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About the President and CEO
Gibson's understanding of the importance of collaboration and partnership has placed Arts Presenters in prominent positions in national and international performing arts endeavors. In an effort to promote global arts exchange, Arts Presenters has joined with Cultural Contact (US-Mexico Fund for Culture) to form the Gateway to the Americas Initiative, which proposes to create new opportunities for integrating Latin America into the process of promoting and expanding the realm of the performing arts in the international arena. Other partnerships include: the National Music Partnership, a collaboration between Arts Presenters and seven of its sister organizations that strives to connect music to all people by building stronger musical institutions and presenters by creating an infrastructure of guidance and support for its constituency; and the Performing Arts Research Coalition (PARC), a collaborative project, funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, of five national arts service organizations to improve and coordinate the way performing arts organizations gather information. In addition, Gibson currently serves as a Commissioner on the Culture Committee of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO. Gibson's experience in arts presenting and cultural programming began with her tenure with the American Film Institute (AFI) where she held a number of senior level programming and operational positions. At AFI, Gibson's accomplishments, such as managing a seven-acre, four building campus with a $10.9 million budget and successfully running the Independent Filmmaker and Distribution Program, an NEA re-granting program, proved her abilities as an innovative manager and leader. Her appointment in 1990 as Executive Director of the Public Corporation for the Arts (the Long Beach Arts Council) in Long Beach, CA, brought with it the opportunity to use more of Gibson's performing arts experience and work closely with a diverse and rapidly changing community. Gibson served as a consultant to the City of Long Beach on all arts and cultural affairs and played an active role in creating the City's first community cultural plan in 1993. While working in Long Beach, Gibson took interest in state arts advocacy and was appointed to the advisory board of the California Arts Council and the National Association of Local Arts Agencies (NALAA). Her work on behalf of legislative arts advocacy while serving on these boards made an impression on NALAA's President, Robert Lynch. Immediately prior to joining Arts Presenters, Gibson was recruited by Lynch for the position of Executive Vice President and COO at the newly formed Americans for the Arts. Gibson's responsibilities included strategic planning; program and resource development; human, technological and financial systems; and external relations. Gibson's formal education began at Wittenberg University where her passion for music motivated her to pursue a B.M.E. in Music Education/Instrumental Music Performance. From there, Gibson received a M.A. in Historical Musicology from Northwestern University and completed doctoral work at UCLA. Gibson's roots are based in the West Indies yet her family hails from Northeastern Ohio. Today, Gibson and husband, Steve Bittle, reside in Maryland with their two sons, Geoffrey and Austin.
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Copyright 2010 - Association of Performing Arts Presenters - 888.820.ARTS (2787)
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