Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson, NEA Chair | Catch My Job

en español

from the chair:

I am honored and extremely proud to serve as the 13th Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). I am grateful to President Biden for the trust he has placed in me to lead the Nation’s Endowment for the Arts.

As NEA Chair, I am excited to build on the strong work of the Arts Endowment to serve all communities through the power of the arts, including inclusion, collaboration, and the recognition that arts, culture, and creativity are key to reaching our nation’s people. Full potential. National Council on the Arts (NCA) and NEA staff bring deep dedication and talent to the arts, and I look forward to continuing this joint mission with them.

My commitment to the arts began at home. My father, who retired from the US Postal Service, and my mother, who worked for the Los Angeles Unified School District, looked to art to teach my brothers and me about the richness of our culture. They wanted us to be proud of our origins and curious about other people’s histories, struggles and aspirations, aware of our similarities, our differences and our shared humanity.

I bring those same values ​​to the work I’ve done throughout my career, most recently as a professor at Arizona State University’s Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (HIDA), an advisor to the Foundation, and an NCA member since 2012. The work of the NEA and the need for the arts and creativity are more important now than ever. In addition to serving as an economic engine, art and creativity are key to what it takes to heal our nation, our communities and ourselves.

As NEA Chair, I look forward to advancing the work of the Arts Endowment as a grant maker, convener and connector so that together we can help all Americans live healthier, more meaningful and creative lives.