The Powerful Ones

Barry Hessenius is the former Director of the California Arts Council. He writes a blog for  WESTAF, the Western States Arts Federation. The blog is geared toward arts administrators, so don't go there expecting too much in the way of frivolity, but it's kind of quirky. Mr. Hessenius, he prefers that we call him Barry, asks "Who (besides himself?) sets our agendas, who controls the purse strings, who frames the dialogues? Which leaders are the most respected and highly-regarded? Who are our trend-setters, our taste-makers, our best thinkers, and established power brokers?"

Anyway, Barry drops a list of the TOP 25 MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE IN THE NONPROFIT ARTS.

Behold, the holders of the purse strings! How many of these names do you recognize? Are any of them Teaching Artists?

1. 

BOB LYNCH - PRESIDENT & CEO OF AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS

2. 

MARION GODFREY – PEW FOUNDATION

3. 

BEN CAMERON - DORIS DUKE FOUNDATION 

4. 

DICK DEASEY – EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ARTS EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP 

5. 

ALAN BROWN – PRINCIPAL WOLF BROWN CONSULTING 

6. 

SAM MILLER – EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR LINC (LEVERAGING INVESTMENT IN CREATIVITY)

7. 

CLAIRE PEEPS – DURFEE FOUNDATION 

8. 

DANIEL WINDHAM - WALLACE FOUNDATION

MOY ENG - HEWLETT FOUNDATION 

TIM MCCLIMMON – AMERICAN EXPRESS FOUNDATION

SUE COLITON – PAUL ALLEN FOUNDATION

9. 

DANA GIOIA – CHAIR NEA

10. 

JONATHAN KATZ EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR NASAA 

11. 

ANDREW TAYLOR – BOLZ CENTER FOR ARTS ADMINISTRATION / UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN – MADISON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

12. 

CONGRESSWOMAN LOUISE SLAUGHTER 

CONGRESSMAN NORM DICKS 

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG 

13. 

ELI BROAD 

AGNUS GUND 

14. 

ANNE KATZ - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ARTS WISCONSIN / CHAIR STATE ARTS ACTION NETWORK

15. 

LAURA ZUCKER - LOS ANGELES ARTS COMMISSION

MICHAEL SPRING - MIAMI DADE CULTURAL COUNCIL

PEGGY AMSTERDAM – GREATER PHILADELPHIA ARTS & CULTURE ALLIANCE

LEE KESSLER –ARTS & SCIENCE COUNCIL - CHARLOTTE MECKLENBURG 

16. 

ARNIE FISHBAUGH – MONTANA ARTS COUNCIL 

KRIS TUCKER – WASHINGTON STATE ARTS COMMISSION 

PHILIP HORN – PENNSYLVANIA COUNCIL ON THE ARTS 

17. 

MARIALAURA LESLIE - MIAMI DADE COUNTY DEPT. OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS 

SHANNON DAUT - WESTAF

DAVID DOMBROSKY - Director of Center for Arts Management and Technology at Carnegie Mellon 

18. 

KEVIN MCCARTHY - RAND CORPORATION

MARGARET WYSZMIRSKI – OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY.

19. 

RICHARD FLORIDA – PROFESSOR CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY / AUTHOR 

20. 

NINA OZLU, RANDY COHEN, GARY STEUER - AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS

21. 

CORA MIRIKITANI DIRECTOR CENTER FOR CULTURAL INNOVATION 

DONNA WALKER KUHNE - INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT 

BARBARA SCHAFFER-BACON - INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT 

22. 

PATRICE WALKER POWELL – DEPUTY DIRECTOR NEA 

BILL IVEY – DIRECTOR CURB CENTER OF ART, ENTERPRISE & PUBLIC POLICY 

23. 

LOIS WEISBERG - COMMISSIONER OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS – CITY OF CHICAGO?

24. 

ANNE IMELDA RADICE – INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM & LIBRARY SCIENCES

MARC SCORCA - OPERA AMERICA 

25. 

YOU (?!)