Leading an arts organization in the 21st century is a constantly evolving and changing process. Juggling multiple constituents, managing collections and content, engaging artists and audiences while keeping a nonprofit healthy, relevant, and thriving is challenging. What skills and talents are helping you succeed? What does the future hold and how can we prepare now to lead in the years ahead? What are your challenges?
Cynthia Ries (Moderator)
Cynthia Ries, MPA, is the former executive director of Greater Cleveland Community Shares where she oversees fundraising for 45 social justice organizations. Her thirty years of experience in management, fundraising, and marketing for arts organizations includes posts at The Metropolitan Opera, American Composers Orchestra, Theatre Development Fund, New York State Council on the Arts, Ohio Alliance for Arts Education, New York Foundation for the Arts, and Children's Museum of Manhattan. She has taught an arts management elective in the Milano graduate nonprofit management program at New School University. Ries serves on numerous boards including the Artist Community Federal Credit Union. She holds an MPA from NYU's Wagner School in arts policy, planning and administration. She teachesNonprofit Arts ManagementandDevelopment for the Visual and Performing Arts.
Donna Walker-Kuhne is the founder of Walker International Communications Group, a marketing, press, and audience development consulting agency. Her team specializes in multicultural marketing, group sales, multicultural press, and promotional events. Donna is acknowledged as the nation's foremost expert in audience development by the Arts &Business Council and has devoted her professional career to increasing access to the arts. She is currently Senior Advisor on Community Engagement at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. She provides consulting services to numerous arts organizations throughout the country and worldwide including Australia, Berlin, Moscow, Sochi, Edinburgh, and Blomfontein, South Africa. She is the author of Invitation to the Party: Building Bridges to Arts, Culture and Community and the popular blog "Arts & Culture Connections."' She teaches the courseEquity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Artsat NYU SPS.
Dr. Durell Cooper is one the nation's leading cultural strategists and is the Founder and CEO of Cultural Innovation Group, a boutique consulting agency specializing in systems change and collaborative thought leadership. He is also the creator and host of the PBS/WNET 13 series,Flowand the PodcastFluency w/ Dr. Durell Cooperand a co-host/co-producer on season 3 of WNYE 91.5 FM'sArtMovez. He is an adjunct instructor at New York University and The City College of New York. Durell graduated from the Impact Program for Arts Leaders (IPAL) at Stanford University in 2018. He is a member of the Diversity Scholars Network at the National Center for Institutional Diversity, University of Michigan. He earned a B.F.A from Southern Methodist University, and both an M.A & Doctorate of Education from NYU. He teaches the courseReimagining Performing Arts Institutions in the 21st Centuryat NYU SPS.
Kimberly Camp is a lecturer at Rutgers University-Camden. She is also a curator for A New View Camden, a public art project funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Camp has served as adjunct faculty for Drexel University's MS in Arts Administration and as senior lecturer at Lincoln University where she created a new undergraduate major in museum studies. Camp was the first CEO of the Hanford Reach Interpretive Center. She was the first museum professional to head the Barnes Foundation, and served as president of the Charles H. Wright Museum during its quadruple expansion. Camp was the founding director of the Smithsonian's Experimental Gallery. A painter and dollmaker, Camp's work has appeared in over 100 exhibitions. She recently won the 51st Annual Peters Valley Craft Fair Gold Medal for Best of Show. She teaches Museum and Cultural Organization Leadership in the 21st Century.
Leading an arts organization in the 21st century is a constantly evolving and changing process. Juggling multiple constituents, managing collections and content, engaging artists and audiences while keeping a nonprofit healthy, relevant, and thriving is challenging. What skills and talents are helping you succeed? What does the future hold and how can we prepare now to lead in the years ahead? What are your challenges?
Cynthia Ries (Moderator)
Cynthia Ries, MPA, is the former executive director of Greater Cleveland Community Shares where she oversees fundraising for 45 social justice organizations. Her thirty years of experience in management, fundraising, and marketing for arts organizations includes posts at The Metropolitan Opera, American Composers Orchestra, Theatre Development Fund, New York State Council on the Arts, Ohio Alliance for Arts Education, New York Foundation for the Arts, and Children's Museum of Manhattan. She has taught an arts management elective in the Milano graduate nonprofit management program at New School University. Ries serves on numerous boards including the Artist Community Federal Credit Union. She holds an MPA from NYU's Wagner School in arts policy, planning and administration. She teachesNonprofit Arts ManagementandDevelopment for the Visual and Performing Arts.
Donna Walker-Kuhne is the founder of Walker International Communications Group, a marketing, press, and audience development consulting agency. Her team specializes in multicultural marketing, group sales, multicultural press, and promotional events. Donna is acknowledged as the nation's foremost expert in audience development by the Arts &Business Council and has devoted her professional career to increasing access to the arts. She is currently Senior Advisor on Community Engagement at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. She provides consulting services to numerous arts organizations throughout the country and worldwide including Australia, Berlin, Moscow, Sochi, Edinburgh, and Blomfontein, South Africa. She is the author of Invitation to the Party: Building Bridges to Arts, Culture and Community and the popular blog "Arts & Culture Connections."' She teaches the courseEquity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Artsat NYU SPS.
Dr. Durell Cooper is one the nation's leading cultural strategists and is the Founder and CEO of Cultural Innovation Group, a boutique consulting agency specializing in systems change and collaborative thought leadership. He is also the creator and host of the PBS/WNET 13 series,Flowand the PodcastFluency w/ Dr. Durell Cooperand a co-host/co-producer on season 3 of WNYE 91.5 FM'sArtMovez. He is an adjunct instructor at New York University and The City College of New York. Durell graduated from the Impact Program for Arts Leaders (IPAL) at Stanford University in 2018. He is a member of the Diversity Scholars Network at the National Center for Institutional Diversity, University of Michigan. He earned a B.F.A from Southern Methodist University, and both an M.A & Doctorate of Education from NYU. He teaches the courseReimagining Performing Arts Institutions in the 21st Centuryat NYU SPS.
Kimberly Camp is a lecturer at Rutgers University-Camden. She is also a curator for A New View Camden, a public art project funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Camp has served as adjunct faculty for Drexel University's MS in Arts Administration and as senior lecturer at Lincoln University where she created a new undergraduate major in museum studies. Camp was the first CEO of the Hanford Reach Interpretive Center. She was the first museum professional to head the Barnes Foundation, and served as president of the Charles H. Wright Museum during its quadruple expansion. Camp was the founding director of the Smithsonian's Experimental Gallery. A painter and dollmaker, Camp's work has appeared in over 100 exhibitions. She recently won the 51st Annual Peters Valley Craft Fair Gold Medal for Best of Show. She teaches Museum and Cultural Organization Leadership in the 21st Century.