Americans for the Arts

On August 1, 2019, the United States Senate confirmed Mary Anne Carter as Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Carter had served as acting chairman of the agency since June 5, 2018, and senior deputy chairman for 18 months prior to that. Americans for the Arts sits down with Carter to ask her a few questions—read on to get to know her better!

What called you to national public service for the arts?

I’ve always been involved in public service, working alongside governors, senators, and other public leaders. My passion for the arts really derives from my daughter’s experiences. My daughter has dyslexia, and struggled when it came to traditional methods of teaching and learning. But she became a completely different student when arts were integrated into the classroom. She began to thrive instead of struggle. As a parent, there’s no greater gift than to see your child reach their full potential. As chairman, I hope to make sure all Americans have the same opportunities for success that my daughter has had.

What have you learned during your tenure at the NEA about the unique federal role of support for the arts in America?

I’ve learned how very critical it is. While private dollars would probably ensure the arts would continue to thrive in our biggest urban centers, access to the arts would evaporate in many other parts of the country if not for the National Endowment for the Arts. A review of the art giving of the top 1,000 private foundations in the United States shows that those private dollars don't reach 65 percent of American counties. In contrast, the National Endowment for the Arts supports activities in 779 more counties than private foundations. That’s 25 percent of America where the National Endowment for the Arts provides funding and the top 1,000 private foundations do not.

Now that you have been officially confirmed to a four-year term, what are your top goals and areas of focus moving forward?

My main priority right now is accessibility, both in terms of Americans’ ability to access the arts, but also their ability to access our agency. We want to ensure every American in every community in every state has the opportunity to participate in and benefit from the arts. At the same time, we want the public to understand that we are here for them as a resource. We are not some behemoth bureaucratic agency lost in a shuffle of paperwork. We are a small team of unbelievably passionate, dedicated staff members who work hard every single day to enhance this nation through the arts.

Prior to her appointment as Chairman, Carter was engaged in public policy analysis, issue tracking, and corporate and campaign communications through her work as a public affairs consultant. She was a chief policy adviser to Florida Senator Rick Scott when he was serving as governor, and is the founder and president of MAC Research, Inc., a consulting firm that specializes in political and public affairs. She also worked as director of U.S. Senate Relations at the Heritage Foundation, a public policy think tank in Washington, DC. Read Americans for the Arts’ welcome statement following Carter’s approval on August 1, 2019.