A Message from Board Chair Anthony Miles and Chair-Elect Sung Yang:
ArtsFund friends, partners, and supporters,
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we are thrilled to announce that Michael Greer has been selected as ArtsFund’s new President and CEO following an extensive national search. Mr. Greer has been Executive Director of Oregon Ballet Theatre since 2017. As a former professional dancer and experienced executive, Michael’s leadership experience spans both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. Michael will assume the role on June 8, 2020.
Michael Greer, photo by Michael Slobodian
We are excited to welcome Michael to help shape a future for the arts in our region, and to lead ArtsFund into our next half-century. Michael was selected from a national pool by an eight-member search committee comprised of ArtsFund Trustees and external cultural and civic partners.
Michael stood out in possessing both passion and creativity of an artist and the business acumen of an executive. As the new leader of ArtsFund, we believe these intersecting areas of expertise and perspective will be vital to building upon ArtsFund’s leadership in the community and to crafting innovative partnerships and strategies to help our sector, and our community at large, recover and rebuild.
Since August 2017, Michael has served as the Executive Director of the Oregon Ballet Theatre, an $8 million professional ballet company with over 200 employees and the largest professional dance company in Oregon. Prior to that he served as the Executive Director of the Portland Ballet in Maine.
Michael started his arts career as a dancer with Ballet West in Salt Lake City. He was the first black dancer in company history. Michael danced professionally for six years before he “retired” at 24 and pursued higher education. After earning a degree in economics, Michael spent nearly a decade in leadership and executive roles in manufacturing, financial services, and commodities in India and Mainland China for several multinational firms.
Having served as a Trustee on the Oregon Arts Commission, Cultural Advocacy Coalition, and the United Way of Greater Portland, Michael brings an understanding of the importance of advocacy and the relationship between public, private, and nonprofit voices in successfully accomplishing the mission of an arts and cultural organization.
Michael holds a BA in Economics from Hampshire College and a Master’s in Education Policy, Organization & Leadership from University of Illinois. He is an MBA candidate with The Wharton School with an expected completion date of May 2021. A husband and father of two, Michael and his family will be relocating to Seattle, and are proud to call the Pacific Northwest their home.
We couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome of our national search and look forward to officially welcoming Michael aboard in June.
Michael will assume leadership of ArtsFund from Interim CEO Susan M. Coliton, a long time arts executive and consultant who was asked by the board to serve in this role. Coliton is leading ArtsFund’s response and relief efforts related to the COVID-19 public health crisis and will oversee distribution of ArtsFund’s COVID-19 Arts Emergency Relief grants as well as the 2020 allocation of ArtsFund’s keystone operating support grants, oversaw the build-out and move to ArtsFund’s new headquarters, and has made critical contributions to ArtsFund’s 50th Anniversary celebration and ongoing strategic planning efforts. We are deeply grateful to Sue for lending her consummate professionalism, considerable leadership skills, insight and management capabilities to ArtsFund during this critical time.
Thank you for your ongoing support of ArtsFund during this moment of transition.
