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BIPOC Executive Leadership in the Arts Program

The BIPOC Executive Leadership in the Arts Program supports the growth of future C-suite executives including chief executive officers, chief operating officers, chief financial officers and chief advancement/chief development officers. The program will help recognize and support the myriad qualified BIPOC arts professionals who are viable candidates for senior roles positions and strengthen their capacities to lead large civic cultural organizations into the future.

"30 by 30" Goal

According to the LACNA Foundation, while 53% of principal administrators of major performing arts centers are female, only 7% of that population of arts leaders are BIPOC, and only 16% of the leadership teams of these organizations include BIPOC representation. With the goal of "30 by 30", or 30% BIPOC representation in the C-suite by 2030, the BIPOC Executive Leadership in the Arts Program tackles this challenge head-on as a statement of commitment from these organizations to change their cultures and diversify their leadership.

Program Design

Fellows benefit from a multifaceted and experienced-based curriculum with five interlocking components:

  • Training on leadership theory and practice;

  • Residencies-in-practice at participating performing arts centers;

  • One-on-one leadership coaching;

  • Networking opportunities; and

  • Participation in a leadership summit.


Throughout the program, the fellows will explore ways to transform anchor performing arts organizations to become more equitable, diverse, inclusive, accessible and reflective of the communities they serve. They will participate in workshops with Stanford faculty and engage with leadership of Stanford’s Institute for Diversity in the Arts, as well as its performing arts presenting organization, Stanford Live.

Each fellow will work with a dedicated coach from NAS, which has created a first-of-its-kind cohort of coaches who are arts and culture leaders themselves and have the lived experience needed to support clients working to redefine the structures, practices and policies of the status quo; the fellows will have direct access to performing arts center CEOs in both the U.S. and Canada. Each will also receive a stipend to support their continued professional development once the program concludes.

Program Steering Committee

Co-Chair: Kendra Ingram, CEO
Marcus Performing Arts Center, Milwaukee, WI

Co-Chair: Josephine Ramirez, Executive Vice President
TMC Arts, The Music Center, Los Angeles, CA 

Rachel S. Moore, President & CEO
The Music Center, Los Angeles, CA

Deborah F. Rutter, President
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C.

John Schreiber, President & CEO
New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark, NJ

Joan Squires, President
Omaha Performing Arts, Omaha, NE

Jennifer Turner, President & CEO
Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Nashville, TN

Carol Wallace, President & CEO
San Diego Theatres, Inc.

Program Design Working Group

Rebekah Boggs, Project Coordinator
AMS Planning & Research

Gail Crider, President & CEO
NAS

Dr. Deryn Dudley, Director, Learning, Evaluation and Engagement
NAS

Kendra Ingram, President & CEO
Marcus Performing Arts Center


 

Josephine Ramirez, Executive Vice President

 TMC Arts, The Music Center

Anne Shulock, Assistant Vice President for the Arts

Stanford University

Steven Wolff, Founding Principal

AMS Planning & Research

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

Seed project funding for the program is provided by the performing arts centers themselves with additional support from Barbara and Amos Hostetter, Pivotal Ventures, a Melinda French Gates company, and The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation.

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