Jessica Ball is a visionary millennial leader and dedicated public servant who leverages the power of the arts to inspire innovation, strengthen communities and drive economic growth. As director of the Delaware Division of the Arts (DDOA), Ball leads statewide efforts to enrich lives and expand access to the arts. Under her leadership, the agency…
Colt Chambers is the owner and producer of The Alley Stage, a comedy and live entertainment venue located on Georgia’s historic Marietta Square. Since opening in 2023, the venue has become a hub for laughter and community engagement, welcoming thousands of patrons and donating more than $200,000 in tickets and venue use to veterans and…
Sean Chandler, Aaniiih, is the director of American Indian Studies at Aaniiih Nakoda College (ANC), located on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. He teaches the Aaniiih (Gros Ventre) language to grade-school-aged children at the White Clay Language School at ANC. Chandler holds a bachelor of arts degree in art and a master of arts degree…
Shannon Daut is the national director for the US Regional Arts Organizations (US RAO), a newly created position that fosters collaborative efforts between the six RAOs to serve communities across the country through the arts. Her career has included executive leadership roles at regional, state and local arts agencies. From 2016-2023 she led the Cultural…
Karem M. Gallo is an artist, entrepreneur, REALTOR®, executive director of the High Plains Heritage Foundation, and an MBA candidate who blends creativity, community, art and business strategy in every aspect of her life. She currently serves as a commissioner for the Kansas Arts Commission and holds the role of vice chair. Gallo is the…
Sue Gens joined the Minnesota State Arts Board in 2001, serving as director of communication and government relations, and interim executive director, before becoming executive director in 2008. Before joining the Arts Board, Gens was director of external relations for the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities);…
Deonté Griffin-Quick, a New Jersey native, is a nationally recognized, award-winning actor, arts administrator and consultant with a proven track record of envisioning and implementing change at the local, regional and national levels. In 2025, Griffin-Quick stepped into entrepreneurship and launched DGQ Culture, a creative consultancy and capacity building company that aims to connect, serve…
Gabriella Huggins is a multimedia arts practitioner and student of social work from Salt Lake City, Utah—ancestral Shoshone, Paiute, Goshute, Ute and Diné (Navajo) territory. For more than a decade, she has worked as a youth mentor and teaching artist with a number of local nonprofits and city agencies, including Spy Hop Productions and Youth…
Tasida Kelch joined the Virgin Islands Council on the Arts in 2004 as the agency’s special projects coordinator and became the executive director in 2016. She has expertise in event planning, communications and public speaking, program development, operations, and strategic planning and budgeting. Kelch is a member of the Reichhold Center for the Arts Board…
David Lewis is the executive director of the Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC), the state’s arts agency that provides grants and programs to the arts community in Mississippi. A Mississippi native, Lewis is passionate about the state and all it offers. In his role, Lewis travels throughout the state to local communities to meet with artists,…
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