Meet June Town Hall Guest Speaker, AMM Executive Director, Charity M. Counts

Meet June Town Hall Guest Speaker, AMM Executive Director, Charity M. Counts

Our guest speaker for June will be Charity M. Counts. Charity serves as the executive director of the Association of Midwest Museums (AMM), a regional service organization focused on advocating for and connecting museum professionals in the Midwest to a network of colleagues, resources and capacity-building training. Prior to leading AMM, Charity worked in museums for 15 years in a variety of roles. Here career began at a mid-size museum called Minnetrista located in Muncie, IN, where she served in collections and exhibits roles, and her most recent museum role was the associate vice president of exhibits at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.Join Charity at this month’s town hall to learn more about AMM and its services, the cross-regional Museum Learning Hub resource, and to engage in a brief discussion of needs.

Please register for our June 2024 Town Hall Here or on the right-side of your MemberWire portal homepage
Meet Town Hall Guest Speaker: Jill Austin, NEH Senior Program Officer in the Division of Public Programs

Meet Town Hall Guest Speaker: Jill Austin, NEH Senior Program Officer in the Division of Public Programs

Our guest speaker for May will be Jill Austin, who is the Senior Program Officer in the Division of Public Programs at the National Endowment for the Humanities. She arrived at NEH in 2015 after two decades of work in museums and nonprofits that serve museums. Prior to her role at NEH, Austin was a curator at the Chicago History Museum (CHM) for ten years. Previously, Austin served as a curator of social history at Detroit Historical Museums and was an exhibition and publication coordinator at Exhibitions International, a New York-based traveling exhibitions firm that specialized in design and the decorative arts.
Public Impact Projects at Smaller Organizations grant program
Awards up to $25,000 for 1- to 2-year projects
Deadline June 12 for projects starting March 1-May 1, 2025
Small and mid-sized cultural organizations are keepers of history and culture, sources of lifelong learning, and community place makers. Public Impact Projects grants seek to assist smaller organizations in meeting their community’s needs by expanding the scope, reach, and excellence of their public programs.
Please register for our May 2024 Town Hall Here or on the right-side of your Memberwire portal homepage
The 2024 Outstanding Community Leader Awardees Have Been Announced!

The 2024 Outstanding Community Leader Awardees Have Been Announced!

We are thrilled to announce that Billy Ocasio and Dr. Ramón García have been voted the 2024 Outstanding Community Leader Award recipients!

Nomination statement from the Board of the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture (edited):
“Mr. Ocasio’s dedication to the Puerto Rican community in Humboldt Park and Chicago over the past 30+ years has been nothing short of remarkable. From spearheading affordable housing initiatives and the development of the iconic Paseo Boricua flags and Puerto Rican streetscape to founding the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture, his vision and leadership have transformed and empowered the community.”

Nomination statement from the Dominican American Midwest Association (edited):
“Dr. Ramón García has been instrumental in advancing the Dominican American Midwest Association’s mission of empowering Dominicans across various facets like culture, education, politics, and economics since its founding in 1999. His establishment of the Dr. Ramón García Educational Award has provided critical support for students to pursue higher education and community development.”

Please join us in celebrating these exceptional community leaders and their tireless work to create positive change! The Chicago Cultural Alliance will recognize Billy Ocasio and Dr. Ramón García as the 2024 Outstanding Community Leaders during the awards ceremony of the 2024 MOSAIC Gala this summer.

View Previous Awardees

Registration for Activating Heritage 2024 Is Open!

Registration for Activating Heritage 2024 Is Open!

Please note: Online registration closes on Tuesday 3/5 at 9:00am, but we will still accept walk-in registrations so if you miss the window to register online you can do so in person on Tuesday!
WHAT IS ACTIVATING HERITAGE?

Activating Heritage is the Alliance’s annual professional development conference for cultural heritage and non-profit professionals. The conference connects our Core Members and other arts & culture workers from across the Chicago region with meaningful, hands-on, capacity-building experiences facilitated by a host of scholars and leaders in the field, through dynamic presentations, panels, and workshops. We enthusiastically encourage participation from members of the community as well. The conference will also be of interest to students (both undergraduate and graduate), historians, and anyone else interested in learning more about community engagements with culture.

HOW DOES ACTIVATING HERITAGE WORK?

United with a diverse and accomplished array of panelists, moderators, community stakeholders, and industry professionals, we will delve into broader and deeper conversations surrounding advocacy, fundraising, museum collections, preservation, programming, digitizing, virtual exhibitions, education, and the next generation of arts and cultural heritage professionals.

 

Register Now

 

**Note for CCA Core Members: We have registration waivers for any core members who would like to attend but are facing financial hardship. Email [email protected] with the subject “Registration Waiver” and a list of the registrant names, email addresses, and the name of your organization and a representative will be in touch.