About

The Team

Department of Cultural Affairs Logo

The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) is the largest municipal funder of culture in the country and is committed to providing access to art and culture for all New Yorkers.

DCLA continues to spearhead CreateNYC through the Action Plan, in partnership with many municipal agencies and city stakeholders. Key partners include the Office of the Mayor, Department of Education, Department of Parks and Recreation, Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment, the city’s three public library systems, NYC Economic Development Corporation, Department of Sanitation, Department of Transportation, Department of City Planning, Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and many more.

The Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission advises DCLA on a range of issues, and has also been a key partner in guiding development and implementation of the plan.


Citizens’ Advisory Committee

Pursuant to the cultural plan legislation, a Citizens’ Advisory Committee (CAC) was established to advise DCLA on the development and implementation of CreateNYC and review DCLA’s biannual reports on the plan’s progress. As required by the New York City Charter, the CAC will meet not more than twice per year and will be dissolved after making recommendations following its review of the second biennial report.  The CAC’s final recommendations must be submitted no later than July 1, 2022.

Read the Committee’s response to the 2019 Action Plan.

Chair – Appointed by the DCLA Commissioner

Ben Rodriguez-Cubeñas, Program Director, Rockefeller Brothers Fund

Mayoral Appointees

Tino Gagliardi, President of Associated Musicians of Greater New York, Local 802
Karen Brooks Hopkins, Senior Fellow in Residence, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Eric Pryor, President, Harlem School of the Arts; former Director, Center for Arts Education
Sandra Jackson Dumont, Chair, Education Department, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Miguel Luciano, Artist, Resident Artist at PS 109
Joanna Haigood, Choreographer, Dancing in the Streets
Arnold Lehman, Former Director, Brooklyn Museum
Tattfoo Tan, Artist

City Council Appointees

Catherine A. Green, Executive Director/Founder, ARTs East New York Inc.
Daisy Rodriguez, Director of Government Affairs, Department of Institutional Advancement, American Museum of Natural History
Adam Huttler, Founder and Executive Director, Fractured Atlas
Rosalba Rolón, Co-founder and Artistic Director, Pregones Theater
Gianna P. Cerbone-Teoli, Executive Chef/Owner, Manducatis Rustica
Tia Powell Harris, President and Executive Director, Weeksville Heritage Center (WHC)
Kenneth Tabachnick, Senior Associate, AEA Consulting
Kenneth Pietrobono, Artist

Borough President Appointees

John Calvelli, EVP, Public Affairs, The Wildlife Conservation Society
Bronx Borough President Appointee

Jennifer Walden, Director of Cultural Affairs and Tourism
Queens Borough President Appointee

Myrah Brown Greene, Arts Consultant and Independent Curator
Brooklyn Borough President Appointee

Amanda Straniere, Community Campaign Coordinator, Staten Island Museum
Staten Island Borough President Appointee

Verdery Roosevelt, Senior Vice President, Program & Nonprofit Investments, Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone
Manhattan Borough President Appointee

 
 
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