NALAC Announces Alberto Mejia As New Deputy Director

The National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC) today announces the hiring of Alberto Mejia as the organization's new Deputy Director. The position will bolster organizational development and administration for the arts service organization as it continues to serve Latinx artists, arts administrators, and organizations in the United States and Puerto Rico.

Most recently, Alberto Mejia served as Manager of Cultural Funding and Investments with the City of Austin where he managed $12 million in city hotel tax revenues dedicated to funding the arts with an eye towards transforming cultural funding models. In addition to leading staff as Deputy Director at NALAC, Mejia will provide coordination of growth and strategic response to an ever-increasing demand for NALAC's programs and services in grantmaking, leadership development, convenings, and advocacy.

"Alberto is joining the NALAC team at a critical moment during a pandemic and economic crisis that continue to destabilize the arts and culture sector," said María López De León, president and CEO of NALAC. "Alberto recognizes the transformative power of arts and culture, and he brings his commitment to deep listening, learning and collaboration that will shape our work in this moment and the future."

Before his work with the City of Austin, Mejia served as Senior Director of Community Programs at youth development organization Creative Action as well as Manager of the Dougherty Arts Center, Austin's oldest community arts venue. In Seattle, Mejia was Executive Director of Youngstown Cultural Arts and Community Engagement Manager at MoPOP Museum of Pop Culture. His work as an arts administrator leader is informed by his past work as a teaching artist and performing hip-hop artist. Mejia continues to devote time to the practice of indigenous cultural tradition, community building and dance.

"The Latinx cultural sector has a growing, critical role to play and vital visions for a more racially just, economically inclusive and culturally vibrant future. I look forward to doing my part to realize this work," said Alberto Mejia. "NALAC catalyzes our sector to do this work by building community, convening and catalyzing visionary leaders grounded in community praxis and by stewarding transformative investments and resources to our cultural workers and institutions."

As an alumnus of both the NALAC Leadership Institute (Class of 2009) and the NALAC Advocacy Leadership Institute (Class of 2016), Mejia has first-hand experience with NALAC's work investing and cultivating in artists and arts administrators who populate the Latinx arts field. Mejia has also served as a panelist for the NALAC Fund for the Arts, as well as local and national grantmaking programs including ArtPlace America and the National Endowment for the Arts' creative placemaking grants program Our Town.

Mejia holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the University of Washington and a BA in American Cultural Studies and Political Science from Fairhaven College. Alberto was rooted and raised in both San Diego, California and Seattle, Washington and now calls Austin, Texas home with his wife Estrella and son Artis.

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