The Board of Directors of the San Francisco Arts Education Project is pleased to announce that Chad Jones has been selected as SFArtsED’s new executive director.
“We were fortunate when Chad joined the SFArtsED family five years ago,” says SFArtsED Board Chair Julie Wertz. “His excellent work with us in that time and his passion for the arts and arts education made him the ideal candidate for executive director. The Board was unanimous in its praise of Chad, and his vision, enthusiasm and leadership is exactly what we need to take our work in the public schools to the next level.”
Mr. Jones has been with SFArtsED since 2010, serving as director of development and communication. He has a long history in the Bay Area as an arts journalist, theater critic and frequent contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle. In his five years with SFArtsED, Chad has guided the organization through its most successful fundraising campaigns since its founding in 1968.
SFArtsED Artistic Director Emily Keeler says that she and SFArtsED Program Director Camille Olivier-Salmon were thrilled that Mr. Jones accepted the executive director position. “Chad has proven himself in these last five years as a key member of our staff, bringing passion, stability and clarity to the work, implementing strategies to grow our institution and connect it to the larger community,” she says. “These next years will see both challenges and exciting opportunities for SFArtsED, and we feel certain Chad is uniquely prepared to help us turn the page on a new and vital chapter.”
A graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, Mr. Jones spent more than a decade as the chief theater critic for the Oakland Tribune and Bay Area News Group. His work has also appeared in Wired, American Theatre, Plays International, the Bay Area Reporter, Palo Alto Weekly and Theatre Bay Area among others. He blogs regularly at Theater Dogs.
“As someone whose life was changed by the arts experiences I had in school, I am proud and honored to serve as SFArtsED’s executive director,” Mr. Jones says. “The work this organization has done for nearly 50 years is vital and important. This is affirmed for me every time I experience the performing or visual arts created by children working with SFArtsED artists. The creativity, interactivity and sheer joy of the arts has a profound impact on everyone involved.”
About SFArtsED
Founded in 1968 (as the Alvarado School Arts Workshop) by renowned artist Ruth Asawa, SFArtsED has transformed the lives of more than 200,000 children, their families, teachers, artists and volunteers. Programs include SFArtsED Summer, In-School Artist Residencies, After-School programs, The SFArtsED Players Musical Theater Company, Interdisciplinary Arts and apprenticeships for college and high school students. www.SFArtsED.org.
