The Alliance of Artists Communities’ Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the appointment of Caitlin Strokosch as the Alliance’s new Executive Director.

Strokosch was selected after a year-long strategic evaluation process led by the Executive Committee of the Board. She has worked for the Alliance since 2002, most recently as Program and Communications Director, and will begin as Executive Director on February 1.

Strokosch has 10 years of arts management experience in marketing, development, communications, and program management. Most notably, she served as General Manager of Bella Voce, one of the country’s premiere professional chamber choirs, and as Executive Director of CUBE, a new music ensemble based in Chicago. Strokosch has lectured at Columbia College Chicago, Roosevelt University, Brown University, Roger Williams University, and the Rhode Island School of Design on a range of topics, from grantwriting to contemporary music to intersections of art and architecture. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in music performance from Columbia College Chicago and a Master’s in musicology from Roosevelt University, where her research focused on music as a tool for building communities of resistance and social dissent. She moved to Rhode Island in 2002 as a PhD candidate in Ethnomusicology at Brown University. She continues her creative work as a songwriter, poet and writer, and in 2005 she was an artist-in-residence at the Ucross Foundation.

In her tenure with the Alliance, Strokosch was responsible for the 3rd edition of the popular book Artists Communities: A Directory of Residencies that Offer Time and Space for Creativity, published in 2005, and The Ultimate Residency Resource Guide; launched the Alliance’s first advocacy initiative; organized 14 conferences and regional meetings; led the creation of the new Leadership Institute and Emerging Program Institute; and launched the “Be Our Guest” program, a series of public events for artists.

“The board is delighted with Caitlin’s appointment. She is energetic and intelligent, and has an easy rapport with both the arts and business communities. Her leadership abilities are exceptional—her sensitivity to others’ needs and her finely tuned listening skills have helped to organize several disparate perspectives into a cohesive vision for the Alliance. I know I speak for the entire board and the Alliance members when I say that we anticipate a great tenure,” says Ann Brady, Chair of the Alliance of Artists Communities Board of Trustees.

The Alliance has been served for six years by Deborah Obalil, who leaves her post as Executive Director at the end of January. Under Obalil’s leadership, the Alliance membership grew by more than 20% and the Alliance created a variety of new programming and resources for the field of artists’ communities. Obalil’s leadership and advocacy efforts played a critical role in the 50% increase in giving to the field by the National Endowment for the Arts, and her development of innovative re-granting programs has directed more than $2 million to artists’ communities. A visible and articulate champion for the field, Obalil grew the national presence of the Alliance by representing artists’ communities at key national conferences and convenings including the National Arts Policy Roundtable resource sessions, Americans for the Arts and Grantmakers in the Arts.