2020 Member Briefings

 image 2020 Member Briefings

Member Briefings are our monthly opportunity to talk to you about what’s happening now! These calls will take place once a quarter, so mark your calendars to stay up-to-date on what’s happening at Americans for the Arts and across the sector. These calls are for you, so let us know if there’s a topic you’d like to know more about by contacting membership at membership@artsusa.org.

Topics will be announced approximately two weeks prior to the scheduled briefing.

We firmly believe that our #AFTAmember network is one of our strongest resources, so after our update, we’ll open the floor up to your questions, comments, recommendations, and lessons learned – we hope you’ll take advantage of each other’s expertise!

January 2020

Topic: Membership in the Year Ahead

Date: January 21, 2020

February 2020

Topic: The Arts Education Network Council

Date: February 18, 2020

April 2020

Topic: Gathering Insight into the PAN Year In Review

Date: April 21, 2020

July 2020

Date: July 21, 2020

October 2020

Date: October 20, 2020

December 2020

Date: December 15, 2020

  • Contains 1 Component(s) Recorded On: 12/15/2020

    Member Briefings are our monthly opportunity to talk to you about what’s happening now! These calls will take place once a quarter, so mark your calendars to stay up-to-date on what’s happening at Americans for the Arts and across the sector. These calls are for you, so let us know if there’s a topic you’d like to know more about by contacting membership at membership@artsusa.org.

     image 2020 Member Briefings

    December 2020 Member Briefing

    December 15, 2020 at 3:00 PM EST

    About the Member Briefing

    For our final Member Briefing of 2020, we will be joined by Americans for the Arts staff. As 2020 comes to a close, we will reflect on an unprecedented year for the arts field and discuss the direction for the new year.

    Member Briefings are our monthly opportunity to talk to you about what’s happening now! These calls will take place once a quarter, so mark your calendars to stay up-to-date on what’s happening at Americans for the Arts and across the sector. These calls are for you, so let us know if there’s a topic you’d like to know more about by contacting membership at membership@artsusa.org.

    We firmly believe that our #AFTAmember network is one of our strongest resources, so after our update, we’ll open the floor up to your questions, comments, recommendations, and lessons learned – we hope you’ll take advantage of each other’s expertise!

  • Contains 1 Component(s) Recorded On: 10/20/2020

    Member Briefings are our monthly opportunity to talk to you about what’s happening now! These calls will take place once a quarter, so mark your calendars to stay up-to-date on what’s happening at Americans for the Arts and across the sector. These calls are for you, so let us know if there’s a topic you’d like to know more about by contacting membership at membership@artsusa.org.

     image 2020 Member Briefings

    October 2020 Member Briefing

    October 20, 2020 at 3:00 PM EST

    About the Member Briefing

    As the 2020 election gets closer, and many voters are already voting by mail or in-person, arts organizations around the country are doing their part to help voters ensure their vote counts. This election is crucial to electing leaders at each level of government who will ensure that funding for the arts is protected and accessible for all. In this month’s member briefing, Americans for the Arts members from Minnesota Citizens for the Arts and Arts North Carolina will discuss using the arts to get out the vote and share their experiences of conducting voter outreach in their communities.

    Speakers:

    • Sheila M. Smith, Executive Director of Minnesota Citizens for the Arts
    • Nate McGaha, Executive Director of Arts North Carolina

    Learning Objectives:

    • Learn more about what each member organization has done to promote voter turnout in their community
    • Learn the challenges and best practices these organizations discovered when conducting voter outreach
    • Learn what arts leaders can do now to encourage voting in their communities as the election draws closer

    Member Briefings are our quarterly opportunity to talk to you about what’s happening now! These calls will take place once a quarter, so mark your calendars to stay up-to-date on what’s happening at Americans for the Arts and across the sector. These calls are for you, so let us know if there’s a topic you’d like to know more about by contacting membership at membership@artsusa.org.

    We firmly believe that our #AFTAmember network is one of our strongest resources, so after our update, we’ll open the floor up to your questions, comments, recommendations, and lessons learned – we hope you’ll take advantage of each other’s expertise!

    Sheila Smith

    Executive Director, Minnesota Citizens for the Arts

    Sheila M. Smith is the Executive Director of Minnesota Citizens for the Arts which strengthens our cultural community by achieving arts friendly policy in Minnesota artsMN.org. As Chair of the Creative Minnesota Project, she produces important research about the arts and cultural community for education, policy making, and advocacy CreativeMN.org.

    She led the arts community into the successful 2008 statewide “Legacy” ballot campaign which created 25 years of dedicated funding for the arts through a constitutional amendment. She also served on the Board of the 2012 Minnesota United campaign, protecting the rights of all Minnesotans to marry, and served as staff in the Minnesota Senate.

    A national expert in arts advocacy, Smith is a frequent speaker at conferences around the country including Grantmakers in the Arts and the Rural Arts Summit and has won several national awards for her work. She has served as Chair of AFTA’s State Arts Action League and Vice-Chair of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.

    Smith has a BA in Shakespeare and a graduate degree from St. Mary’s in Arts Administration. She also teaches at the University of Minnesota about the intersection of arts and politics. Check out her paintings at www.mnartists.org/sheila-smith. @SheWhoTravels @MNCitizen

    Nate McGaha

    Executive Director

    Arts North Carolina

    Nate McGaha has served as the Executive Director of Arts North Carolina, the statewide advocacy organization for the arts, since 2017 where he works for public funding and policy for the arts and arts education. He helped to create the Joint Caucus on Arts and Arts Education at the NC General Assembly, shepherded the NC Arts High School Graduation Requirement into law, and has led several statewide initiatives for relief, reopening, and recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to his work in advocacy, Nate was the Executive Director of Carolina Ballet in Raleigh for five years with Artistic Director Robert Weiss. Before coming to the Raleigh area he was the Director of Operations at Charlotte Ballet under the Artistic Direction of Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Patricia McBride for seven years after serving as that company’s Resident Lighting Designer since 1996. Nate was also the Production Manager and Lighting Designer for the Chautauqua Ballet Company in the summer months from 1997 through 2009 and toured internationally with Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson’s Complexions Dance Company. He is a graduate of UNC School of the Arts where he received a BFA in Design and Production with concentration in Lighting Design. 

  • Contains 1 Component(s)

    Member Briefings are our monthly opportunity to talk to you about what’s happening now! These calls are for you, so please let us know if there’s a topic you’d like to know more about by contacting membership at membership@artsusa.org

     image 2020 Member Briefings

    July 2020 Member Briefing

    July 21, 2020 at 3:00 PM EST

    About the Member Briefing

    As schools across the country navigate how to reopen safely, several arts organizations have already faced their first reopening test: summer arts camps. The ArtsCenter in Chapel Hill, NC and Burlington City Arts in Burlington, VT share their experiences with reopening their summer programs, including safety of staff and students, lack of clarity about liability, parent perceptions and demand, and financial viability.

    Speakers:

    • Dan Mayer, Executive Director, The ArtsCenter
    • Doreen Kraft, Executive Director, Burlington City Arts 

    Member Briefings are our quarterly opportunity to talk to you about what’s happening now! These calls will take place once a quarter, so mark your calendars to stay up-to-date on what’s happening at Americans for the Arts and across the sector. These calls are for you, so let us know if there’s a topic you’d like to know more about by contacting membership at membership@artsusa.org.

    We firmly believe that our #AFTAmember network is one of our strongest resources, so after our update, we’ll open the floor up to your questions, comments, recommendations, and lessons learned – we hope you’ll take advantage of each other’s expertise!

  • Contains 1 Component(s) Recorded On: 04/21/2020

    Member Briefings are our monthly opportunity to talk to you about what’s happening now! These calls will take place once a quarter, so mark your calendars to stay up-to-date on what’s happening at Americans for the Arts and across the sector. These calls are for you, so let us know if there’s a topic you’d like to know more about by contacting membership at membership@artsusa.org.

     image 2020 Member Briefings

    April 2020 Member Briefing: Gathering Insight into PAN Year in Review

    About the Member Briefing

    Join this member briefing to gain and provide insight into the next iteration of the PAN Year in Review. During this member briefing, hear from Patricia Walsh, Public Art & Civic Design Senior Program Manager at Americans for the Arts, about the current state of the program, why it is on hold this year, and discuss ideas for improving the program for the future.

    Member Briefings are our monthly opportunity to talk to you about what’s happening now! These calls will take place once a quarter, so mark your calendars to stay up-to-date on what’s happening at Americans for the Arts and across the sector. These calls are for you, so let us know if there’s a topic you’d like to know more about by contacting membership at membership@artsusa.org.

    We firmly believe that our #AFTAmember network is one of our strongest resources, so after our update, we’ll open the floor up to your questions, comments, recommendations, and lessons learned – we hope you’ll take advantage of each other’s expertise!

    Patricia Walsh

    Public Art & Civic Design Senior Program Manager

    Americans for the Arts

    As the Public Art & Civic Design Senior Program Manager,Patricia Walsh overseas five program areas under the Equity + Local ArtsEngagement department including Arts and Community Development; Arts in CivicDesign; Creative Placemaking; Cultural Districts, Trails and Tourism; andPublic Art. Through her work she engages with and works to educate local artsagency leaders on how to utilize the arts to equitably address community needsand goals. Her work aims to support professional development, resource buildingand networking opportunities for arts administrators to utilize the arts tocreate accessible public spaces, enable inclusive and equitable communitydevelopment, and ensure the arts are an active component in equitable economicgrowth and sustainability.

    Patricia is a member of the Arts and Planning Interest GroupSteering Committee for American Planning Association, co-chair for theWashington District Council on Placemaking for Urban Land Institute, and anartist selection committee member for two projects with the City of Rockville,Maryland.

    She holds a Master of Science in Arts Administration from BostonUniversity, a Bachelor of Arts in painting from State University of New York atPlattsburgh, and an Associates in Applied Science in Commercial Art fromDutchess Community College.

  • Contains 1 Component(s) Recorded On: 02/25/2020

    Member Briefings are our monthly opportunity to talk to you about what’s happening now! Mark your calendars for the third Tuesday of every month at 3pm to stay up-to-date on what’s happening at Americans for the Arts and across the sector. These calls are for you, so please let us know if there’s a topic you’d like to know more about by contacting Michael Hornbuckle at mhornbuckle@artsusa.org​.

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    February 2020 Member Briefing:

    The Arts Education Network Council

    February 25, 2020 at 3:00 PM EST

    About the Member Briefing

    This month we will be joined by Kelly Fey Bolender, Arts Education Program Manager at Americans for the Arts. Kelly will be informing us of the priorities of the Americans for the Arts Arts Education Network Council for 2020 and beyond!

    About the Arts Education Network:

    The field of arts education is a complex ecosystem. Americans for the Arts plays a unique and specific role in connecting the national, state, and local efforts to advance arts education. By striving to build leadership, create a value proposition for arts education, and increase tools and resources that support the field, this ecosystem becomes more powerful than the sum of each of its parts. Americans for the Arts works with its Arts Education Network of arts educational professionals to affect change on the national, state, and local levels. 


    Member Briefings are our monthly opportunity to talk to you about what’s happening now! Mark your calendars for the third Tuesday of every month at 3pm to stay up-to-date on what’s happening at Americans for the Arts and across the sector. These calls are for you, so please let us know if there’s a topic you’d like to know more about by contacting Michael Hornbuckle at mhornbuckle@artsusa.org.

    We firmly believe that our #AFTAmember network is one of our strongest resources, so after our update, we’ll open the floor up to your questions, comments, recommendations, and lessons learned – we hope you’ll take advantage of each other’s expertise!

    Michael Hornbuckle

    Membership Manager, Americans for the Arts

    Michael Hornbuckle was born and raised in Potomac, MD. He received B.S. Business Administration from Tennessee State University, where he also played football.  He has been working in membership for 15 years, most recently with the National Retail Federation as the Membership Manager. As the Membership Manager at Americans for the Arts, he is responsible for increasing membership and retention and creating programs and benefits for members to improve the overall member experience.  At the National Retail Federation, he oversaw a number of communities and committees. On the side, he enjoys cooking, traveling and still participating in sports through "Old Man" Leagues.

    Kelly Fey Bolender

    Arts Education Program Manager

    Americans for the Arts

    Kelly Fey Bolender currently serves as Arts Education Program Manager for Americans for the Arts. Formerly, she held the position of Associate Director of Education at the Boch Center in Boston, MA. While serving as Associate Director, she led the Boch Center’s flagship arts-based youth leadership and employment programs, including the nationally-recognized City Spotlights Summer Leadership Program and Teen Leadership Council. Additionally at the Boch Center, she developed and facilitated arts-based literacy curriculum for the Target Arts In-School Residency Program and the Dudley Library Arts Festival. She also worked extensively in college and career readiness training for high school students, developing innovative programming for the Boch Center and the Universities at Shady Grove.

    Kelly centers her work on inclusivity and expanding access in the arts. Her original research exploring best practices for inclusivity and representation of marginalized populations in theatre for young audiences (TYA) in the United States is featured in the award-winning anthology of Latinx TYA, Palabras del Cielo: An Exploration of Latin@ Theatre for Young Audiences.

    She served on the Board of Directors for the American Alliance for Theatre and Education (AATE) and the New England Theatre Conference. She earned a Master’s in Theatre Education with a concentration in Theatre and Community from Emerson College, a Bachelor's degree in Media and Communication Studies from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and a certification in the Advancing Youth Development curriculum for youth workers.

    Twitter: @ArtsEdKelly

    Website: AmericansForTheArts.org

  • Contains 2 Component(s) Recorded On: 01/21/2020

    Member Briefings are our monthly opportunity to talk to you about what’s happening now! Mark your calendars for the third Tuesday of every month at 3pm to stay up-to-date on what’s happening at Americans for the Arts and across the sector. These calls are for you, so please let us know if there’s a topic you’d like to know more about by contacting Michael Hornbuckle at mhornbuckle@artsusa.org​.

     image 2020 Member Briefings

    January 2020 Member Briefing; Membership in the Year Ahead

    January 21, 2020 at 3:00 PM EST

    About the Member Briefing

    This months member briefing will be an introduction to our new Membership Manager Michael Hornbuckle. He will be discussing Americans for the Arts Membership Benefits and updates. 

    Member Briefings are our monthly opportunity to talk to you about what’s happening now! Mark your calendars for the third Tuesday of every month at 3pm to stay up-to-date on what’s happening at Americans for the Arts and across the sector. These calls are for you, so please let us know if there’s a topic you’d like to know more about by contacting Michael Hornbuckle at mhornbuckle@artsusa.org.

    We firmly believe that our #AFTAmember network is one of our strongest resources, so after our update, we’ll open the floor up to your questions, comments, recommendations, and lessons learned – we hope you’ll take advantage of each other’s expertise!

    Michael Hornbuckle

    Membership Manager, Americans for the Arts

    Michael Hornbuckle was born and raised in Potomac, MD. He received B.S. Business Administration from Tennessee State University, where he also played football.  He has been working in membership for 15 years, most recently with the National Retail Federation as the Membership Manager. As the Membership Manager at Americans for the Arts, he is responsible for increasing membership and retention and creating programs and benefits for members to improve the overall member experience.  At the National Retail Federation, he oversaw a number of communities and committees. On the side, he enjoys cooking, traveling and still participating in sports through "Old Man" Leagues.