Presented by Janet Brown, President & CEO, Grantmakers in the Arts.
Private foundations have long been active in changing public policy to champion their missions and support the greater good. The return on investment in policy work can be huge and long-lasting. Grantmakers in the Arts supports this kind of work through the Arts Education Funders Coalition with a goal of enhancing the arts in federal education policy. Janet Brown, President & CEO of GIA, will present this session on the importance of policy development and the difference between advocacy and direct lobbying.
Janet Brown is a nationally known consultant, speaker and teacher. Until recently, she was an adjunct faculty member at Goucher College, Baltimore, MD teaching Public Policy and the Arts. Prior to GIA, she was Chair of Performing and Visual Arts at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD and Executive Director of South Dakotans for the Arts and the SD Alliance for Arts Education. She began her arts management career in theatre where her work included Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival, the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, and national and European tours. She began her theatre career as an actress at the Black Hills Playhouse and was co-owner of the Deadwood Production Company for ten years. A registered lobbyist for 15 years, Janet received numerous awards for arts advocacy including the Selena Roberts Ottum Award from Americans for the Arts, Washington, D.C., and the Robert Gard Award from the University of Massachusetts Arts Extension Service (AES), Amherst. She's served on many local and national boards of directors including Americans for the Arts and the American Folklife Center and has been a panelist and site evaluator for the National Endowment for the Arts and several state arts agencies. She has an undergraduate degree in Theatre and a Masters of Public Administration.