Carmen Graciela Díaz's Blog

The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) has announced Karl Blischke as its new executive director, succeeding Philip Horn, who is retiring from state government after leading the agency for 25 years of its nearly 52-year history.

Jeffrey Parks, chairman of the PCA, said he was “delighted that Karl is rejoining the agency, bringing with him important experience, especially regarding economic development programs.”

Kenneth Taylor, former CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas, shares his personal story on The Conversation calling for greater diversity of leadership on corporate and nonprofit boards, nationally.

Taylor discusses revealing data from a report by BoardSource, which notes that while “only 61.3 percent of Americans are white, about 84 percent of nonprofit board members are in that demographic group, along with 90 percent of nonprofit board chairs.”

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation has announced that Emiko Ono is the new program director of the foundation’s Performing Arts Program. Ono has served as a program officer at the Hewlett Foundation since 2011.

"It is unusual, though not unprecedented, for the Hewlett Foundation to promote someone from our own staff to a leadership role. In this case, the choice became clear as we moved through an extensive, nationwide search process," said Larry Kramer, Hewlett Foundation president, announcing Ono’s appointment. "In addition to her deep knowledge of the Bay Area arts community and our own program, she is recognized as a national leader in arts philanthropy, and her name came up over and over again in conversations with colleagues both inside and outside the foundation as the ideal candidate for this position."