Christina Casella was born and raised in San Antonio and returned after earning a B.F.A. degree from Sam Houston State University in May of 2012. Soon after, Christina joined The Playhouse San Antonio team (now The Public Theatre of San Antonio) in January 2013, as Director of Education and Community Outreach. While in this role, the education program grew from one program serving 50 students ages 5-18 to nine programs serving over 150 students ages 5-85. These programs were developed alongside multiple community organizations, including Haven for Hope, SAMMinistries, Trilogy Dance Center, YMCA, and Eva’s Heroes.
In May 2015, Christina was promoted to The Playhouse role of Advancement Director where she managed the Education and Outreach, Marketing & Public Relations, and Development departments. After almost three years at The Playhouse, Christina received the opportunity to join the Witte Museum team as the Manager of Gallery, Theater, and Community Outreach. In just a few short months, Christina rose to the position of Director of Play and co-director of the Education and Public Programs team. She continued to oversee the Gallery Theater and Community Outreach programs as well as undertaking the revitalization of the museum's historic camp program. Her time at the Witte overlapped with the institution’s historic $100 million reopening where Christina participated in all public programming decisions for the museum.
Prior to her career at the Witte Museum, Christina launched her side business, Cate Creative (recently rebranded to cccreate). cccreate is a design and digital media company that consults and works with San Antonio companies and nonprofits, as well as a handful of national clients. In August, 2018, Christina made the leap to entrepreneurship by launching cccreate as a full-time endeavor. In August 2019 while cccreate continued to thrive, she accepted the position as Theatre Director at Lytle High School in Lytle, Texas. Teaching, working, creating art with public high school students continued to fuel her passion for serving youth while also realizing that their needs are not fully met in the classroom. This informed her decision to return to the non-profit sector in January 2021 as Chief Development Officer for SA Youth. Building new and meaningful partnerships while nurturing existing ones and appealing to individuals committed to supporting San Antonio youth are at the forefront of the work that is ahead to reach these crucial, yet attainable, goals.