For immediate release:
Fund for the Arts
Tory Parker
Tparker@fundforthearts.org
Fund for the Arts Announces NeXt! Ambassador Leadership Development Program Class of 2026
Louisville, KY (January 7, 2026) – Fund for the Arts is excited to announce the NeXt! Ambassador leadership development program class of 2026. NeXt! Ambassadors will complete the program prepared to serve as effective, transformative board members, volunteers, and leaders for local arts organizations.
Stock Yards Bank & Trust returns 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 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, engage with local arts organizations, and apply skills and lessons learned in a spring campaign. The program will conclude in June 2026 with a board matching event to support arts organizations and new leaders making immediate connections.
The 2026 NeXt! Ambassadors are:
- Sydney Bland, Bellarmine University
- Bree Carter, Goodwill Kentucky and Galen College of Nursing
- Jessica Caudill-Whoberry, Humana
- Reilly Geraghty, Steptoe & Johnson PLLC
- Clarity Hagan, Fund for the Arts
- Kesia Hatcher, Hatching House Mentoring Services
- Sophie Holbrook, Capitalis Planning Partners – Northwestern Mutual
- Isaac Karikari, Kentucky Court of Justice
- Peter LaBlanc, Steptoe & Johnson PLLC
- Jessica Menser, Republic Bank and Trust
- Kylie Moxley, Moxley Enterprises
- McKenzie Raymer, Stock Yards Bank & Trust
- Veronica Riggs, Brown-Forman
- Todd Swanson, Waystar
- Catherine Thompson, University of Louisville Athletics
- Nikia White, Schneider Electric
- BJ Wysoske, BJs Bookkeeping
- Megan Young, Republic Bank and Trust
“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 2026 NeXt! Ambassadors represent a variety of professional industries including finance, government, law, banking, healthcare, real estate, and nonprofits. They have a broad collective range of volunteer service in Louisville and beyond, and their education as part of the NeXt! Ambassador program stands to significantly benefit Greater Louisville’s arts and culture sector.
“The NeXt! Ambassador program not only introduces young professionals to our local arts and culture nonprofits; it welcomes them into a passionate, service-minded community of their peers,” said Brett Shepherd, Interim President and CEO of Fund for the Arts. “We believe that uplifting the arts in our region is a responsibility we all shoulder. I’m incredibly grateful for the class of 2026 for stepping up to learn more about how they can serve, and to our partners at Stock Yards Bank and Trust, who make it all possible.”
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
