The Castillo Theatre Benefit & Awards Ceremony is Castillo’s biggest annual celebration! Every year, Castillo honors individuals and companies that are key leaders in helping to grow cutting-edge, multicultural, political, experimental and community-based theatre. This year, we proudly honored Veronica W. Benzinger, Managing Director – Chief Broking Officer at Aon, and presented the Otto Awards to Voza Rivers and Falconworks Theater Company.
2019 Castillo Benefit Honoree: Veronica W. Benzinger, Chief Broking Officer / Managing Director, Environmental Services Group
Veronica Benzinger has been a partner of the All Stars project and Castillo Theatre since the early 1980s and become an early member of the Castillo Theatre. She has seen and contributed to the growth of Castillo from its previous home on 500 Greenwich Street to its current center on 42nd Street.
Veronica is the managing director and the chief broking officer of Aon Risk Solutions’ Environmental Practice. She is responsible for leading the environmental broking team nationally. Aon’s Environmental practice works with Aon offices around the world to assist clients in managing their environmental exposures, and Veronica has been a broking leader in the industry for 35 years.
Veronica has always been passionate about the power of performance, and has championed the inclusivity and the alternative points of view that the Castillo Theatre brings together. She loves the outreach, community engagement, and education Castillo does with young people, and people of all ages, from all socioeconomic backgrounds.
“From a young age, I’ve been interested in giving back to the community and have seen the results from education, drama and theatre. Not many organizations do all that but All Stars and Castillo always does and it’s working. There is open dialogue, open mindedness, and inclusivity of different points of view – something we are losing in the current environment. It’s extremely important to have a multiracial, multicultural center on 42nd Street. The more people invited to the theatre, the more dynamic the programs, the more dynamic the results. For all people, it’s one of the most rewarding moments in their life and a building block of their future. In New York City, there is a broad range of people and bringing people together for one common goal is extraordinarily important.”
