Jay Dick is the Senior Director of State and Local Government Affairs at Americans for the Arts where he works to educate and inform elected officials about the value of the arts and culture.  As an twenty-year veteran of K Street, Capitol Hill, the private sector, and federal, state, and local campaigns, Jay possesses a tremendous body of knowledge in the field of arts policy, government, the legislative process, and grassroots advocacy.  He is a nationally recognized speaker on these topics having designed and overseen many initiatives.  Jay is regularly interviewed by the media and testifies in front of legislative bodies as an expert on these topics and on Americans for the Arts’ legislative positions.

With the mandate to positively affect the policies that promote State and Local funding and expansion of the arts, Jay works closely with the Americans for the Arts’ fifty State Arts Advocacy Captains, Local Arts Groups, and the State Arts Action Network and Council to accomplish this goal.  Further, he oversees Americans for the Arts’ Public Partnerships and works closely with the members and staffs of the National Governors Association, National Lt. Governors Association, National Conference of State Legislators, National Association of Counties, The United State Conference of Mayors, and the National League of Cities.

Jay has worked at Americans for the Arts for ten years.  Prior, he worked for Capitol Advantage, a high tech advocacy company; the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM); and the Society of Plastics Industry (SPI).  Jay spent the 1996 campaign cycle working as the Field Director for a congressional campaign in Iowa’s 3rd District and began his career with the United States Senate where he served on the personal staff of Tom Harkin (IA) and then Frank Lautenberg (NJ).

Jay was recently appointed by Virginia Governor McAuliffe to serve a five year term as a Commissioner for the Virginia Commission for the Arts.  He also serves on the Board of the Arts Council of Fairfax County where he chairs their advocacy committee. 

Jay received his B.A. in Political Science with a concentration in American History from Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa in 1993.  

Advocacy for the arts is his job but also his passion.