagara Film Commission, is vice chair of Visit Buffalo Niagara, and serves on the board of St. Bonaventure University.
Ms. Letro acts as business manager for her husband’s law firm, Francis M. Letro, Attorneys at Law. She and her husband of 32 years are supportive of a wide variety of civic projects and cultural organizations and make their home in the city of Buffalo. She received a B.A., cum laude from the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, and a M.S. in Communications from The Newhouse School at Syracuse University.