After 14 years of leading Business Council for the Arts (BCA) from Obelisk Awards to pandemic and everything in between, BCA CEO Katherine Wagner is retiring at the end of the month.
According to BCA Founder’s Chair Nancy A. Nasher, “Katherine has been an excellent steward of this important organization. She has institutionalized best practices across the board while creating new programs that will help us thrive in the years to come.”
And while the announcement seems of short notice, Katherine admitted it wasn’t a “hasty decision. I’ve been working on it with our wonderful board of directors since last summer, and with our transition committee since January. Our goal was to make the transition seamless and smooth. We have a wonderful new person coming in (my recommendation and board-approved) who I believe I’ve set up for success and who will start June 1.”
In response to the announcement BCA Board Chair Joel Austin said, “Katherine’s leadership, innovation, and impact on our ability to carry out our mission and evolve our approach to meet today’s unique circumstances have BCA on a great path forward.”
In addition to initiating “an innovative business-facing strategy, offering businesses proving programs that positively impact engagement and retention, health and wellness, equity, inclusion and diversity and community connections through arts and culture,” she and the board “responded to the need for BCA’s programming in Collin and Denton counties and expanded the trademarked Leadership Arts program as well as corporate membership to the wider North Texas region.”
It was in 2010 and 2015 that she led the region-wide Arts and Economic Prosperity studies in partnership with Americans for the Arts that “reflected a three-fold growth in only five years, to $1.5 billion,” drawing attention from municipal and business leaders who invest in arts and culture.
Douglas D Martin says
Congratulations Katherine on your incredible impact in connecting the business community to the arts and in inspiring professionals young and old to see the importance of the reciprocality and the need for a continual inflow of skilled leadership in the nonprofit community, especially in arts organizations. You will be missed at BCA but never forgotten. It’s been a pleasure and privilege working with you.