For immediate release:
Fund for the Arts
Tory Parker
Tparker@fundforthearts.org
Louisville, KY (January 8, 2025) – Fund for the Arts is excited to announce the NeXt! Ambassador leadership development program class of 2025. NeXt! Ambassadors will complete the program prepared to serve as effective, transformative board members and volunteer leaders for arts organizations.
Stock Yards Bank & Trust returns in 2025 as the Presenting Sponsor of the NeXt! Ambassador program with a commitment to building transformative arts leaders of the future. Thanks to their generosity, the five-month program is free for all participants.
The NeXt! Ambassador program is dedicated to preparing a new generation of emerging professionals for volunteer leadership roles within the Greater Louisville and Southern Indiana arts community. The program leads ambassadors through an immersive experience in which they develop necessary skills, build diverse relationships, apply lessons learned, and volunteer with local arts organizations. The program will conclude in May 2025 with a board matching event to support arts organizations and new leaders making immediate connections. Alumni of the program will be invited to participate as well.
The 2025 NeXt! Ambassadors are:
- Devon Allgeier, Brown-Forman
- Yathreb Bayan Mohamed, University of Louisville
- Lyndsey Bell, Spalding University
- Aaron Bullitt, Bullitt Consulting LLC
- Jack Brynes, Humana
- Sara Cahill-King, Stock Yards Bank & Trust
- Jennifer Davis, Charter Communications
- Jessica Denney, Coppermoon Cleaning Co. LLC
- Heather Funk Gotlib, Belle of Louisville Riverboats
- Donovan Gibbs, Stites & Harbison, PLLC
- Lauren Givhan, Deloitte
- Grace Henderson, Revelry Boutique Gallery
- Brittany Hill-Whitehead, Amped
- Jordan Lienhoop Crump, Sojourn Arts & Misc. Goods Co.
- Colleen Parga, Dentons Bingham Greenebaum
- Vashti Proctor, Amped
- Brittany Ruehling, Yum! Brands
- Elizabeth Ruwe, Metro United Way
- Grady Shiftlet, Fifth Third Bank
- Charlie Todd, Stored Value Solutions
- Chelsea Watson, Louisville Metro Government
- Courtney Wileman, Operations and Marketing Professional
- Shane Wohlschlegel, Capitalis Planning Partners
“The Fund for the Arts NeXt! Program gave me the training I needed to confidently step on to an arts board. Each program evening was unique, engaging, and taught me something about Louisville arts that I didn’t know. It was also great to connect with my fellow classmates to learn about the art they were creating and performing around Louisville. I wouldn’t have had the confidence to join the Kentucky Shakespeare Board if I didn’t do this program” — Sara Bowman, Leadership Louisville, NeXt! Class of 2024
The 2025 NeXt! Ambassadors represent a variety of professional industries and experiences and their inclusion as volunteer and board leaders will significantly benefit Greater Louisville’s arts and culture sector.
Andre Kimo Stone Guess, President and CEO of Fund for the Arts adds, “The NeXt! Ambassador Leadership Development program builds a clear path for those interested to learn about the arts ecosystem, understand what organizations look for from board leadership, and see themselves directly in the arts. Fund for the Arts is proud to invest in future volunteer arts leaders and we can’t wait to see all that this year’s class will do.”
To learn more about the NeXt! Ambassador program, visit www.fundforthearts.org/Next/
About Fund for the Arts
Fund for the Arts is a regional nonprofit with the mission to contribute to the overall health and well-being of our community by generating resources for, investing in, and supporting our local arts, artists, and arts organizations. The Fund envisions a healthy and vibrant community where everyone embraces the art that exists in our lives every day, everyone contributes to the well-being of our arts community, and it is understood that everyone belongs to the arts community. The organization facilitates the largest arts grant program in Greater Louisville and it conducts one of the two oldest united arts campaigns in the country. For more information, visit www.fundforthearts.org
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