Arts Administration Alumni Profiles

Associate Producer and Curator at THE OFFICE performing arts + film

The Arts Administration program at Baruch College has been extremely valuable for my professional career. The program provided me with an opportunity to meet other incredible art professionals and passionate professors. It also allowed me to have a better understanding of how the art and entertainment worlds function in New York City and around the world. Additionally, I was able to learn that art can be more than entertainment – that it can be used as a catalyst for change which can create a positive and long-lasting impact in society.

Throughout my time as a student, I was able to grow professionally and put into practice some of the concepts that I was learning in my classes. During my first year, I was given the opportunity to work as the Marketing and Programming Fellow at the Baruch Performing Arts Center. This fellowship was incredibly rewarding and allowed me to gain valuable experience in the arts. Currently, I am the Associate Producer and Curator at THE OFFICE performing arts + film, an independent performing arts and film curator and production company based in New York and London. At THE OFFICE, we work on creating ongoing partnerships with festivals, venues, artists, and institutions around the world to create cultural programming that is unique and mission specific. I learned about this position through the job listings posted from Weissman Graduate Career Services – who consistently notified us of many different opportunities.

Overall, the Arts Administration program was what I needed in order to fully immerse myself in the arts sector, meet colleagues and mentors that were passionate about culture, and learn of the impact and importance that the arts has around the world.

Head of Marketing, The Norwalk Conservatory of the Arts & The Growing Studio

I enrolled in the master’s Arts Administration program at Baruch when I felt stuck in my current position and wanted to broaden my opportunities into upper management. Baruch helped me gain confidence in my own abilities and I was able to network with many marketing professionals within the industry. Several class projects I worked on became real initiatives I used during job interviews and client projects.

After a long pandemic, I was able to get a marketing management job that is fully remote and with a great team who noticed me because of my Master’s Degree and my relevant experience with performing arts organizations.

I enjoy helping actors, singers, and dancer’s network within the industry, achieve their goals, and reach success in whatever way they choose to pursue their career in the arts. I’m grateful to the many Baruch instructors and my fellow classmates who supported me on that journey.

Public Programs Coordinator, El Museo del Barrio

The Arts Administration program expanded my knowledge about arts organizations and their role in NYC. The biggest value I obtained from this experience was to meet and network with amazing artists, arts professionals, students and professors who have now become my friends and colleagues.

The Arts Administration program helped me further my career by immersing me into the arts industry in New York City. Through this program, I was able to learn of the different branches and possibilities within the Arts Administration umbrella, and explore the many layers of the industry.

Since the Arts Administration program requires some students to complete an internship, I obtained an internship with the Marketing and Communications departments at El Museo del Barrio.  I was offered a permanent position with the museum and my current role is Programs Coordinator.

I owe much to this program and all the wonderful people and colleagues that I had the opportunity to engage with. I would absolutely recommend this program to anyone looking to explore the arts administration field in NYC and beyond.

Associate Director, Telefundraising. The Metropolitan Opera.

The Arts Administration program at Baruch College has made a lasting impression on my professional and personal growth. The program allowed me to build my professional network and refine my arts administration practice. Most of my experience was virtual due to the impact of COVID-19, but that gave so many of us an opportunity to seriously ask the question “what do we want arts administration to be going forward?” I feel this program gave me the room to ask that question and find answers in partnership with my fellow graduate students. It was an immensely collaborative experience.

Professionally, this program has helped shape my career. It has taught me change can come from the desk of anybody in an arts organization. I like that Baruch values that kind of thinking. Doing my consultancy for the organization that I work for, allowed me to bring in everything I learned and craft a project with real world meaning. Having gone through this program I feel more confident to pursue a role in senior leadership.

I’ve been at my current company – The Metropolitan Opera – since March of 2012. After a year and a half I was promoted to supervisor, and then to my current role of Associate Director of Telefundraising. This program has given me a profound understanding of the kinds of issues that all arts organizations deal with. It has changed my arts administration practice, and I have already started applying what I’ve learned.

The Baruch MA Arts Administration program gave me a robust boost to my professional network and introduced me to lifelong friends. I was able to grow my critical thinking skills and have engaging dialogues with future and current leaders in the arts and culture industry. The skills and best practices I studied have made their way into my toolkit and are utilized consistently in my management career. I’m excited to find new ways to implement them on my path to senior leadership.

After being laid off due to COVID-19 from the Shed, a non-profit arts organization, I was recruited into the world of for-profit attractions to work as the Operations Supervisor for Edge in Hudson Yards.  I now work as a Guest Experience Manager for SUMMIT One Vanderbilt.

Site Program Director, Manhattan Youth

I got a job offer and all the tips that you told me about interviewing and the resume helped. In addition, when I did the necessary changes you suggested on my LinkedIn profile, I started attracting more recruiters and found this position.

Art Department Program Supervisor, [EM1] ArTech Collective

The master’s program in Arts Administration at Baruch College not only provided me with a wide array of courses to choose from, but I also had a number of notable professors who are experts in the field. What I especially enjoyed was the range of student interest within the program, which allowed me to learn more about the industry as a whole rather than focusing on functions and policy within a single discipline.

Additionally, the requirements to complete the program asks that you engage in the field in ways you may not have. I feel the internship I completed propelled me forward in the field of Outsider Art. Many of the classes affected the way I operate at work and how I think, and allowed me to take a step back and see how experts in the field handle different situations. Overall, I would say the program has instilled values and managerial skills in me that I did not hold before; I feel confident in my decision making skills as a program supervisor

Currently, I am the program supervisor of ArTech Collective, a collective of artists with[EM2]  intellectual and developmental disabilities supported by the nonprofit AHRC NYC.

Associate, Membership and Special Events, Development, Jazz at Lincoln Center

The Arts Administration program at Baruch College provided a well-rounded, comprehensive, and engaging curriculum in all areas of arts administration. I was delighted to move out of my comfort zone of visual arts and learn about administration in the performing arts.  My colleagues were a diverse group from all over the world. We formed deep bonds as we struggled through the pandemic together and now support each other as we advance in our careers.

The impact of the program was life changing.  It deepened my knowledge of social justice and how to create an arts administrative practice that is artist-centered, equitable, and inclusive to all.  Because I was in a leadership role at an organization while attending graduate school, I was able to take the concepts we learned in class and apply them directly to the gallery where I was the Director.  This enabled me to learn by doing, which was incredibly effective in helping me to fully grasp the curriculum for the new ideas and practices I learned.

The networking events facilitated by Baruch were instrumental in helping me advance my career.  Through the ArtTable Career Roundtable, I met women leaders who were generous with their time and connections.  After several informational interviews, one of those leaders helped me land an internship with a large performing arts center.

I was recruited for my current position, at Jazz at Lincoln Center, through the VP of Development where I completed my consultancy.  As luck would have it, a position became available upon finishing my degree, and in the subject area of my consultancy (similar to a thesis in conjunction with an arts organization).  And, because I was at the top of her mind, the VP reached out immediately and inquired if I would be interested in the role. Of course, I said yes!