The Mentorship and Leadership Initiative (MLI) strengthens NPN Partner organizations and the performing arts field by supporting the professional development of NPN Partner staff as future arts leaders.
In honor and memory of NPN’s late COO Wesley V. Montgomery, an MLI award has been established in his name to support the professional growth of an emerging leader of color. The 2013 award goes to Painted Bride and LaNeshe Miller. The first year (2012) award went to Carpetbag Theatre Co. and Kelle Jolly.
- FY13 Winter MLI Awards
- FY13 Summer MLI Awards
- FY12 Winter MLI Awards
- FY12 Summer MLI Awards
- MLI Awards from Prior Years
FY13 Winter MLI Awards
Wesley V. Montgomery MLI Award for Emerging Leaders of Color
Painted Bride – Philadelphia, PA
Title: Extended Play: Painted Bride
Description: Painted Bride will develop a hands-on mentorship program with staff member LaNeshe Miller and Executive Director Laurel Raczka, which includes developing new interactive programs for younger audiences.
NPN Subsidy: $5000
Fusebox Festival – Austin, TX
Title: Making Decisions & Communicating Change
Description: Artistic Director Ron Berry will work with mentor and consultant Dan Heath to define, analyze and communicate rationale of major decisions about a proposed alternative financial model for Fusebox.
NPN Subsidy: $3000
Out North – Anchorage, AK
Title: Immersion in Arts Midwest Conference & Texas Presenting Organizations
Description: Three Out North staff members will travel to Texas to attend the Arts MidWest Conference and to visit NPN Partner organizations Fusebox Festival (Austin) and DiverseWorks (Houston).
NPN Subsidy: $5000
The Theater Offensive – Boston, MA
Title: Community Arts Organizing Mentorship
Description: The Theater Offensive’s new Programs Administrator Kaamila Mohamed will engage in an extented skill and neighborhood relationship building process that focuses on community organizing and the skills, knowledge, and relationships specifically needed to engage Boston progressive communities of color in LGBT arts.
NPN Subsidy: $5,000
The Wexner Center – Columbus, OH
Title: Outreach to Local Artist Communities
Description: Sarah Swinford, performing arts program coordinator, will visit the three NPN Partners in Minneapolis to learn about their practices in program development, relationship development with local artists, and community outreach. The NPN Partners are Intermedia Arts, Pangea World Theater, and Walker Art Center.
NPN Subsidy: $975
Youth Speaks – San Francisco, CA
Title: Gaining Best Practices from the Field
Description: Brandon Santiago, Youth Speaks program associate and youngest full-time staff member, will attend the National Conference for Community Arts Education, the 2013 NPN Annual Meeting in New Orleans, and the Maui Arts and Cultural Center during an NPN Residency to develop networking skills and bring back best-practices models from the field in order to advance his work.
NPN Subsidy: $5000
FY13 Summer MLI Awards
On the Boards – Seattle, WA
Title: Learning to Lead OntheBoards.tv
Description: MLI support will help grow the capacity and skill-set of the OntheBoards.tv Manager, Monique Courcy, allowing her to evolve from program implementation to leading the OntheBoards.tv initiative at a strategic level. This growth will impact OtB’s ability to expand OntheBoards.tv while also providing a young arts professional with the opportunity to understand the wider picture of the arts in the US and develop her leadership potential.
NPN Subsidy: $5000
Pangea World Theater – Minneapolis, MN
Title: Developing the growth of leadership
Description: Through a year-long mentorship and participation in conferences and seminars, Jessica Huang, Pangea’s development associate, will be mentored by Executive Director Meena Natarajan in all aspects of development. She will also learn how Pangea curates and will attend NPN, TCG and NET in order to build relationships and look for collaborative opportunities. In order to round out her development skillset, Jessica will attend seminars and share her learnings.
NPN Subsidy: $4000
Junebug Productions, Inc. – New Orleans, LA
Title: Transition Through Learning
Description: During this challenging succession, Junebug Productions’ newly appointed Artistic Director Stephanie McKee and Managing Director Kiyoko McCrae are looking to two performing arts organizations, Carpetbag Theater of Knoxville and the Urban Bush Women of Brooklyn, who have experienced similar challenges in times of transitions for mentorship, guidance and support.
NPN Subsidy: $4000
Su Teatro – Denver, CO
Title: Managing Director Mentorship
Description: Su Teatro junior staff member Marvink Correa will receive mentoring from Teatro Pregones Associate Artistic Director Alvan Colon Lespier, which will help him to develop the skills and knowledge that will enable him to move into a leadership position at Su Teatro.
NPN Subsidy: – $4000
Miami Light Project – Miami, FL
Title: Miami Light Project Leadership Development – Rebekah Lengel
Description: MLP Managing Producer, Rebekah Lanae Lengel will participate in the APAP Leadership Development Institute, where she will engage in dialogue with several arts organizations across the U.S. that share similar programmatic and facility vision, and discuss issues of artist residency programs, program development, individual fundraising and institutional marketing.
NPN Subsidy: $3000
Portland Ovations – Portland, ME
Title: Participation in APAP’s Emerging Leadership Institute and annual conference
Description: Portland Ovations will send Laura Stauffer, its programming & development administrator, to the Association of Performing Arts Presenters’ Emerging Leadership Institute and concurrent yearly membership conference in New York City. Stauffer will complete APAP’s Emerging Leadership Institute and come away with significant knowledge that can be applied Portland Ovations current programming and curatorial vision.
NPN Subsidy: $980
FY12 Winter MLI Awards
Wesley V. Montgomery Mentorship & Leadership Initiative Award
The Carpetbag Theatre Co.
Title: Succession Initiative
Description: The Carpetbag Theatre is developing a succession plan for a future change in leadership. Kelle Jolly will shadow Executive/Artistic Director Linda Parris-Bailey to gain experience in managing administrative duties, developing relationships with key partners and potential funders, and engaging with the ensemble process to insure the continuation and expansion of Carpetbag’s programs and projects.
NPN Subsidy: $5000
PS122
Title: PS122 Mentorship – Lori Vroegindeway
Description: Through a nine-month mentorship program with Tambra Dillion, director of institutional advancement for Cunningham Dance Foundation for over 9 years, PS122′s Individual Giving Manager Lori Vroegindeway will learn best practices for developing individual giving campaigns from a a leader in her field and apply these new skills to develop PS 122′s new major gift program for operations and upcoming capital campaign.
NPN Subsidy: $5000
La Peña
Title: Increasing capacity to use technology to connect artists and audiences
Description: In response to changes in technology innovation and new art-making practices, La Peña is seeking to promote its own capactity to use technology as another way to connect audiences and artists. Nicolas Cabrera, a young staff member with the programming department, will explore how technology is changing supply and demand in the arts field and will guide La Peña’s efforts in that direction.
NPN Subsidy: $5000
Walker Art Center
Title: Curatorial leadership development and research
Description: Michèle Steinwald will participate in the Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance at Wesleyan University to deepen her understanding of contemporary performance, develop a strong curatorial voice in order to prepare for future projects and research at the Walker Art Center, and create a peer network of emerging leaders in the field.
NPN Subsidy: $5000
Tigertail
Title: Digital Asset Training
Description: Tigertail’s organizational leadership staff will train to bring up-to-date and maximize the usage of its current and future digital assets, through a series of one-on-one training sessions, on-site training sessions, and seminars.
NPN Subsidy: $5000
El Centro Su Teatro
Title: Compare and Contrast
Description: Lisa Suarez from Jump-Start Performance Co. and Mica Garcia de Benavidez from El Centro Su Teatro are two women of color who have worked at community-based arts organizations for years, and due to recent organizational transitions and re-structuring, are now being placed in new positions that require new skills and the sharpening of old skills. As Suarez recently took leadership of San Antonio’s Jump-Start, this will be an invaluable opportunity for Mica to see and experience firsthand administrative leadership and leadership transition.
NPN Subsidy: $5000
FY12 Summer MLI Awards
In July 2011 NPN funded five proposals totaling $19,250:
Columbia College Chicago – Chicago, IL
Title: Leadership Development for Dance Teaching Artistry
Description: The project will develop the Arts Integration Program Specialist in the field of dance performance as an arts education leader and dance teaching artist by providing mentorship, networking and co-teaching experiences.
NPN Subsidy: $3,750
Flynn Center for the Performing Arts
Title: APAP Conference and Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance
Description: The project will enable the Flynn Center’s Programming Managers, two emerging arts professionals, to attend the Association of Arts Presenters annual conference, and for Flynn’s newest Program Manager’s participation in the Wesleyan University’s year-long Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance.
NPN Subsidy: $3,500
Jump-Start Performance Co. – San Antonio, TX
Title: Passing the Torch
Description: The project will facilitate the smooth transition–”passing the torch”–from a department leadership position to executive leadership of the organization.
NPN Subsidy: $4,000
The Theater Offensive – Boston, MA
Title: Community Partnerships
Description: The Director of Programs will be mentored by Norma Bowles, Artistic Director of Fringe Benefits, an LA based company to deepen her understanding of how to structure, plan, supervise, evaluate and collaborate for all programs of TTO.
NPN Subsidy: $4,000
Youth Speaks – San Francisco, CA
Title: Brave New Leaders
Description: Youth Speaks will implement a monthly professional development series for staff, half of which are in their 20’s, to support their growth in development and fundraising, leadership, digital communications, marketing and organizational development.
NPN Subsidy: $4,000
Link to profiles of MLI and other NPN-subsidized projects
The Mentorship and Leadership Initiative, as part of the Community Fund, is made possible by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency), the MetLife Foundation, the Nathan Cummings Foundation and American Express.
