YoungArts Welcomes Stacey Glassman Mizener and Dejha Carrington

The National YoungArts Foundation (YoungArts) today announced the appointment of Stacey Glassman Mizener as Vice President of Development and Dejha Carrington as Vice President of External Relations.

Both Ms. Glassman and Ms. Carrington will work alongside President and Chief Executive Officer Carolina García Jayaram to support the most accomplished young artists in the visual, literary, design and performing arts, and assist them at critical junctures in their educational and professional development.

"I, along with the Board of Trustees, am delighted to welcome Stacey Glassman to our team, and to have Dejha Carrington take on a new role at YoungArts," said Carolina García Jayaram. "Stacey is the ideal candidate to help advance YoungArts' fundraising endeavors during a period of national growth and programmatic development. Dejha joined YoungArts more than a year ago as our dedicated Director of Public Relations and Marketing, and has since launched creative campaigns and built valuable relationships in the artistic community. I am confident that their passion for supporting artists will help propel YoungArts as a dynamic force in our nation's cultural landscape."

Ms. Glassman joins YoungArts with an outstanding record in non-profit fundraising and deep roots in Miami's arts and culture community. She will be responsible for determining the strategic direction of the organization's development efforts, and will assume her post immediately.

"I am honored to join this prestigious organization and forward-thinking leadership team to play an important role in nurturing some of the most talented young artists and performers," said Ms. Glassman. "I aim to strengthen the national community of YoungArts supporters and alumni, build bridges in the arts and business sectors, and cultivate new audiences throughout the country."

Succeeding Vanessa Leitman, Ms. Carrington will assume her role as Vice President of External Relations on March 27, 2017. She will be responsible for guiding YoungArts' public relations, marketing, digital and social media campaigns to raise awareness of the organization and the artists it supports, as well as developing new and nurturing existing partnerships with cultural institutions.

As YoungArts' Director of Public Relations and Marketing since 2015, Ms. Carrington has developed strategic communications campaigns around several new programming initiatives, including YoungArts' first film commissioning project, Transformations; increased engagement with local and regional audiences and cultural organizations; and honed institutional communications to highlight the incredible talent of YoungArts alumni nationwide.

"Having worked closely with our dedicated communications team for the past year, I am proud to continue my journey at YoungArts as Vice President of External Relations," Ms. Carrington said. "I truly believe in the power of storytelling to spotlight our alumni, our programming, and our institutional vision within this nation's broader cultural narrative. The artist's voice is prescient, and with the socio-political issues affecting this country, it's even more critical that we champion their views and provide a platform for them to be heard and supported."

Ms. Glassman comes to YoungArts from Faena Art, a nonprofit organization that houses and produces post-disciplinary and time-based creative experiences. Prior to joining Faena Art, she envisioned and founded Metro 1 Community, a corporate social responsibility platform to further Metro 1's commitment to improving the communities it serves through educational, cultural and environmental initiatives.

Ms. Glassman previously served for 10 years as the Associate Vice President of Development for New World Symphony in Miami Beach, where she founded Friends of New World Symphony, an innovative membership program with more than 1,000 patrons that engages the next generation with classical music. She also played an active fundraising role in the launch of the $200 million capital campaign to build the Frank Gehry-designed New World Center through corporate, individual and event fundraising, as well as recruited and managed the Friends Executive Committee and National Council in Miami and New York, comprising 60 of the most outstanding philanthropists, influencers, business leaders, publicists and journalists.

Prior to her work with New World Symphony, Ms. Glassman was the Events Manager for the Miami City Ballet, where she produced events, secured individual and corporate gifts, and managed the Patrons groups.

With more than a decade of experience in public relations, programming, and consulting for arts and cultural organizations, Ms. Carrington has spent her career delivering high-impact creative campaigns and social responsibility initiatives. Prior to joining YoungArts in 2015, her clients and projects included the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, PA; Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, TX; and the Colombia Biennial in Medellin, among others. Ms. Carrington has also designed and produced significant partnerships for corporate clients and government agencies, including National Film Board of Canada, Miami-Dade College's Museum of Art + Design, and Moët & Chandon.

Ms. Carrington also conceived and co-produced the augmented architecture project NEWT: Experiments in Light, Color & Sound, which aims to transform buildings and static structures into catalysts for community engagement, and is co-founder of FADE TO BLACK, one of the most celebrated platforms for artists of color during Art Basel Miami Beach. She was recently awarded a Wavemaker Grant from Cannonball for a new artist commissioning project that seeks to cultivate new local collectors, create more meaningful and intimate interactions with artists, and investigate socio and geo-specific issues imminent to Miami.

A recognized media source, speaker and leader in public relations, arts advocacy and programming, Ms. Carrington was born and raised in Montreal, and calls Miami her home base.

The National YoungArts Foundation (YoungArts) was established in 1981 by Lin and Ted Arison to identify and nurture the most accomplished young artists in the visual, literary, design and performing arts, and assist them at critical junctures in their educational and professional development. Through a wide range of annual programs, regular performances, and partnerships with some of the nation's leading cultural institutions, YoungArts aspires to create a strong community of alumni and a platform for a lifetime of encouragement, opportunity and support.

YoungArts' signature program is an application-based award for emerging artists ages 15 - 18 or in grades 10 - 12 from across the United States. Selected through a blind adjudication process, YoungArts Winners receive valuable support, including financial awards of up to $10,000, professional development and educational experiences working with renowned mentors-such as Debbie Allen, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Rebecca Walker, Plácido Domingo, Frank Gehry, Jeff Koons, Wynton Marsalis, Salman Rushdie and Carrie Mae Weems-and performance and exhibition opportunities at some of the nation's leading cultural institutions, including The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Washington, D.C.), The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), The Museum of Modern Art (New York) and New World Center (Miami). Additionally, YoungArts Winners are eligible for nomination as a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts, one of the nation's highest honors for high school students who exemplify academic and artistic excellence.

YoungArts Winners become part of a thousands-strong alumni network of artists, which offers them additional professional opportunities throughout their careers. YoungArts alumni who have gone on to become leading professionals in their fields include actresses Viola Davis, Anna Gunn, Zuzanna Szadkowski and Kerry Washington; Broadway stars Raúl Esparza, Billy Porter, Andrew Rannells and Tony Yazbeck; recording artists Josh Groban, Judith Hill and Chris Young; Metropolitan Opera star Eric Owens; musicians Terence Blanchard, Gerald Clayton, Jennifer Koh and Elizabeth Roe; choreographers Camille A. Brown and Desmond Richardson; visual artists Daniel Arsham and Hernan Bas; internationally acclaimed multimedia artist Doug Aitken; New York Times bestselling author Sam Lipsyte; and Academy Award-winning filmmaker Doug Blush.

For more information, visit youngarts.org, facebook.com/YoungArtsFoundation or twitter.com/YoungArts. To watch a brief video about YoungArts, click here.