Anthony Rodriguez to Participate in 2014 NALAC LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE

The National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures- NALAC announced today the names of the participants for their 14th Annual NALAC Leadership Institute that will take place July 14-19, 2014 at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas. The Leadership Institute convenes Latino arts leaders for an intensive, one-week training in nonprofit arts management and leadership development. Anthony Rodriguez is one of the twenty-eight participants that will be part of the 2014 NALAC Leadership Institute.

Anthony Rodriguez is Producing Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Aurora Theatre, and Founder and Artistic Director of Teatro del Sol in Lawrenceville, GA. Mr. Rodriguez is the 3rd person to represent Georgia at the annual Leadership Institute. Of the twenty-eight participants, Anthony is the only one from the Southeast region.

The NALAC Leadership Institute (NLI) provides critical training to the next generation of Latino artists and arts administrators from across the nation. The Leadership Institute's comprehensive arts administration curriculum is culturally rooted in the diverse Latino experience and prepares emerging leaders for success in the competitive national arts landscape. Since its introduction in 2001, the Leadership Institute has nurtured a cohort of 227 artists and arts administrators who are dedicated to sustaining culturally specific work at the core of Latino communities and dedicated to changing and shaping cultural policy.

Participation in the Leadership Institute is vetted through a rigorous and competitive review process. The rising demand for the unique offerings of the Leadership Institute is clearly reflected by the growing quantity and quality of NALAC Members who apply. In response to the elevated group of candidates, the selection committee seized the opportunity to expand the program by inviting twenty-eight participants, making 2014 the largest class of Leadership Institute fellows. Hailing from fourteen states and Puerto Rico, the multi-generational group of arts leaders represents Arizona, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The Class of 2014 NALAC Leadership Institute participants include Shadia Almasri (New York, NY), David Lozano (Dallas, TX), Alexis Ortiz (New York, NY), Melissa Brown-Dominguez (Tucson, AZ), Andres Lugo (Arecibo, Puerto Rico), Emmanuel Ortiz (Minneapolis, MN), Rose Cano (Seattle, WA), Dinorah Marquez (Milwaukee, WI), Raul Panzar (Oakland, CA), Joanne Castro (New York, NY), Arlene Martinez-Vazquez (Seattle, WA), Tlaloc Rivas (Coralville, IA), Jose Feliciano (Newington, CT), Marta V. Martinez (Providence, RI), Anthony Rodriguez (Lawrenceville, GA), Luis M. Garza (San Antonio, TX), Neyda Martinez (Brooklyn, NY), Catherine Rodriguez (Baltimore, MD), Victor Grimaldo (Long Beach, CA), Alexandra Meda, (Chicago, IL), Ricardo Serment (Chicago, IL), Casandra Hernandez Faham (Phoenix, AZ), Bernardino Miranda (Austin, TX), Abigail Vega (Chicago, IL), Marisa Hernandez (San Antonio, TX), Melissa Montero (Elmhurst, NY), Alma Herrera-Pazmiño (San Francisco, CA), and Renato Olmedo-Gonzalez (Salt Lake City, UT).

An outlier among other leadership programs, the NALAC Leadership Institute employs a holistic pedagogical approach to arts management that not only equips leaders with a fundamental skill-set, but perhaps more significantly, it contextualizes the experience to promote responsive cultural stewardship. The Leadership Institute's unique comprehensive curriculum is based on the historical overview and analysis of Latino arts and cultures in the U.S., including the vital role of community engagement. This lens provides the framework for all Institute presentations, discussions, and instruction. Each year the weeklong, intensive training is customized to the leadership development needs that are specific to the incoming class and the study of eight fundamental topics which the NALAC Leadership Committee believe is central to the participants' development: Mission, Programming, Budgeting, Marketing, Fundraising, Governance, Evaluation, and Advocacy.

"NALAC Leadership Institute was a very reenergizing experience. The structure of the Institute was great, and the best part of it all was the faculty and staff. I felt supported and have the confidence that I can reach out to them in moments of need. NALAC gave me the confidence I needed to bring back to the work that I do. Understanding my position nationwide and feeling a part of something larger than my immediate community alone. It broadened my perspective and ignited more ideas for my future." Rosa Angelica Castañeda, NLI Alumni 2013 and Arts Educator, School of Arts and Cultures, San Jose, CA

Sixty-five percent of the Alumni are female, making the Leadership Institute a major facilitator of Latina achievement. Many of the Leadership Institute alumni have achieved professional success, through a deepening of their artistic practice, enhanced leadership positions, or new opportunities and remain involved in the planning and implementation of NALAC's regional and national events.

"The NALAC Leadership Institute was an incredible experience that I would recommend to all artists and arts administrators interested in expanding their knowledge, network and imagination. The Leadership Institute was an invigorating experience that not only nurtured me as an arts administrator, but reminded me why I am an artist." Diana Gonzalez-Morett, NLI Alumni 2013 and Dancer/Arts Administrator, CONTRA-TIEMPO, Sun Valley, CA

The core faculty of the Leadership Institute are nationally recognized professionals and leaders in the Latino arts and culture sector including: Maribel Alvarez, Ph.D. (University of Arizona, Southwest Center-Tucson, AZ), Abel López (GALA Hispanic Theatre- Washington, D.C.), Rosalba Rolón (Pregones Theater-Bronx, NY), and NALAC Executive Director, María López De León. Each year the Institute also invites guest faculty such as Tatiana Hernandez (John S. and James L. Knight Foundation-Miami, FL), Arnaldo J. López (Pregones Theater-Bronx,NY), F. Javier Torres (The Boston Foundation-Boston, MA), and Tomás Ybarra-Frausto (Independent scholar based in San Antonio, TX).

The National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC) is the nation's only multidisciplinary Latino arts service organization. For 25 years, NALAC has delivered programs that stabilize and revitalize the US Latino arts and cultural sector by providing critical advocacy, funding, networking opportunities, leadership development and professional training for Latino artists and arts organizations in every region of the country. The National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion, advancement, development, and cultivation of the Latino arts field. For more info, visit www.nalac.org.