Member News and NASAA Resources

NASAA Welcomes Shaun Harrison to Research Department

Shaun Harrison joined NASAA last month as qualitative research manager. Shaun is responsible for monitoring programmatic trends in the state arts agency field, documenting the diverse strategies used to foster the arts at the state level and coordinating research communications. Prior to joining NASAA, Shaun was a writer and researcher at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, where he wrote, edited and conducted research on numerous topics related to economic inequality. He was also a freelance writer and academic editor, focusing on book manuscripts and public scholarship. He holds a B.A. in sociology from The George Washington University and an M.A. in American studies from Columbia University. Shaun succeeds Declan Wicks, who departed in August.

Farewell to NASAA’s Sandi Tun

NASAA Operations Manager Sandi Tun departed in September, after serving five years in her role. Sandi joined the NASAA team in 2019. She was responsible for the smooth running of NASAA’s day-to-day office functions, including managing the NASAA membership database, assisting with accounting functions, coordinating conference and meeting logistics, and providing administrative support. Sandi shepherded the change to a more effective IT support team, facilitated the technological and logistical switch to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, and managed our move to smaller offices, among other accomplishments. Outside of NASAA, Sandi is founder and director of the Burmese American Collective, a nonprofit organization dedicated to spotlighting the Burmese American diaspora and their community stories. She is an avid traveler and enjoys learning about other cultures through running and food. We wish Sandi success in her next adventure!

NASAA’s Laura Smith to Depart in December

Chief Advancement Officer Laura Smith will be leaving NASAA on December 31, 2024. Laura joined the staff in May 2002. Under her stewardship—and with the advice, engagement, support and good cheer of many treasured colleagues over the years—NASAA has substantially grown contributed support for our conferences, advocacy efforts and services to states. Laura’s accomplishments include establishing an individual giving program that provides crucial unrestricted dollars to support NASAA’s advocacy work and operations. She played a leading role in NASAA’s creative aging initiative, which has catalyzed many new lifelong learning programs and brought joy to older adults nationwide. Laura staffed NASAA’s Nominating Committee, which every year interviews all state arts agency executive directors, deputy directors and chairs about board leadership and field needs. This outreach process is widely recognized for its integrity, transparency and inclusiveness. Laura also has enjoyed leading efforts to engage state arts agency chairs and council members, to help them connect with NASAA and with each other, and to thrive in their volunteer roles.

A longtime meditator, Laura participated in Utah Arts and Museums’ Change Leader program in 2015, where she developed a project to introduce mindfulness as a leadership skill to state arts agencies. She has been offering weekly meditation sessions to state arts agencies since 2016, and is now a certified meditation teacher as well as a Certified Workplace Mindfulness Facilitator. For her next chapter, she will pursue opportunities to provide mindfulness services to organizations and individuals, with a special focus on creatives and on public-sector employees. Laura is proud of her work with NASAA and state arts agencies and grateful to have had a rewarding career in service to the arts and to democracy. She’s especially thankful for how state arts agencies have deepened her understanding of and love for this beautiful, diverse, imperfect and evolving country—by helping her attune to all that states have in common, while also acknowledging and celebrating their differences.

56 Years, 56 Strong: Come Together

We have a big wish! For NASAA’s 56th birthday we want 56 NEW donors—one from every state and jurisdiction—to give to NASAA in honor of the 56 incredible state and jurisdictional arts agencies that make NASAA who we are. The strength of our field comes from the power of unity. Each one of our members brings something special to our collective work, and together our voice is louder and our impact greater. The more people support NASAA and our field, the more we can accomplish together.

If you haven’t given to NASAA before, now’s the time. (Or if you already donated, tell a friend.) Help us fill in the 56 New Donors Challenge map with your first-time gift today! Give now—no gift is too small and every gift makes a difference. Let’s paint the map gold, together! Thank you!

Poetry Out Loud Celebrates 20 Years

The 2024-2025 school year marks the 20th anniversary of Poetry Out Loud^®, an arts education program and dynamic poetry recitation competition for high school students. The program is a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Poetry Foundation, and all 56 state and jurisdictional arts agencies. In addition to prizes for winners, Poetry Out Loud provides free poetry education resources including lesson plans, tips on reciting and an online anthology of poems. Since its inception, the program has reached more than 4.4 million students and 81,000 teachers from 20,000 schools across the nation. The 2025 Poetry Out Loud National Finals take place May 5-7, 2025, in Washington, D.C. A total of $50,000 in awards and school or organizational stipends will be awarded. The Poetry Foundation provides and administers all aspects of the monetary prizes awarded for Poetry Out Loud. The Poetry Out Loud National Finals are administered by Mid Atlantic Arts.

Strengthen Your Learning Opportunities

NASAA services are tailored specifically to the needs of state and jurisdictional arts agencies, including our learning services. As one member said, “The professional development and support offered to state agencies is invaluable because it is hard to find [offerings] elsewhere that [are] specific to our work.” We want to help you, and every state arts agency, learn and grow, so you can serve your constituents to the very best of your ability. And you can help! Your personal contribution directly supports relevant, high-quality learning opportunities, like the NASAA Assembly 2024 conference taking place this month in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and NASAA’s regular FREE virtual Learning Series sessions. Give to NASAA today to help state arts agencies get the knowledge, information and networking they need to flourish. Thank you!

No NASAA Notes in November

We will not be producing a November issue of NASAA Notes, due to preparations for NASAA Assembly 2024. Our next issue will appear in your inbox in early December. To stay current with NASAA events and services in the meantime, please visit our website or contact a staff member.