Clayton Lord is Americans for the Arts’ Vice President of Strategic Impact. In that role, he and the Strategic Impact team collaborate closely with research, communications, and program staff to connect the dots between the various components of work done at Americans for the Arts and encourage the creation of solid, complex initiatives that progress the core mission and goals of the organization and drive systemic change. Prior to shifting into this role, Lord was the Vice President of Local Arts Advancement for the organization for seven years. Lord is a prolific writer, thinker, and speaker about the public value of the arts and has edited and contributed to three books: Counting New Beans: Intrinsic Impact and the Value of the Arts; Arts & America: Arts, Culture and the Future of America’s Communities; and To Change the Face & Heart of America: Selected Writings on the Arts and Communities, 1949-1992. He led Americans for the Arts’ New Community Visions Initiative, a multi-year effort to better understand and support the changing role of the arts and LAAs in American communities, and now oversees initiatives focused on the social impact of the arts, the equitable treatment of creative workers, and the proliferation of pro-arts policy. This has included the Arts + Social Impact Explorer (AmericansForTheArts.org/SocialImpact). He is the chief architect of the Americans for the Arts Annual Convention. He holds a B.A. in English and Psychology from Georgetown University, and lives with his husband and daughter in Maryland.

Hilary S. Ayala serves as the Director of Con Edison’s Strategic Partnerships Programs. Reporting to the Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Ms. Ayala leads the company’s strategic, cause-related charitable contributions program and employee engagement initiatives. Ms. Ayala’s portfolio includes the company’s strategic partnerships program, volunteer corps, board placement program, and employee engagement programs. In former positions at Con Edison, Ms. Ayala served as the company’s principal federal lobbyist in Washington, DC. Ms. Ayala joined Con Edison in 2001. Prior to joining Con Edison, Ms. Ayala worked in the United States Senate before joining the development team at Manhattanville College. 

Ms. Ayala is a graduate of Manhattanville College with a bachelor’s degree in International Studies. She has served on the boards of the Westchester Children’s Museum and the Vineyard Theater. She currently serves on the Youth Committee at Christ Church Greenwich. An outdoor enthusiast, Ms. Ayala may often be found on the trails and slopes of Vermont with her teenage son.

Jinny is a social impact leader with experience delivering data-driven, human-centered insights for the corporate and non-profit sectors. Since joining CECP in 2014, she has been a trusted advisor in equipping corporate social responsibility (CSR) leaders with the tools, best practices, and data insights to drive strategies in environmental, social, and governance (ESG). Jinny also leads the advisement of business and social impact and the strategy for diversity, equity, and inclusion research through CECP’s Accelerate Community. Prior to CECP, Jinny worked with several nonprofits including Grounds for Sculpture, New York Live Arts (formerly Dance Theater Workshop), and The New 42^nd Street/New Victory Theater. She currently resides in Boston, MA.

Kimberly Denise Williams is a Manager in the Government, Regional and Community Affairs Department at Con Edison. In her role she serves as a representative of the company to elected officials and community-based organizations in Washington Heights, Inwood, and Manhattan’s west side.  As part of her responsibilities, she oversees the relationship with over 25 non-profit organizations in these neighborhoods. Kimberly joined Con Edison through the company’s leadership development program and was formerly a supervisor in their Construction Management Department.

Outside of the office, Kimberly has maintained her passion for writing and the arts. She has written articles for several publications and websites. Additionally, she’s penned creative pieces that have been performed by community arts groups. Her volunteer efforts include serving on the Black History Committee at the Lenox Road Baptist Church, Stuyvesant High School’s Black Alumni Diversity Initiative, and previously mentoring through p.s. alumni and OCA NY-Asian Pacific American Advocates. For the last four summers, Kimberly has had the pleasure of mentoring through the Diversity in Arts Leadership Program. Kimberly is a graduate of Harvard University where she studied History and African and African American Studies. She also has a Master of Science in Media and Communications from the London School of Economics. 

Alexis Simmons, a DIAL alumna, is a native of Montgomery, Alabama. She studied at The University of Alabama graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts and Communication Studies. Alexis now resides in Brooklyn, New York working as a 5th Grade English Language Arts Teacher. As a teaching artist, she is dedicated to reimaging texts to highlight the transformative power of storytelling.

Sheree Anne is the head of the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) representing more than 10,000 industry professionals. ACCE serves the community via professional development, innovative problem solving, best practices, and industry thought leadership.

Previously, Sheree Anne was senior vice president of the Public Affairs Council and executive director of their foundation. During her 16 years at the global association, she served as chief public affairs expert, and oversaw thought leadership, professional development, consulting and benchmarking. During her tenure, she opened the Council’s first international office in Brussels.

Prior roles include positions in government affairs at the National Association of Home Builders, and on the corporate development and corporate relations teams at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Sheree Anne holds an MBA from Georgetown, a Master of Arts in Government from Johns Hopkins and a Bachelor of Arts from Bucknell University. Current industry leadership roles include serving on the executive committee of the World Chambers Federation and as a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Chamber Committee of 100. She’s also a board member of the Engalitcheff Institute on Comparative Political and Economic Systems and immediate past-chair of the Bucknell Institute for Public Policy.

Kelly graduated from the University of Colorado at Denver in 2006 with a degree in Theatre, Film, and TV.  She worked as a stage manager and on run crews at the Curious Theatre Company and the Arvada Center for Arts and Humanities. She decided to pursue a career in Arts Administration and attended graduate school at the University of Oregon. Upon graduating, she worked in the nonprofit sector as a development manager and director for seven years. She returned to the arts world in 2018, to lead the Arts & Business Alliance of Eugene.

Brittany Quick-Warner is the President and CEO of the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce. In six years at the Eugene Chamber she has successfully served in multiple capacities including advertising sales associate, event manager, and Director of Business Advocacy for four years. Beginning in late 2016, Brittany served as interim President & CEO during sudden medical leave and passing of the long-term President & CEO. During that time Brittany stepped up to lead the staff and membership through significant organizational grief and transition and was ultimately selected in September 2017 to serve as the next President & CEO of the Eugene Chamber. Brittany is the youngest and first known woman to lead the 1200 member organization.

A native of Missouri, Quick¬-Warner moved to Eugene in 2012. She holds two degrees from the University of Missouri¬, a master's degree in public administration with a focus in nonprofit management and an undergraduate degree in soil, environmental and atmospheric science. She has been active in the community since her arrival, serving as a board member of economic development agencies Greater Eugene Inc. and the Regional Accelerator and Innovation Network (RAIN Eugene), BRING Recycling, Better Eugene Springfield Transportation and the Junior League of Eugene as well as serving on the Eugene Sustainability Commission. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Western Association of Chamber Executives. She and her husband, Erik, have been small business owners since 2012. They own Blue Bus Creatives, a media production company.

As Executive Director of the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville, Jill McMillan Palm provides education, resources, and opportunities at the intersection of arts and business. Before moving to Nashville in 2017 for this role, she worked with arts organizations and creative businesses in Los Angeles, CA; Phoenix, AZ; and Boston, MA. Using her breadth of experience and skills, Jill sustains and promotes the Arts & Business Council’s mission to create a thriving, sustainable creative culture in Nashville; ensures that the organization’s service to artists is of the highest quality; and is an advocate for artists at the local, state, and national levels. She is a member of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Music Industry Advisory Group and has served on the Americans for the Arts Private Sector Council since 2018. She was elected to the Nashville Emerging Leaders class of 2019, and was named as a finalist for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Emerging Leaders Award in the Arts, Entertainment, and Music Business category in 2020.

Originally from Northwest Indiana, Jill holds a BA in Integrated Marketing Communications from Pepperdine University. A lifelong arts enthusiast, she continues to dabble in dance, music, and visual art, all to varying degrees of success. In her spare time, you can find her taking in a concert or performance; enjoying an iced coffee with a good book; or wandering the world with her husband and their dog.   

Mark Nerenhausen is the President/CEO of Hennepin Theatre Trust. Prior to the Trust, he served as founding director and professor of practice of the Janklow Arts Leadership Program at Syracuse University. Before that, he served as president and CEO of the $354 million AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas, where he secured AT&T as a naming sponsor, raised more than $4 million in the first year of operations, created a governing board and instituted an integrated business information platform. He also brokered strategic partnerships with regional and national organizations, several of which were devoted to minority arts, and initiated the Jazz Roots series.

From 1998 to 2009, Nerenhausen led the Performing Arts Center Authority in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with responsibility for managing the multi-venue Broward Center for the Performing Arts and five other performing arts venues, fashioning it into a catalyst for tourism, economic development, education, industry innovations and cross-cultural exchange. Under Nerenhausen’s tenure, the Broward Center’s main concert hall consistently ranked in the world’s top 10 venues for ticket sales, according to Pollstar and Venues Today magazines.

Nerenhausen has held other major positions at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center in Kahului, Hawaii (1993-98); the Oshkosh Grand Opera House in Wisconsin (1990-93); the Bijou Theater Center in Knoxville, Tenn. (1987-89); the Milwaukee Performing Arts Center in Wisconsin (1985-87); and the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville (1983-85).

Randy Cohen is Vice President of Research at Americans for the Arts—the national advocacy organization for the arts—where he has been empowering arts advocates since 1991. Randy stands out as a noted expert in the field of arts funding, research, and using the arts to address community development issues. He publishes Americans Speak Out About the Arts, the nation’s largest public opinion study about the arts, and produces the two premier economic studies of the arts—Arts & Economic Prosperity, the national economic impact study of nonprofit arts organizations and their audiences; and Creative Industries, a mapping study of the nation’s 675,000 arts businesses and their employees. His 10 Reasons to Support the Arts blog received the Gold Award from the Association of Media & Publishing—their top honor for best blog post of the year. Randy led the development of The National Arts Index, the annual measure of the health and vitality of arts in the U.S. and the National Arts Policy Roundtable, an annual convening of leaders who focus on the advancement of American culture—launched in partnership with Robert Redford and the Sundance Institute. In the late 1990’s, Randy collaborated with the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities to create Coming Up Taller, the White House report on arts programs for youth-at-risk; and the U.S. Department of Justice to produce the YouthARTS Project, the first national study to statistically document the impact of arts programs on at-risk youth. A sought-after speaker, Randy has given speeches in all 50 states, and regularly appears in the news media—including the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and on C-SPAN, CNN, CNBC, and NPR.
 
Randy has been a policy specialist for the National Endowment for the Arts, founded the San Diego Theatre for Young Audiences, and worked in medical research for Stanford University and Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation. His board work includes the League of Historic American Theaters. Randy is a past Chairman of the Takoma Park Arts & Humanities Commission, during which time the Commission completed a cultural plan, established the city’s Poet Laureate and public art programs, and led the development of a million-dollar conversion of the city council chambers into a performing arts space.

Twitter: @artsinfoguy

Bob is the President and Chief Executive Officer for Commerce Lexington Inc., a 1,800 member investor-driven chamber of commerce and economic development organization.  In 2020, Commerce Lexington was awarded a Top 20 Mac Conway Economic Development Agency by Site Selection Magazine, and in 2016 was named Chamber of the Year by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives. Under Bob’s leadership in 2014 and 2015, Commerce Lexington Inc. was recognized among the Top 3 chambers of commerce by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE). During his 32 years in the chamber profession, he has also served as the President and CEO of the Metropolitan Evansville (IN) Chamber of Commerce and as the Executive Vice President of the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce.

Bob has served as the assistant director of the World Agricultural Expo (1988), administrative aide, Public Liaison Office of the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1982), and served as the National FFA Secretary (1980-81).

Bob is extremely involved in the Central Kentucky region in matters of public policy, community, economic, and leadership development.   He is involved in the Bluegrass Alliance, an eight-county consortium of regional economic development entities and was a founding partner in the Central Kentucky “Regional Public Policy Group.”  Both entities have proven to be ‘region builders’ by unifying cities, towns, and counties across Central Kentucky.

Bob is a 1985 graduate of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. He is also a cancer survivor, having been diagnosed with Stage 4 lymphoma in early 2017 and now declared cancer free. In his spare time, he enjoys participating in outside sports and reading political memoirs.  He is married to Julie (Lindemeier) Quick and has three adult children:  Kierstin, Andrew, and Morgan.  They reside in Lexington and attend St. John’s Lutheran Church.

Josie Burgett is the Downtown Activation Manager at the Greater Des Moines Partnership. In this role, Burgett works to ensure that Downtown DSM is a vibrant destination for employees, residents and visitors, alike. This includes implementing placemaking strategies that create a welcoming and inclusive environment for all, lining up unique attractions and producing pop-up activations throughout the year that encourage visitation and support the economic and cultural vitality of Downtown DSM. Prior to working at The Partnership, Burgett was the Customer Success Lead at an ag-tech company based in Greater Des Moines (DSM). Burgett is a graduate of Iowa State University, where she earned a degree in Agricultural Business and International Agriculture.

Sanjita has a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in India. Sanjita worked as resettlement Director of the refugee resettlement program at Catholic Charities where she helped resettle and integrate thousands of refugees from Nepal, Iraq, Burma, Eritrean, Sudan, Liberia, Tunisia, Pakistan and many other countries resettle and reunite with their families. 

Sanjita also worked at the Office of Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs. Sanjita’s role at the Department of Human Rights was to serve as the central agency to advocate for Asian and Pacific Islanders (API) in the state, coordinate and cooperate with the efforts of the state departments and agencies to serve the needs of API persons in participating fully in the economic, social, and cultural life of the state, and to provide direct assistance to those who request it.

Sanjita was appointed by President Obama to be on the ‘Presidents advisory commission on Asian American and Pacific Islanders’ at the White House Initiative on Asian Americans in 2015.

Sanjita was awarded ‘Citizen of the Year’ by the City of West Des Moines and West Des Moines Chamber of commerce in 2021 and MLK Community Leadership award by City of West Des Moines in 2022.

For the last five years, Sanjita has worked at the Greater Des Moines Partnership leading Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work for the region.

In this role Sanjita provided one on one consultation to The Partnership Investors on creating a comprehensive DEI plan that has measurable goals and outcomes, leads an internal DEI initiative and coordinates regular events/webinars around DEI to share best practices and inspire action. Sanjita also provides in-depth trainings on various DEI topics to member organizations.

Sanjita is a Certified Diversity Executive (CDE)®. 

Silas Chamberlin, PhD, is vice president of economic and community development at the York County Economic Alliance, a position in which he serves as executive director of the Redevelopment Authority of the County of York and oversees a variety of economic financing, business attraction, entrepreneurship, and workforce development initiatives throughout York County. In 2020, Silas led the creation of York County's new 10-year economic development plan, which ultimately convened 1,000+ stakeholders to cast a bold vision for people-focused and place-based economic development. He founded and oversees the York County Trail Towns program—now active in 7 communities—and is leading development of the $75 million Codorus Greenway, the largest green infrastructure project in the City of York’s history.

Silas holds a PhD in environmental history from Lehigh University and certificate in commercial real estate development from Cornell University. He is the author of On the Trail: A History of American Hiking, published by Yale University Press in 2016. Silas is past chair of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, current corporate secretary of the PA Downtown Center's board of directors, and serves as a Governor’s appointee to PA’s Conservation & Natural Resources Advisory Council.

www.yceapa.org        

Kelley Gibson is the President of the Cultural Alliance of York County, South-Central Pennsylvania’s only United Arts Fund, efficiently raising and re-granting critical operating support for arts and culture organizations and artists.  As President, Kelley is responsible for the day to day leadership, management and success of the organization, including grant management, staff development, fund development, fiscal management, and relationship building with business, government and the community.

With 20 years of experience working with arts, culture, and community organizations for the betterment of York, Kelley’s areas of expertise include grant-making, fundraising and special event planning.

www.culturalyork.org

Kate Gipson is the Director of Strategic Initiatives at Fund for the Arts where she heads the Arts in Neighborhoods, I Am An Artist. And NeXt! Ambassador initiatives. In addition to a career in non-profit and arts administration, she is a theatre-maker and educator. Prior to joining Fund for the Arts, Kate was the General Manager at StageOne Family Theatre in Louisville, KY, Manager of Workforce Development - Youth Services at Goodwill Denver, Associate Artistic Director at Curious Theatre Company in Denver, CO, and Education Director at New Stage Theatre in Jackson, MS. Some favorite accomplishments include producing the inaugural Local Performance Village at St. James Court Art Show (2022), co-producing the Colorado Creative Careers Festival in 2019, and After Orlando (2017) at Benchmark Theatre.

https://fundforthearts.org/

https://monroe.org

Kristopher Kelley serves as the Executive Director for the West Monroe-West Ouachita Chamber of Commerce, Main Street Assistant Manager for Columbia, LA, and is a small business owner. He is a local naturalist entrepreneur with over two decades of experience as a small business owner, non-profit consultant, biology instructor, and environmental chemist. He has worked not only for business development and promotional initiatives with local and regional government organizations; but also, with US Fish and Wildlife, US Corps of Engineers, and the USDA, just to name a few. He works tirelessly as a promoter of our local businesses, as an environmental educator, as the past regional chair for the American Chemical Society all while serving on the boards of 12 non-profits fully committed to advancing the mission of many arts organizations in our region. Kristopher is passionate about workforce development for our region, the role the arts play in developing quality citizens, historic preservation, and celebrating the natural diversity of Louisiana.

https://www.westmonroechamber....

Kelsea McCrary is the Chief Economic & Cultural Development Officer for the City of Monroe. Her style of telling Louisiana’s stories elevates the artistic and cultural threads woven throughout each community and ties them deeply into the economic prospects of Louisiana’s cultural richness. Kelsea’s background includes leading the Cultural Districts and Civic Design program for the Louisiana Division of the Arts, creating the Public Policy communications brand at LUMEN Technologies and building out their Employer Brand function. Kelsea has grown arts organizations, programmed historic buildings, executed cultural events and quality of life initiatives, and led creative place-keeping projects throughout the state of Louisiana for nearly fifteen years. Her artistic background ranges from dance, to music, to design and visual art and her economic development areas of expertise focus on foundational aspects of the cultural economy in a community’s ability to thrive. She and her pup Murphy love to run levees and camp in state parks with her nieces, but there’s nowhere she’d rather be than sitting at her grandparents’ dinner table. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Louisiana Monroe and a Masters in Public Administration from Louisiana State University.

https://monroela.us/

Christine Tarquinio is Vice President for Talent, Workforce & Brand Strategies at Greater Louisville Inc. (GLI), the metro chamber of commerce in Louisville, KY. Prior to joining GLI, Christine worked in marketing, advertising and branding, representing local, regional, national and global brands like Fireball Whisky, Big O Tires, UofL, and the YMCA, among others. For over four years Christine has taken her marketing expertise and turned that to solving the region’s talent attraction, retention and workforce development issues. Christine currently serves on the board of directors for the American Advertising Federation – Louisville, and volunteers with the Kentucky Opera, Kosair Children’s Hospital Foundation and Family Scholar House. She is a NeXt! Arts Graduate, Certified Tourism Ambassador, SKAL member, Top 100 Influencer in Marketing & Advertising, and a Top 20 People to Know in Economic Development. To relax, Christine enjoys cooking and spending time with her husband, three kids and two dogs.

 https://www.greaterlouisville.com/

Rasu Jilani is an independent curator, social sculptor, and entrepreneur. His work investigates the intersections of art, culture, and civic engagement to raise critically-conscious conversations between artists, their local communities, and the wider public. Mr. Jilani is currently the Director of Recruiting and Community Engagement at New Museum's cultural incubator, NEW INC.

Randy Cohen is Vice President of Research at Americans for the Arts—the national advocacy organization for the arts—where he has been empowering arts advocates since 1991. Randy stands out as a noted expert in the field of arts funding, research, and using the arts to address community development issues. He publishes Americans Speak Out About the Arts, the nation’s largest public opinion study about the arts, and produces the two premier economic studies of the arts—Arts & Economic Prosperity, the national economic impact study of nonprofit arts organizations and their audiences; and Creative Industries, a mapping study of the nation’s 675,000 arts businesses and their employees. His 10 Reasons to Support the Arts blog received the Gold Award from the Association of Media & Publishing—their top honor for best blog post of the year. Randy led the development of The National Arts Index, the annual measure of the health and vitality of arts in the U.S. and the National Arts Policy Roundtable, an annual convening of leaders who focus on the advancement of American culture—launched in partnership with Robert Redford and the Sundance Institute. In the late 1990’s, Randy collaborated with the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities to create Coming Up Taller, the White House report on arts programs for youth-at-risk; and the U.S. Department of Justice to produce the YouthARTS Project, the first national study to statistically document the impact of arts programs on at-risk youth. A sought-after speaker, Randy has given speeches in all 50 states, and regularly appears in the news media—including the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and on C-SPAN, CNN, CNBC, and NPR.
 
Randy has been a policy specialist for the National Endowment for the Arts, founded the San Diego Theatre for Young Audiences, and worked in medical research for Stanford University and Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation. His board work includes the League of Historic American Theaters. Randy is a past Chairman of the Takoma Park Arts & Humanities Commission, during which time the Commission completed a cultural plan, established the city’s Poet Laureate and public art programs, and led the development of a million-dollar conversion of the city council chambers into a performing arts space.

Twitter: @artsinfoguy