Following an extensive national search led by Arts Consulting Group, the City of Sacramento has named Megan Van Voorhis as its Cultural & Creative Economy Manager. She will start her new position in mid-September.
Van Voorhis will oversee the Office of Arts & Culture, which includes grants for artists, arts organizations and creative businesses. Her responsibilities also include the Sacramento Film Office, arts education, the Any Given Child Program and the City’s public art program. In addition, she will liaison with the Sacramento Arts, Culture & Creative Economy Commission.
“Megan’s understanding of the arts and how creative ecosystems improve our city’s quality of life make her uniquely qualified for this position,” said Assistant City Manager Michael Jasso. “With her experience and skills, I know that Megan will help our creative businesses to flourish and grow to strengthen Sacramento’s creative sector.”
Van Voorhis joins the City of Sacramento from her current role as the president/CEO of Arts Cleveland. During her 17-year tenure there, Van Voorhis partnered to successfully launch several critical arts and culture initiatives. She led capacity-building projects for individual artists and small arts organizations, established a collaborative marketing database for major arts and cultural organizations, helped create a dedicated local public-sector revenue stream to support arts and culture and spearheaded programs to connect the arts to other sectors.
“Megan will provide a great new perspective for the Sacramento arts and culture scene,” said Convention and Cultural Services Director Jody Ulich. “Her extensive experience in developing and executing art, culture and creative economy programs with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion will help further develop the cultural and creative life of our city.”
“The Office of Arts & Culture plays a critical role in supporting, promoting and advancing the arts throughout Sacramento,” Van Voorhis said. “I look forward to working with staff and the creative community to further the arts and culture goals of the city.”
Van Voorhis holds a BFA in Dance from The Ohio State University and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University where she received the Holmes Fellowship in Regional Economic Development.