Americans for the Arts, the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, and the Cross College Alliance (CCA) today announced the successful completion of the Diversity in Arts Leadership (DIAL) program in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

Five interns in Sarasota/Manatee out of 39 total finalists nationwide were selected for the 30th year of the Diversity in Arts Leadership (DIAL) program. They participated in summer work placement at an arts and culture organization in one of six national locations: Nashville, Southern New Jersey, Boston, Sarasota, Raleigh, and New York City. Interns received a $4,500 pre-tax summer work stipend, 30+ hours of professional development workshops, plus arts activities, facilitated discussions, and more. They also receive access to the national DIAL intern cohort and robust DIAL alumni network.

The regional CCA DIAL intern program winners and the arts organizations they served with are:

• Jordyn Caldwell (she/her), currently finishing her final year at George Mason University studying film and media, worked with The Sarasota Ballet.
• Lauren David (she/her), a New College of Florida senior who is passionate about community and art, minoring in museum studies and majors in environmental studies with a focus on urban studies, and the environment, interned with Sarasota Art Museum.
• Yadira Gonzalez (she/her), a music student from the State College of Florida, planning to study music business at Florida Atlantic University, was paired with Manatee Performing Arts Center.
• Jonathan Lee (any pronouns), a Guatemalan-American performing artist originally from Chicago based in Sarasota, and an incoming junior at New College of Florida studying theatre and dance, interned with the CreArte Latino Cultural Center.
• Sierra Schumann (they/them), a multimedia artist from Los Angeles County, California, and a current student at the Ringling College of Art and Design majoring in illustration, served at Ringling Museum with the Historic Asolo Theatre.

“It has truly been a pleasure working with Lauren David through the DIAL internship this summer and I’m grateful for the opportunity to see Sarasota Art Museum and its potential through her eyes,” said Sarasota Art Museum Executive Director Virginia Shearer. “Lauren came to us with an interest in learning about the curatorial field and she took advantage of every opportunity for skill building in research, exhibition planning, and education programming. I can’t wait to see what Lauren does next!”

“This has been an unprecedented opportunity for these young achievers to work with and learn from the leadership of some of the top arts organizations in our community,” said Josephine Eisenberg, Cross College Alliance initiative coordinator. “This experience will change these interns lives as they complete their collegiate programs and pursue their chosen careers as new leaders in creating equality and equity in the arts.”

With equitable arts leadership at the center, the Diversity in Arts Leadership internship program provides undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds who have a career interest in arts and cultural equity a hands-on introduction to leadership, administration, and management in the arts sector during a 10-week summer internship. By focusing on a healthy, vibrant, and equitable arts ecosystem, interns are interwoven within the arts and culture community and plugged into a cohort of field leaders, mentors, and other cultural practitioners. Altogether, the DIAL network commits to continuous learning and advancing of a more equitable arts ecosystem.

In Sarasota-Manatee, DIAL was presented by the Community Foundation of Sarasota, with additional support from the Flora Major Fund, Jack and Priscilla Schlegel, and the Ruby E. and Carole Crosby Family Foundation.

The Community Foundation’s President and CEO, Roxie Jerde, said that supporting such a program designed to broaden representation of arts leadership is one important way to sustain Sarasota’s cultural integrity.

“We as a community are changing, and the opportunity to bring diverse, smart young leaders here is a way for us to learn as a community,” she said. “This is our future.”

Interested in learning more about the DIAL program? Visit the program page or contact Keya Crenshaw, manager of Equitable Workforce Development, for more information.

About the Cross College Alliance (CCA)

The five members comprising the CCA are New College of Florida, Ringling College of Art and Design, State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota, The Ringling/FSU, and University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee Campus. They are located in Sarasota and Manatee counties with main campuses no more than a few miles from each other on Florida’s West Coast.

The Cross College Alliance mission is rethinking education together to broaden educational experiences through unique but complementary programs, services and philosophies, to cultivate the pursuit of knowledge and to establish our region as a destination for academic excellence. https://www.crosscollegealliance.org/

Media contact:
Rich Schineller
rschinel@ringling.edu
941.780.8100