The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) board of directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Pam Breaux as NASAA’s chief executive officer, effective July 6, 2015. The national search effort was conducted with the assistance of Arts Consulting Group.

“Pam’s leadership credentials are exceptional,” says NASAA 1st Vice President Gary Gibbs. “In addition to her executive experience and knowledge of our field, Pam offers NASAA a multisector perspective, a track record as a policy innovator, and true enthusiasm for both state arts agencies and our association. The board is proud to appoint her NASAA’s next CEO.”

“I’m honored to become NASAA’s CEO at such an exciting time,” says Breaux. “State arts agencies and NASAA have done tremendous work to advance the arts and serve the public during the last 50 years, and I see even more successes on our horizon! I look forward to helping the board, the membership and the staff chart a course for the future and create new opportunities for our field.”

A native of Lafayette, Louisiana, Breaux has held leadership positions at the local, state and national levels. She currently is completing her appointment as assistant secretary of the Office of Cultural Development at the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism (CRT). She is a former secretary of CRT and was executive director of the Louisiana Division of the Arts. During her time at CRT, Breaux led the state’s cultural economy policy efforts, developed the annual World Cultural Economic Forum program and spearheaded the state’s attainment of UNESCO recognition of Poverty Point as a World Heritage site.

Before working in state government, Breaux managed southwest Louisiana’s Decentralized Arts Funding Program and was executive director of the Arts and Humanities Council of Southwest Louisiana. She has served on the boards of NASAA, South Arts, the Louisiana Board of International Commerce and the U.S. Travel Association. She graduated from McNeese State University with a B.A. in English, and has an M.A. in English and folklore from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Breaux succeeds Jonathan Katz, who stepped down in November 2014 after 29 years as NASAA CEO. Kelly J. Barsdate is serving as interim CEO.

NASAA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan professional association serving the nation’s state and jurisdictional arts councils—agencies of state government dedicated to making the cultural, educational, economic and civic value of the arts available to all communities. NASAA represents state arts agencies’ individual and collective interests, empowers their work through knowledge, and advances the arts as an essential public benefit. NASAA’s headquarters are in Washington, D.C. To learn more about NASAA and state arts agencies, visit www.nasaa-arts.org.