staff bios
Mitch Menchaca
Director of Local Arts Advancement
Mitch Menchaca is the director of local arts advancement at Americans for the Arts. His responsibilities include overseeing programs and services that strengthen the local arts advancement field, such as content for the annual convention, online learning and “how-to” trainings, fulfilling technical assistance requests, producing publications, and ensuring peer-to-peer engagement through member affinity networks. Recently, he served as the senior director of programs at the Arizona Commission on the Arts and provided oversight for agency grantmaking; program development; and managed grants and services for festivals, museums, art service organizations, and local arts agencies. Prior to working at the Arts Commission, Mitch served as the director of the Casa Grande Valley Historical Society, manager for Central Arizona College Public Events/Pinal County Fine Arts Council, and program associate for the Arizona Humanities Council.
Mitch served on the boards of directors of the Museum Association of Arizona, the City of Casa Grande Arts and Humanities Commission, the Central Arizona Museum Association, and as a past chair of the Americans for the Arts Emerging Leaders Council. Currently, he is on the board of directors of the new DC region cultural center, Artisphere, and is a board member of The Association of American Cultures (TAAC).
Mitch studied theater at Central Arizona College, earned a B.L.S. with concentrations in arts and public administration at Arizona State University, and he completed a festival and event management certificate at the University of Minnesota Tourism Center. He is a 2009 fellow and current faculty coach for the Center for Progressive Leadership, a national political training institute that develops diverse leaders who can effectively advance progressive political and policy change.
E-mail Mitch.