2009
A native of Montreal, Quebec, Sara Lee Lewis studied at McGill University and worked in journalism and arts
promotion prior to moving to Nova Scotia in 1977. Lewis was co-founder of Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia in 1972, was the company’s first administrator, and served as Managing Director from 1991 to June 2015. Her current focus as Public Affairs Consultant continues to be directed to the development of export markets, and the promotion of puppetry arts. Mermaid now ranks among North America’s most respected family audience theatres and has played for more than six million spectators in nineteen countries on four continents.
During her sixty-year career in arts management, Lewis has served with regional, national and international
organizations in related fields, and is active in film, illiteracy and health promotion in her home community of Wolfville. Among other honours, Lewis was named a Member of the Order of Canada in April 2000, received a D.Litt. {honoris causa) from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax in 2001, was recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Club of Windsor and a Merritt Legacy Award winner in 2009.
