California’s statewide arts education coalition, Create CA, is a new collective impact organization focusing on advancing arts and education through multiple initiatives, partnerships, and projects.
Member Spotlight
Americans for the Arts members are a thriving group of professionals that encourages an open exchange of ideas and knowledge to help advance the arts in America. Are you an Americans for the Arts member who would like to see your organization and project featured on this page? Would you like to share how your Americans for the Arts membership has been of value to your career? If so, e-mail your story to [email protected].
After I received a scholarship to attend my first Americans for the Arts Convention in 2012, my world rapidly began to shift. In San Antonio, I learned about the local Emerging Leader (EL) networks, and I immediately went on to help found the EL network in Portland. I then ran for a seat on Americans for the Art’s Emerging Leader Council, an experience that has allowed me to help design and present at the Leadership Preconference, sit on the host committee for NAMP 2013, and mobilize EL networks in other states.
From a young age I have always felt that everything is interconnected and that the arts are just as much a part of the human psyche as is science, math and the need for food and shelter. What I love about the folks at Americans for the Arts is they get this.
What can the arts do for a community marginalized by blight in the course of five years?
Restore and refurbish historic buildings; spur the sale of redeveloped properties by public and private developers; revitalize the area with engaging works of public art and dynamic urban green spaces; reinvigorate the transportation system; attract locals and visitors to the area with nationally renowned artists and groundbreaking arts programming; encourage mutually beneficial cross sector collaborations; and finally encourage businesses to relocate to the area.
As an advertising agency-trained strategic arts marketing consultant who has worked with both companies and government entities such as ExxonMobil and the Department of Defense, I was confident that I had a lot to bring to the Arts world. I love the Arts and so far I have provided private consulting services to many arts agencies and organizations on matters such as reaching and engaging underserved communities.
I am proud of the fact that Americans for the Arts exists to support the national arts sector, and I am proud to be a member of the organization. Americans for the Arts has been my go to resource for many years and I encourage every artist and arts and cultural organization to join. The data, research, publications and staff expertise provided are invaluable, having contributed to my development as an arts professional in general, and as an arts advocate at home.
