Kim Motes is leaving Theater Latte Da after two years as managing director. Motes will become vice president for Institutional Advancement at the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph. Motes had joined Latte Da after seven years with Artspace Projects and the Minnesota Shubert Center (Now the Cowles Center). In that role she helped raise $34.5 million toward the ultimate goal of $41 million. The Cowles Center is now under reconstruction on Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis.

With Latte Da, Motes reunited with her old college buddy Peter Rothstein, who is the troupe's artistic director. The two met when Motes was at St. Ben's and Rothstein was at St. John's. Their tenure together at Latte Da was brief but significant. The company has grown faster in the past two years than any other in the Twin Cities. This fall's production of "Evita" at the Ordwday's McKnight Theatre enjoyed an extended run and ended up selling more than 10,000 tickets — a record for Latte Da. Last fall, "The Full Monty" sold nearly 5,000 seats in the same theater.

"It was a perfect marriage at the perfect time," Rothstein said Monday morning. "Her relationships with the philanthropic community through the Shubert allowed us to be on the map for some of the leading arts patrons in town and that was in sync weith my work at the Guthrie."

Rothstein said the company's board of directors is meeting tomorrow and hopes to hire a replacement as soon as possible.

Motes said in a statement: "I am very proud of the growth and success of the past two years and will continue to be one of Theater Latté Da's biggest fans and champions."

Motes, a 1989 graduate of St. Ben's, will begin her new position Jan. 6, and will be responsible for all aspects of fundraising for the college as well as overseeing Alumnae Relations, Fine Arts Programming and the Literary Arts Institute. Motes replaces Stuart Lang who stepped down as vice president in August and will retire in February.

Motes and her husband, Dave, live in Plymouth. Dave Motes teaches at Wayzata High School.