Member News and NASAA Resources

Council Member Meet-n-Greet

Don’t miss a special virtual gathering exclusively for state arts agency chairs and council/board members on Friday, August 12, from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Eastern. Connect with your colleagues from across the country to discuss trends facing state arts agencies, explore advocacy strategies and find out more about what’s in store at NASAA Assembly 2022. This is a great opportunity to get inspired, learn from your colleagues and build your network. Register now. We can’t wait to see you there!

Margaret Hancock Joins Virginia Commission as ED

Photo credit: Laura Negri Photography

Margaret Hancock has been appointed executive director of the Virginia Commission for the Arts. For more than two decades, Hancock has worked to advance the missions of prestigious arts, culture and education institutions including the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Savannah College of Art and Design, the University of Virginia and the National Geographic Society. She studied art history at Duke University, during which she completed an internship with the National Gallery of Art, and earned a master of education degree from the University of Virginia. Hancock succeeds Janet Starke, who departed at the end of June.

Peter Jasso Has Stepped Down in Kansas

After 10 years leading the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission (KCAIC), Director Peter Jasso has left the agency to take a new position as director of operations at Creative Arkansas Community Hub & Exchange (CACHE), a nonprofit that works with creatives, organizations and communities to build equitable arts ecosystems in northwest Arkansas and beyond. After being tasked with establishing KCAIC within the Kansas Department of Commerce in 2012, Jasso oversaw development of a new strategic plan and the reestablishment of partnerships with the National Endowment for the Arts and Mid-America Arts Alliance; adopted a decentralized field representative strategy to provide the agency with outreach, grant assistance and discipline-specific expertise; and led many signature initiatives. These included the Indigenous Arts Initiative, providing emerging Indigenous artists an opportunity to expand professional networks and gain leadership experience; the Tallgrass Artist Residency, for prairie artists with a dedication to place and a voice reflecting their community; the Field Arts Forum, offering experiential learning for emerging practitioners in new rural arts, art and ecology, social and environmental art, and creative placemaking; and the People’s Market Program, supporting equitable food systems via culture sharing and the arts. During Jasso’s tenure, the agency created 10 new grant categories, including the Organizational Mentorship grant to support collaborations between emerging and/or unstructured groups and established arts organizations. Chief Programs Officer Kate VanSteenhuyse is currently serving as KCAIC interim director.

Vermont ED Karen Mittelman to Depart in October

Vermont Arts Council Executive Director Karen Mittelman has announced she will depart at the end of October. Since joining the Council in 2017, Mittelman has enhanced the Council’s visibility and impact throughout the state, forging new strategic partnerships as well as important alliances with Vermont Humanities and the Vermont Community Foundation. The Council’s investment in Vermont artists and cultural organizations has substantially increased during her tenure, more than doubling the number and amount of grants awarded to artists annually and increasing the scope and size of awards to organizations. In 2020, Mittelman helped to develop and launch an ambitious action plan for Vermont’s creative sector, CreateVT. Mittelman’s leadership helped to guide Vermont’s arts and culture nonprofits through the COVID-19 pandemic: since April 2020, aid from the Vermont Arts Council to Vermont artists and cultural organizations has totaled more than $8 million, and the Council recently secured an additional $9 million for grants to the state’s creative sector. The Arts Council’s board is leading a national search for a new executive director.

Staying Connected

NASAA keeps you connected! Through communications like this monthly newsletter, Legislative Alerts and other emails, our virtual learning series and peer group gatherings, you can stay up-to-date with what’s happening in our field. And don’t forget, for the first time since 2019, we’re bringing the field together in-person for NASAA Assembly 2022 in Kansas City, Missouri, September 22-24.

The past two years have shown us how important it is to be part of a community—to have people we can turn to for support and encouragement, people we can learn from and lean on. NASAA is your community and with your gift we can keep fostering opportunities to connect, so you can get the most out of your professional network. Please give to NASAA today or become a NASAA Champion to provide sustained support to our work. Thank you!