Leadership Development Institute (LDI)

Program Background

The Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) and the Research Center for Leadership in Action (RCLA) at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York University are jointly launching a Leadership Development Institute (LDI) in June 2010 with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the American Express Foundation. The LDI’s initial design is based on prior research conducted by Arts Presenters and RCLA that included a co-design working session in May 2009 where Arts Presenters and RCLA convened 15 mid-career leaders in the performing arts presenting field.

The overarching goal of the LDI is to develop the leadership, knowledge and capacity required to advance the performing arts presenting field. Specifically, the LDI will:

• Consolidate a leadership competency framework for the performing arts presenting field;
• Advance the leadership capacity among arts presenting professionals in at least one competency area each; and
• Produce a presenting leadership development white paper, online tools and other resources that embody a framework for the leadership demands and challenges in the performing arts presenting field today.
  

Target Audience

The LDI targets diverse mid-career professionals (i.e at least 5 years of significant management/decision-making experience, including responsibility for leading people, projects and/or budgets) in the performing arts presenting field. These individuals have proven their commitment to the arts, have been tested in terms of their ability to handle responsibility and authority, have contributed new thinking to the field, and are poised for senior leadership roles that will positively shape their organizations and the arts in the future (see further eligibility requirements below).

Program Structure

Arts Presenters and RCLA have designed the LDI as a pilot program that will launch in June 2010 and end in January 2012. During its pilot phase, the LDI will include:

• two series of collaborative inquiry sessions,
• virtual webinars,
• online resources and
• one-day action-learning seminars.
  
  
  

2010 Program Participants

• Elizabeth Auer, University of Florida Performing Arts, Gainesville, FL
• Kevin Boyer, The Washington Center for the Performing Arts, Olympia, WA
• Joe Clifford, Hopkins Center for the Arts, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
• Sage Crump, South Arts, Atlanta, GA
• Kaisha Johnson, Center for Traditional Music and Dance, New York, NY
• Brian Kendall, City of Las Vegas Office of Cultural Affairs, Las Vegas, NV
• Laura Kendall, Tri-C Presents, Cuyahoga Community College, Cleveland, OH
• Cari McMahon, The Ross Ragland Theater & Cultural Center, Klamath Falls, OR
• Claire Rice, University Musical Society (UMS), Ann Arbor, MI
• Paul Ternes, Omaha Performing Arts, Omaha, NE
• Sarah Thompson, Northrop Concerts and Lectures, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
• Jack Wright, Celebrity Series of Boston, Inc, Boston, MA

A series of collaborative inquiry sessions will be the first offering delivered through the LDI. Please read the “Collaborative Inquiry Guidelines” to learn more about how to participate. Details about the remaining offerings will be disseminated in Fall 2010.