December 3, 2021
Contact: Jenina Podulka
jeninapodulka@nationalguild.org
New York, NY—The National Guild for Community Arts Education (“Guild”) is thrilled to announce that Quanice G. Floyd (she/her) will become its new Executive Director effective January 10, 2022. The Guild is the sole national service organization for providers of community arts education, with over 400 members spanning a wide range of art forms, organization types, and geographic locations across the U.S. A longtime member of the Guild family, Ms. Floyd is a passionate advocate with a deep understanding of the community arts education field, as well as a demonstrated commitment to racial equity. Her visionary leadership will be invaluable in this critical time of transformation for the organization. Ms. Floyd was selected as part of a national open call for applications that took place in spring 2021. The search was led by Arts Consulting Group (ACG).
Ms. Floyd has strong familiarity with the Guild’s work and the work of its members. As a music educator and arts administrator for many years, she worked at several Guild member organizations including Levine Music and Washington Performing Arts. She first became involved with the Guild as a volunteer supporting the annual Conference for Community Arts Education in 2015 and 2016, and then went on to join two of the Guild’s member networks—the Emerging Leaders Network and the ALAANA (African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, Native American) Network. In 2018, she was accepted to the Guild’s Community Arts Education Leadership Institute (CAELI), receiving the first CAELI Alumni Scholarship. She then served as the Guild’s Director of Learning and Leadership Development in 2019, and as staff liaison to the board’s Racial Equity Committee.
Ms. Floyd had the opportunity to further apply her leadership towards championing the transformative power of the arts as Executive Director of Arts Education in Maryland Schools (AEMS). In this position, she served as a statewide advocate and lobbyist for arts education in schools across the state of Maryland, inaugurated an annual Anti-Racist Arts Education Symposium, and advocated successfully to pass a law that funds AEMS's arts education data collection efforts. In 2020, she was awarded Arts Advocate of the Year by the Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts (CAAPA). She also is the founder and former director of the Arts Administrators of Color Network, and has played an integral role in campaigns for racial equity across the field, most recently as part of the Progressive Arts Education Coalition (PAEC).
In her journey from Guild member, to volunteer, to program participant, to staff member, now culminating in a return as Executive Director, Ms. Floyd exemplifies the power of investment in leadership pathways. This investment in the field is an integral part of the Guild’s strategy to ensure that all people have opportunities to maximize their creative potential.
“We are very excited to welcome Ms. Floyd, and eagerly anticipate her arrival as our next leader at this pivotal moment in the Guild’s history,” said Chair of the Guild’s Board of Trustees, Duffie Adelson. “Ms. Floyd is passionate about community arts education and its power to transform lives. Her voice is highly respected and sought after across the nation. She is a visionary leader and an “outside the box” thinker with a proven ability to build organizations around equity. We look forward to supporting and working alongside her as she leads us forward in our service to our members and the field.”
“It is an honor to be able to guide the National Guild into its next chapter,” said Ms. Floyd. “It is a critical time for our sector. Artists and organizations are just beginning to understand the two pandemics we have been reckoning with (white supremacy and COVID-19). We need a space and a place to heal and reimagine—not only to move beyond the moment, but also to make sure these things are not perpetuated for future generations. The field needs leadership that is collective, collaborative, and community-centered, and the Guild will be a place that embodies, supports, and grows that type of leadership. Community arts education plays a significant role in strengthening relationships with our communities, and I am looking forward to helping the Guild and the sector be the change we want and deserve to be.”
“Arts Consulting Group was honored to partner with the Guild and to have worked with a broad and inclusive search committee on this critical search,” said Wyona Lynch-McWhite, Senior Vice President of Arts Consulting Group. “Ms. Floyd is an advocate and passionate visionary for community arts education who will work to advance the organization’s mission.”
Ms. Floyd will be introduced to members as the incoming Executive Director during the Guild’s 2021 Annual Member Meeting on Thursday, December 9th. The meeting is open to all (Guild membership is not required)—more information, and the link to register, can be found here.
The National Guild for Community Arts Education ensures all people have opportunities to maximize their creative potential by developing leaders, strengthening organizations, and advocating for community arts education. The Guild’s work supports all arts disciplines and facets of leadership—from creative youth development, to emerging leaders, to creative aging. Through these strategies, the Guild aims to address our country’s widening opportunity gap, which leaves millions of individuals with little or no access to the creative resources they need to reach their full potential. www.nationalguild.org
Published: December 03, 2021