Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund

Since its inception, the Arts Fund advisory committee and staff have developed a deep understanding and knowledge of the issues and opportunities that face the small and medium-sized arts in Atlanta. As a result, the Arts Fund is a well-respected voice for this vital part of Atlanta’s arts scene, and is dedicated to helping Atlanta’s opinion leaders understand the critical role that these organizations play.

The Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund Staff:
Lisa Cremin, Director
Josh Phillipson, Program Associate

The Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund Advisory Committee:

Kenny Blank, Chair	Atlanta Jewish Film Festival
Elizabeth Adams	Community Volunteer
Kristina Christy	Turner Broadcasting System
Verna Cleveland	VJC & Associates
Lynda Courts	Community Volunteer
Charlene Crusoe-Ingram	Atlanta Housing Authority
Erica deChicchis	PNC Financial Services Group
Kwanza Hall	Atlanta City Council
Lyn Hunt	Community Volunteer
Carrie Kurlander	The Southern Company
Max Leventhal	Alliance Theatre Company
Camille Love	City of Atlanta, Office of Cultural Affairs
Della Patteson	The Coca-Cola Company
Ivan Pulinkala	Kennesaw State University
Rob Hollis, ex officio	Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
Lesley Grady, ex officio	The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta

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Past Arts Fund Advisory Committee Members:

Elizabeth Bacchetti
Andrea Barnwell Brownlee
Rick Beard
Candace Bell
Barry Berlin
Veronica Biggins
Bill Bodine
Merritt Bond
Barbara Bowser
Bruce Buchanan
Valerie Brown
Ron Brill
John Burd
Susana Chavez
Robyn Cole
Ann Cramer
Mary Gellerstedt
Leslie Germaine
Mark Goldman
Virginia A. Hepner
Mira Hirsch
Anthony Hirschel
Booker Izell
Ingrid Saunders Jones
Frank C. Jones
Paul Jones
Anita Keith

Adrian King
Nancy Kinzer
John Lambert
Edith Love
Chris Manos
Ellen Meyer
Shirley Mitchell
Karen Webster Parks
Thomas Pechar
M. Kasim Reed
Carol Reiser
Charles Ross
Kevin Ross
Harriet Sanford
Phil Santora
Jack Shultz
Esther Silver-Parker
Bob Silverman
Jan Smith
Bahnson Stanley
Carol B. Tomé
Wayne Vason
Paula Vaughn
Phyllis Weiss
Benjamin T. White
Mark Williamson
David Yu

Past Arts Fund Advisory Committee Chairs:
Bahnson Stanley: 2009-2011
Carol B. Tomé: 2005-2009
Virginia A. Hepner: 2002-2005
Jack Shultz: 2001-2002
Grant Wilmer: 1998-2001
Merritt Bond: 1995-1997
Benjamin T. White: 1993-1995
Frank C. Jones: 1992-1993

Past Arts Fund Guest Reviewers:
The Arts Fund broadens its reach among community leaders by engaging them in the application process as guest reviewers.

Lauren Amos
Barry Berlin
Kenny Blank
Ron Brill
Valerie Brown
Verna Cleveland
Charlene Crusoe-Ingram
Kappy deButts
Jeanette Foreman
Beth Holder
Lyn Hunt
Mary Ellen Imlay
Brian Leary
Denise Cleveland Leggett
Adrian King

Sarah Kennedy
John McColskey
Karen Webster Parks
Art Rollins
Charles Ross
Jamey Rousey
Cathy Selig
Terry Stent
Ginger Sullivan
Charmaine Ward
Joan N. Whitcomb
Christina Whitney
Joni Winston
Mark Williamson
Lani Wong

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Staff Bios:

Lisa Cremin,
Director, Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund
Lisa Cremin is the (founding) Director of the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund. She also serves as a program officer at The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta and oversees all programs in the area of arts and culture.

Under Cremin's leadership, the Arts Fund has: awarded over $6 million to over eighty metro arts organizations, created the Arts Stabilization Toolbox program with the Georgia Center for Nonprofits, and developed the Arts Loan Fund, a program which uses the Arts Fund's endowment as loan capital. Cremin has made it a priority for the Arts Fund to be the knowledge leader about the arts in the metro area, and to be a convener of individuals, government entities, corporations and foundations around issues of supporting, stabilizing and strengthening
arts organizations.

Previous to coming to the Arts Fund, she operated Lisa Cremin & Associates, a New York-based small consulting firm, directing a variety of entrepreneurial programs and partnerships with both for-profit and nonprofit entities, producing major museum exhibition programs, developing private and public visual art collections, developing philanthropic initiatives with a range of partners, and creating programs that used the arts to promote social change. Her early career also included jobs at Christie's International, New York and the Weston Gallery,
Carmel, California.

Cremin currently serves as on the Executive Committee of the Atlanta Public Art Legacy Fund Board; the national Board of Directors of Grantmakers In the Arts and the Advisory Board of the King Baudouin Foundation U.S. Cultural Exchange Fellowship. Cremin is a graduate of Leadership Atlanta, the Diversity Leadership Academy, and the Regional Leadership Institute. She is a graduate of Hamilton College.

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Josh Phillipson,
Program Associate, Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund
Josh Phillipson started at the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund as the second full-time employee in 2003. At the Arts Fund he manages the financial grant program, the Arts Stabilization Toolbox program and communications. Josh graduated from Emory University with a degree in Theater Studies. Before starting at the Arts Fund he worked in graphic design and advertising in San Francisco, both freelance and at the firms Deepend and Tesser.

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Learn More About The Arts Fund:

Overview
The Atlanta Arts Community
Contributors
Partners
News
Forums, Luncheons & Workshops

Service Spotlight:
Grants: Strengthening business operations of arts organizations. Click to learn more.