National Leadership Institute

NAMAC is seeking media arts and visual arts organization leaders to participate as delegates in our 2012 National Leadership Institute (June 3-7, 2012). Delegates must have a demonstrated commitment to leadership in their local communities and/or the national field, and a desire to further their own professional development.

Free Informational Call

Register for our Informational Conference Call on Thursday March 8, 2012, 10am Pacific/1pm Eastern. You will hear more about the Institute and how to apply from co-facilitator Dewey Schott.

“The moment you arrive, you step into an environment of openness, trust and exploration that you know will trigger change…I was in constant awe of the talent, fearlessness, and intelligence of the people surrounding me.”

—Cassandra Oliveras, Marketing Manager, El Museo Del Barrio

What is NAMAC's National Leadership Institute?

NAMAC will bring together twenty leaders from media and visual arts organizations for a National Leadership Institute, June 3-7, 2012 at the Silver Falls Conference Center in Oregon. Now in its thirteenth year, this five-day intensive intergenerational workshop is designed to encourage and sustain visionary leadership. The Institute is presented in partnership with The Learning Commons, a nonprofit dedicated to nurturing creativity, public spaces, and community-based leadership.

This five-day intensive intergenerational workshop is designed to encourage and sustain visionary leadership in the arts.

Increase awareness of their leadership strengths and areas for development.
Learn and practice essential teamwork and collaboration skills for leading in an era of continual change.
Determine the steps they will take to grow their leadership.
Consider the impact of generational and cultural differences in their organizations.
Broaden their network of peer support.

As follow-up support, NAMAC will convene two facilitated conference calls with Institute delegates (three and six months following the Institute). These conference calls will seek to further engage alumni on their leadership goals as well as provide a forum for deepening the peer relationships.

“NAMAC's Leadership Institute provided me with powerful and much-needed tools to improve my own performance. As the Institute comes to a close, l look forward to better working with my staff to create a visual arts organization that will transform our community.”

—Adam Price, Executive Director, Salt Lake Art Center

What are the Costs?

The National Leadership Institute is underwritten by The Nathan Cummings Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

What are the Selection Criteria?

A strong candidate will:

Convey their current and potential leadership as demonstrated through the written statement of interest, letter of recommendation from applicant's direct supervisor, and optional letter of recommendation.
Convey why the Institute opportunity is appropriate at this particular point in their career as demonstrated through their statement of interest.
Convey organizational commitment to the arts as demonstrated through their resume.

NAMAC seeks to identify a diverse group of participants that represent a mix of emerging and established leaders nationally. The nominees who are selected are believed to be those who will benefit the most from participation and who have the most potential to contribute to advancing the arts field. Priority will be given to organizations that have not participated in previous NAMAC Leadership Institutes in the last five years. NAMAC will select ten leaders from media arts organizations and ten leaders from visual arts organizations.

“The NAMAC Leadership Institute has given me great insight into what it means to be a leader, and what makes a successful leader. I appreciated learning about myself, where I can improve as a leader, and what I can do to help my organization. The facilitators presented the material in a fun, intellectual and significant way. I would highly recommend the institute to anyone looking to learn more about effective leadership and broaden their peer network.”
—Larissa Trout, Development Director, Spy Hop Productions

How To Apply

Timeline:

February 15, 2012: Applications available
April 5, 2012: Deadline to apply
April 16, 2012: Delegates announced
June 3-7, 2012: Institute takes place

Facilitators

	Paula Manley is a consultant, educator and facilitator based in Portland, Oregon who works nationally with arts, cultural and community development groups as a catalyst for productive change. As co-director of The Learning Commons and principal of Paula Manley Consulting, she works to create leader-full organizations through guiding participatory planning, staff and board leadership development, succession planning and executive director transitions. Paula’s consulting practice draws on her many years of experience as a nonprofit executive director, program manager and board leader. As a community volunteer Paula leads the Oregon Commons Project, which is dedicated to inspiring appreciation, stewardship and advocacy of our commons—the gifts of nature and civilization we share across generations. She is a ceramic artist and the curator of Mad/50, a tiny public art exhibition space in Southeast Portland.
	Dewey Schott, PCC is the Senior Manager of Leadership Services at NAMAC and a professional certified coach who is passionate about helping leaders soar to new heights. He considers himself part punk, part mystic, and part organizational development nerd. Dewey leads NAMAC’s peer coaching circles, edited NAMAC's Leading Creatively anthology of current issues in leadership in the arts, and develops many other professional development programs and services for arts leaders. In 2008, he co-researched “next generation” leadership in California arts for The James Irvine Foundation. Dewey regularly presents panels and workshops on leadership and coaching in the arts at Americans for the Arts and other conferences.
	Sonya Shah is Core Faculty at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco where she teaches interdisciplinary studies. For the past 14 years she has worked as a community artist, project director, and educator in the United States, United Kingdom, and India. She was a Fulbright Fellow and artist-in-residence at MS University of Baroda, India, from 1996 to 1998. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Visual Arts from Brown University and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Film and Video from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she was a Jacob Javits fellow. Her most recent documentary, Something between Her Hands, examines the growing problem of sex work and labor for women in Southeast Asia and is distributed by the National Film Network