Jessica Nash to Become Flushing Town Hall's Next Executive Director

Flushing Town Hall (FTH) announced that Jessica Nash, its current Chief External Affairs Officer, will become the organization's next Executive Director in January 2027.

Nash succeeds Ellen Kodadek, who is stepping down at the end of 2026 after nearly 19 years as FTH's Executive & Artistic Director. During her tenure, Kodadek stewarded the organization through New York's pandemic shutdown of 2020, strengthened its financial and operational foundation, expanded its arts and cultural programming, and enhanced FTH's role as an arts council serving Queens.

'On behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to express our deepest gratitude to Ellen Kodadek for nearly 19 years of extraordinary leadership and dedication to Flushing Town Hall. Ellen's tenure has established a strong foundation of innovative arts and culture programs. Looking forward, we are thrilled to announce the promotion of Jessica Nash as our next Executive Director. Jessica's deep passion for the arts, combined with an exceptional track record in strategic leadership and community engagement, makes her the ideal person to guide us into our next chapter of creative growth and financial strength,' said Veronica Y. Tsang, FTH's Board President.

'It's bittersweet to be stepping down at the end of 2026, after almost 19 years, from my dual roles of Executive and Artistic Director of Flushing Town Hall. I want to thank our Board of Directors, generous donors, members and volunteers, incredible staff and the artists who grace our stage and gallery all year long. In three years, we will celebrate 50 years as an Arts Council for Queens! I am thrilled at the direction and new leadership that will take this incredible organization and community into the future. Congratulations and best wishes to my colleague and friend Jessica Nash, the next Executive Director of Flushing Town Hall!' said Ellen Kodadek, FTH's Executive & Artistic Director.

'Boy, do I have giant shoes to fill! Ellen has anchored Flushing Town Hall with arts and cultural programs that celebrate self-expression and build community—all while instilling values of kindness, curiosity, and resilience. She is the humblest leader I know and has selflessly given her team opportunity after opportunity to learn and lead themselves. I'm very grateful for her mentorship and friendship. As for me, I'm an arts kid through and through, so having the honor to step up during this moment—a moment with transformational projects at our feet, including a rebrand—is a dream come true. I am grateful beyond measure to our Board of Directors for this opportunity, and to our funders and community members for their ongoing support. FTH is a gem of a place, and our team is dedicated, talented, and innovative—what more could I ask for? I'm ready to roll up my sleeves,' said Jessica Nash, FTH's current Chief External Affairs Officer and incoming Executive Director.

Kodadek joined Flushing Town Hall in 2008, following multiple leadership transitions after the death of founder JoAnn Jones. She was hired to restore integrity to the organization and, with the support and expertise of her team, restructured FTH in response to significant New York City funding cuts, paid off inherited debt from the malfeasance of a prior ED, delivered budgets in the black for 16 of 17 years, established a cash reserve and building maintenance fund, grew private and foundation support, instituted strong internal controls, and completed several capital projects.

Kodadek also added an Arts Services Department to enhance FTH's role as an Arts Council for Queens and led the organization through the pandemic with no layoffs, while building an experienced team supported by donors and a committed Board of Directors.

As Artistic Director, along with her dedicated, knowledgeable, and supportive team, she expanded service to NYC's communities with increased family, education, and cross-cultural programs. She strengthened FTH's jazz programming by adding newer artists and Jazz Jams; founded the Queens Jazz Orchestra; developed Global Mashups; expanded partnerships; created an artist Space Grant; and added international programs for young and adult audiences.

A first-generation American descended from fleeing refugees and Holocaust survivors, the majority of whose relatives were killed in concentration camps, Kodadek has dedicated her personal mission and career to uplifting the arts and culture of immigrants, refugees and diverse communities and introducing and challenging audiences to discover themselves and one another through the arts.

Kodadek has served as an ongoing New York State Council on the Arts panelist; a member of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation's Jazz Touring Network; and on the arts advisory boards of the Kupferberg Center at Queens College and Lewis Latimer House.

Earlier in her career, Kodadek served as CEO of Southern Tier Celebrates, a merger of the Binghamton Summer Music Festival and First Night Binghamton; Strategic Planning, Operations and Programming Consultant to 171 Cedar Arts Center in Corning, New York; consultant to Lincoln Center's Reel to Real On the Road; and Director of Programs, Marketing, Public Relations and Visitor Services at Snug Harbor Cultural Center. She was also part of the team that reopened the Music Hall at Snug Harbor, New York City's second-oldest theater, and has consulted for private clients.

After January 2027, Kodadek will return to nonprofit arts consulting.

A lifelong arts enthusiast, Nash has spent her career devoted to serving the community through exposure and accessibility to arts and cultural programs. She joined Flushing Town Hall in January 2020 as its first-ever Director of Development and currently oversees Development and Marketing as Chief External Affairs Officer. Nash is integral to FTH's multi-year strategy to advance its mission and deepen its impact.

As Director of Development, Nash oversaw the securing of grants for pandemic recovery, the institution's first regrants for artists and organizations in Queens, a new CRM system, and an upcoming rebrand. She brings expertise in fundraising, community engagement, strategic planning, and board development.

Prior to joining Flushing Town Hall, Nash held development roles with Opera Colorado in Denver, Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles, and Roundabout Theatre Company in New York. She holds a BFA in theater from the University of Miami.

About Flushing Town Hall

Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts DBA Flushing Town Hall (FTH) is a nonprofit cultural institution and arts council that presents and celebrates global arts in the heart of one of the world's most diverse communities. As a Smithsonian Affiliate and a member of the New York City Cultural Institutions Group (CIG), FTH is dedicated to fostering mutual appreciation through multi-disciplinary programming, arts education, services for artists including regrants, professional development, and networking, and hands-on learning. Housed in the historic 1862 landmark in Queens, FTH honors its legacy as the 'home of jazz' while championing immigrant, local, and International Artists. FTH serves all New Yorkers and out-of-town visitors by upholding a tradition of inclusiveness that dates back to the Flushing Remonstrance of 1657.

Location: 137-35 Northern Blvd., Flushing, NY 11354

Website: www.flushingtownhall.org

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Flushing Town Hall

Photo Credit: Flushing Town Hall)