Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson’s expertise is in comprehensive community revitalization, systems change, the dynamics of race and ethnicity and the roles of and arts and culture in communities. She is Senior Advisor, Arts and Culture at the Kresge Foundation and consults with national and regional foundations and government agencies on strategic planning and research. In 2013, with U.S. Senate confirmation, President Obama appointed Dr. Jackson to the National Council on the Arts. She is on the advisory board of the Lambent Foundation and on the boards of directors of the Alliance for California Traditional Arts and LA Commons. As of October 5, 2021, she was nominated as the new Chair of National Endowment for the Arts, and she shared her beautiful perspective on the arts:
“Our art, culture and creativity are some of our country’s most valuable resources...
They are evidence of our humanity, our ability to learn from our examined experience and our ability to imagine and innovate" (New York Times, Oct. 2021).