staff bios
Hannah Jacobson
Executive Assistant to the President and CEO
Hannah Jacobson joined the staff of Americans for the Arts full-time in June 2012 as the Executive Assistant to the President and CEO, but has been working in various capacities in the organization since September of 2011. Beginning with an internship in the Policy department at AFTA, Hannah has also served as a research assistant in the Research and Development departments, working on projects from Briefing Books to blogging, and the National Arts Index to the National Arts Policy Roundtable. During this time, Hannah also worked at the Society for the Arts in Healthcare coordinating the office and helping to develop an inter-organizational National Initiative for Arts & Health in the Military. Previously, Hannah worked for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in the Youth & Family Education department and the New Haven Museum, where she produced two full art tours of the museum for elementary and middle school students. Hannah also received a fellowship in 2010 to work for the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop in Washington, DC, where she helped kick off the 40th Anniversary year with an oral history project that has since received distinction from the DC Council on the Arts & Humanities.
Personally, Hannah has always had a strong connection with the arts through her love of the stage. She performed in musicals and plays from age seven through high school, serving on the Executive Board of each of her theatre groups, and developed into an a cappella singer in college. She sang with Out of the Blue of Yale University, along with Yale's all-senior, all-female group, Whim 'n Rhythm--going on to serve as business manager of both groups, and traveling around the world to sing. Hannah continues to sing post-college with Washington DC's young professional, co-ed group, Word of Mouth. In the rest of her spare time, Hannah works on the Capitol Hill Alphabet Animals Art Project, a public arts project in the Southeast Quadrant of DC (sponsored by the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop), along with fulfilling a great passion for the art of baking.
Hannah started her future arts career by copying the poses of Degas' dancers at age five, and went on to graduate from Yale University in 2011 with a BA in History of Art, earning honors in her major and a Cum Laude distinction. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to support, promote, and advocate for the arts in her role at Americans for the Arts.
E-mail Hannah.