state arts action network
SAAN Speakers Bureau
Whether they are needed for your state arts advocacy days or occasional professional development programs, good speakers are hard to find. Listed below is the contact information for a variety of speakers that members of the SAAN have recommended.
If you would like to add new speakers to the list, please e-mail the State and Local Government Affairs Coordinator and it will be posted as recommendations are received.
| Speaker | Subject Area | Contact/Occupational Information | Recommended By |
| Virginia Willard | Connecting businesses with non-profits for board development | Executive Director, Northwest Business for Culture and Arts (Portland, OR); virginia@nwbca.org |
Sheila Smith |
| Anne Katz | Arts advocacy; community cultural development; cultural tourism; community engagement in the arts; leadership development and technical assistance for nonprofit organizations, arts leaders, and creative entrepreneurs |
SAAN Chair/Executive Director, |
Jay Dick |
| Elisabeth Currid | Creative economy; creating arts-centered neighborhoods | Author, The Warhol Economy: How Fashion, Art and Music Drive New York City; Assistant Professor, University of Southern California; currid@usc.edu or 213.740.4012 |
Sheila Smith |
| John Barrett III | Creative economy | Mayor, North Adams, Massachusetts | Trish Poupore |
| William Cleveland | Artists provoking international social and political change | Founder, Center for the Study of Art & Community; 206.855.0977 |
Trish Poupore |
| Sir Ken Robinson | Unlocking creativity and sustaining innovation in a systematic way | Senior Advisor for Education, J. Paul Getty Trust; SirKenRobinson.com |
Trish Poupore |
| Rebecca Ryan | 21st century workforce, creativity in the private sector; creative economy | President, Next Generation Consulting | Anne Katz |
| Genye Edwards | Arts and cultural tourism; diversity in tourism; creative entrepreneurialism | Former Deputy Secretary, Wisconsin Department of Tourism; Consultant; 414.931.5977 or attyedwards@hotmail.com | Anne Katz |
| Jim Armstrong | Cause-related marketing; messaging to support your mission; developing communications strategies | Creative Director, Good For Business; 608.250.5148 or jim@goodforbusiness.com | Anne Katz |
| Carolyn Bye | Arts access in the suburbs | Former SAAN member/Director of the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council in MN; co-authored A New Angle; 952.474.0350 | Sheila Smith |
| Ra Joy | Grassroots advocacy | SAAN member/Executive Director, Illinois Arts Alliance | Sally Gaskill |
| Dan Hunter | Arts advocacy; creativity in the workforce; arts education; creative economy; responding to future budget cuts | SAAN member/Executive Director, Massachusetts Advocates for the Arts, Sciences and Humanities | Jay Dick |