WASHINGTON, DC, April 25, 2022—Americans for the Arts is pleased to announce the addition of five new members to its board of directors: Torrie Allen, president and CEO of Arts Midwest; Christopher Cutler, CFA, founder and president of Manager Analysis Services, LLC; Marc D. Folk, president and CEO of The Arts Commission of Greater Toledo; Kristina Newman-Scott, executive director of The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space; and Ravi S. Rajan, president of the California Institute of the Arts. These new members will start June 1 and join at a critical time to help further the transformative and mission-focused work of the board and organization in support of the arts and culture sector and field.
“The board and staff at Americans for the Arts are thrilled to welcome this dynamic, diverse group of new members with demonstrated leadership and tremendous commitment to the arts and culture sector. They collectively bring vast expertise in the areas of cultural policy, the arts, business, innovation, and education, as well as advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said Julie Muraco, Chair of Americans for the Arts’ board of directors.
The biographies of the new members of the Americans for the Arts Board of Directors are:
Torrie Allen, of Minneapolis, MN, has more than 30 years of experience in national, regional, and local arts leadership including executive and artistic management, fundraising, marketing, policy, adjudication, grantmaking, and international performance. He has served as president and CEO of Arts Midwest since 2019. Previous positions include presiding over all philanthropic activity at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival; serving as chief officer of development and marketing at Alaska Public Media; and serving as executive and artistic director of Anchorage Opera. Before joining Anchorage Opera, he was the director of the National Patrons Council at Americans for the Arts. Prior to his career in nonprofit leadership, Allen spent a decade traveling the world as a professional concert and opera singer.
Christopher Cutler, CFA, of New York, NY, founded the investment consulting firm Manager Analysis Services, LLC (MAS) in March 2003. MAS advises endowments, foundations, and family offices on the governance and performance of their investment programs. Prior to founding MAS, Cutler worked at Deutsche Bank from 1994 to 2003. He co-founded the stable value group, which had peak assets in its program at $15 billion. Cutler was an economist and bank regulator at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 1988 to 1994. He co-authored the Federal Reserve System's original Trading Activities Manual, and he updated Federal Reserve officials on economic ramifications of the collapse of the USSR and the protests in Tiananmen Square.
Marc D. Folk, of Toledo, OH, began his work with The Arts Commission of Greater Toledo in 1996 as an instructor in the Young Artists at Work program and has since worked with dedication to advance the arts, culture, and community development in the Toledo region. Now its president and CEO, Folk represents The Arts Commission on various national and regional committees to advocate for and promote the development of the arts. He served for three years as the president of the Ohio Citizens for the Arts, is past co-chair of the Toledo Area Cultural Leaders, and is an active member of the United States Urban Arts Federation. In 2018 he was awarded the Ray Hanley Innovation Award by the Americans for the Arts in recognition of outstanding individual contributions to arts and culture in American cities. He has served as a four-time grants panelist for the National Endowment for Arts, most recently for CARES Act.
Kristina Newman-Scott, of New York, NY, is an executive with over 20 years of experience in arts and culture, the creative economy, community development, and entertainment and media. Last January, Newman-Scott was appointed executive director of The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at New York Public Radio. She most recently served as president of BRIC, an arts and media institution in Brooklyn, whose work spans contemporary visual and performing arts, media, and civic action. She was the first immigrant and first woman of color to serve as BRIC’s president and one of the very few women of color to lead a major New York cultural institution. Under her leadership, BRIC embarked on an ambitious, human-centered process in pursuit of clarity of purpose in the form of a new four-year strategic plan. In June 2018, Americans for the Arts presented Newman-Scott with the Selina Roberts Ottum Award, which recognizes an individual working in arts management who exemplifies extraordinary leadership qualities.
Ravi S. Rajan, of Los Angeles, CA, serves as president of the California Institute of the Arts and has extensive experience in the production of art, music, theatre/dance, and film/video, as well as in senior executive roles in higher education. He became an Assistant Dean of Art+Design at Purchase College in 2005, eventually rising to the position of Dean of the School of Arts in 2012. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in London, a former member of the Tony Awards Nominating Committee, and a past president of the Asian American Arts Alliance. Rajan is an accomplished musician, performing with and conducting for many large and small musical groups, as well as for the theatre.
Nolen V. Bivens, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts, commented, “The experience and knowledge of these new members will enhance and greatly contribute to our transformational work serving local communities and creating opportunities for everyone to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts. These new members will be key contributors to the organization’s Strategic Realignment Process, and we are excited to continue our work together.”
Visit this page to learn more about Americans for the Arts’ current board of directors.
Americans for the Arts is a nonprofit organization that advances the arts and arts education advocacy in America. Based in Washington, D.C., it has a record of more than 60 years of service. Americans for the Arts is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for everyone to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts. Additional information is available at www.AmericansForTheArts.org.