2012 executive director & board member symposium
SPEAKERS/PRESENTERS
Robert L. Lynch
President and CEO, Americans for the Arts
Robert L. Lynch is the president and CEO of Americans for the Arts, the national organization dedicated to advancing the arts and arts education in people's lives, schools, and communities. He was executive director of the National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies for 12 years, and managed the successful merger of that organization with the American Council for the Arts to form Americans for the Arts in 1996. In 2005, Mr. Lynch oversaw the merger of the Arts and Business Council, Inc. into Americans for the Arts. In the same year he also created the Americans for the Arts Action Fund and its connected political action committee to engage citizens in advocating for the arts and arts education to ensure arts-friendly public policies.
With more than 30 years of experience in the arts industry, Mr. Lynch is motivated by his personal mission to empower communities and leaders to advance arts and arts appreciation in society. Under his 25 years of leadership, the services and membership of Americans for the Arts has grown to more than 50 times its original size in 1985. He has personally reached audiences in 49 states and 12 countries, ranging from Native American tribal gatherings to the U.S. Armed Forces in Europe and the President of the United States. Mr. Lynch currently serves on the board of the Craft Emergency Relief Fund, the Arts Extension Institute, and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst College of Humanities and Fine Arts Board. He is a member of the Executive Committee for United Voices for Education and is on the Advisory Council of the National Museum for Children in the Arts. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Mr. Lynch plays the piano, mandolin, and guitar, and lives in Washington, DC.
Jonathan Katz
CEO, National Assembly of State Arts Agencies
Jonathan Katz is one of the primary spokespersons on behalf of funding and support for the arts and cultural activities in the United States. For more than 20 years, he has guided the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, the association through which the nation's 56 state arts agencies share knowledge and strategic thinking, develop leadership and professionalism, and advocate the value of the arts and culture.
A frequent speaker and workshop leader at forums on cultural issues and trends, Katz has consulted extensively on strategic planning, cultural policy development, advocacy, leadership development and financial planning for nonprofits. He is a cofounder of the Arts Education Partnership, established by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Endowment for the Arts as the nation's forum for the advancement of arts education. A former member of the U.S. Commission on UNESCO, Katz recently returned from Vancouver, Canada, where he advised the International Federation of Arts Councils and Cultural Agencies on its strategic planning process; from Seoul, Korea, where he advised the national arts council on its grant programs; and from Johannesburg, South Africa, where he led the CEO Seminar for heads of national arts and cultural agencies at the IFACCA World Summit.
Katz directed the graduate arts administration program at the University of Illinois at Springfield, The Children's Museum of Denver, and the Kansas Arts Commission. For NASAA, Katz coauthored Advancing America's Creativity: An Agenda for Leadership in Support of the Arts and Cultural Activities, the State Arts Agency Strategic Planning Toolkit, and Facing Controversy: Arts Issues and Crisis Communications, and wrote the Report of the Task Force on Cultural Pluralism.
Mary McCullough-Hudson
President & CEO, ArtsWave
Mary McCullough-Hudson is president & CEO of ArtsWave, a position she has held since 1994 following 10 years as the director of ArtsWave's annual united arts campaign. During her 30-year tenure, the ArtsWave campaign has grown from $2.5 million to $11 million in 2009 (the largest such campaign in the country), a source of operating and project support for over 100 area arts organizations. Other notable organizational achievements have included the creation of the Arts Services office which provides capacity building programs focused on marketing, board development, and fundraising. In 2005, Mary was appointed to the national board of directors of Americans for the Arts. Local civic leadership roles have included Agenda 360 (a Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber-led regional action plan) and the educational collaborative STRIVE. Honors include the YWCA Career Women of Achievement award and the CCM Distinguished Alumna award. Mary holds a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music.
Michael Killoren
Director for Local Arts Agencies and the Challenge America Fast-Track, National Endowment for the Arts
Michael Killoren is the Director for Local Arts Agencies and the Challenge America Fast-Track at the National Endowment for the Arts. He is responsible for the grantmaking processes for Local Arts Agencies (LAA's), developing partnerships to advance the LAA field as a whole, and the Challenge America Fast-Track program. Most recently, Mr. Killoren served as director of Seattle's Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, a cabinet-level position, from 2002 through 2010, where he led the city department's funding and public art programs, developed policy initiatives to increase public access to arts and culture, and established a groundbreaking partnership to restore arts education in Seattle Public Schools.
Kerry Adams Hapner
Director of Cultural Affairs, City of San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs
Kerry Adams Hapner is the Director of Cultural Affairs at the City of San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs, whose mission is to champion the arts and cultural vitality for San Jose residents and visitors. Adams Hapner oversees a 19-member staff working in six primary areas: public art, special events, cultural funding, community arts, cultural development and arts education. She collaborates with City departments, the arts community, the San Jose Arts Commission, and philanthropic foundations to advance San Jose as a vibrant center of arts, culture, creativity, and innovation. Prior to joining the City of San Jose, Adams Hapner was manager of Cultural Affairs for the City of Ventura. She serves as a member of ArtTable, American Society of Appraisers, and California Arts Advocates.
Andy Vick
Executive Director, Allegany Arts Council
Andy Vick has been the Executive Director of the Allegany Arts Council since April of 2003. He and his wife, Beth Piver, were full-time artists when they relocated to Western Maryland from Fairfax, Virginia in March of 1998, and they continue to be active contributors in the local arts community. Prior to his career in the arts, Andy was employed as a Marketing Director and as a Manager of Human Resources for businesses in the Washington, DC area. In addition to his role as Executive Director of the Allegany Arts Council, Andy is the Chairman of the Canal Place Preservation and Development Authority (the State of Maryland’s first certified heritage area). He also serves on the Board of Directors of Maryland Citizens for the Arts, the Maryland Tourism Development Board, and the Allegany County Chamber of Commerce, and is a Past-President of the Rotary Club of Cumberland. Andy is a member the City of Cumberland’s Downtown Development Commission (which oversees the City's Main Street Program), a member of The Greater Cumberland Committee, and is the co-Coordinator for the Arts & Entertainment Districts in Downtown Cumberland and Downtown Frostburg. In his spare time, Andy is also an experienced public speaker and consultant on the topic of using the Arts as a tool for economic development and community revitalization.
Abel Lopez
Associate Producing Director, GALA Hispanic Theatre
Abel López has served as GALA Hispanic Theatre's associate producing director for over 25 years, during which time he has produced more than 65 shows and directed another 25, including the company’s first hit production of Kiss of the Spider Woman (1993) that won numerous awards. Lopez’s recent directing credits include El Canuto del Rock (2009), La edad de la ciruela (2008), Agustín Lara: Boleros & Blues (2008), Tu ternura Molotov (2008), Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue (2007), Los pecados de Sor Juana (2006), Real Women Have Curves (2005) and Mexico: Noches Bohemias (2004). López has also directed productions for Arizona Theatre Company and In Series, among other performing arts and cultural groups. Currently, he sits on the board of directors of National Association of Latino Arts & Culture (President), Americans for the Arts (Vice Chair), Association of Performing Arts Presenters (Treasurer), Helen Hayes Awards, Black Women Playwrights Group, and Performing Arts Alliance. He has served as Chair of the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Theater Communications Group, Leadership Washington, League of Washington Theaters, Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts, and the Performing Arts Alliance. His contributions to the arts have been recognized with the Richard Bauer Leadership Award from the Washington Performing Arts Video Archive (2002), Selena Roberts Ottum Award from Americans for the Arts and the National Endowment of the Arts (2001), and The Washington Post Award for Distinguished Community Service at the 1990 Helen Hayes Awards. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School, is an adjunct professor at George Mason University, and on the faculty of the NALAC Leadership Institute.
Barbara Schaffer Bacon
Interim Vice President of Local Arts Advancement
& Animating Democracy Co-Director, Americans for the Arts
Barbara Schaffer Bacon co-directs Animating Democracy, a program of Americans for the Arts that inspires, informs, promotes, and connects arts and culture as potent contributors to community, civic, and social change. Currently she is also serving as interim vice president for Americans for the Arts Local Arts Advancement programs. Barbara has written, edited, and contributed to many publications including Civic Dialogue, Arts & Culture: Findings from Animating Democracy; Case Studies from Animating Democracy; Animating Democracy: The Artistic Imagination as a Force for Civic Dialogue. She has served as a primary instructor for the Fundamentals and Advanced Local Arts Management seminars and was a contributor to Fundamentals of Local Arts Management and The Cultural Planning Work Kit. A consultant in program design and evaluation, Barbara has served as an adviser for state and national arts agencies and private foundations. She has delivered presentations and workshops nationally and internationally in Canada, Australia, and England. Barbara previously served as executive director of the Arts Extension Service at the University of Massachusetts. She is president of the Arts Extension Institute, Inc. Barbara served for 14 years on the Belchertown, MA school committee. She was recently appointed by the Gov. Deval Patrick to serve as a member of the Massachusetts Cultural Council.