By Staff
Tell us about your company. Tell us about your position and responsibilities.
After a successful career as a professional ballet dancer and more than 20 years of helping organizations build their brands and tell their story to audiences worldwide, the two worlds collided and I now have the opportunity to use my expertise in an industry that I live and breathe – the arts. This May, I joined the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) as the Head of External Relations, where I am responsible for the organization’s marketing, communications, development and customer experience. YBCA is the arts hub of the San Francisco downtown community. We serve as a communal space to experience, participate and create multidisciplinary forms of art expression with the goal of building community.
What does success look like for you?
Success is relative. However over the course of the past year, my idea of success has changed. Most recently, I would have thought that where I was, was success, as I had surpassed the bar previously set by my parents. It was a good bar and many others might have agreed, but given the platform my parents had provided for me, I realized that my bar could be much higher. My parents always taught me that if I worked hard I could achieve anything. They were right. And as I learned and began to understand that the concept of hard work changes as you progress up the corporate ladder I slowly was able to achieve far beyond the ceiling I had set for myself. So now as I look towards success, it means doing what I truly love every day so I can be the mother, daughter, sister, niece and partner that those I love, respect and admire.
What keeps you motivated in such a competitive industry?
I enjoy learning new things and taking on new challenges. I enjoy doing things that I’ve never done before and succeeding. But most of all, I love seeing my team win together. And, as long as I am continuing to learn something new or am presented with a new challenge, I am motivated to continue pushing forward. When I get to a point when the work becomes repetitive, I know my time is done and it’s time to move on to find new adventures and challenges. It’s what keeps me on my toes and on the continual search for what’s next.
Where would you like to see your career in the next five years?
In the next five years, I see myself zoning in on my true purpose – using my experience as a professional ballet dancer paired with more than a decade of leading change at various organizations, to lead an arts organization to provide opportunities for black and brown children and youth to experience the arts. Art has the power to change lives. I know this because it changed mine. I had the opportunity to travel the world and have unique experiences that I will never forget. It also provided me with the work ethic, confidence and drive to push past and through the many obstacles I face every day.
About YBCA
Opened to the public in 1993, YBCA was founded as the cultural anchor of San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Gardens neighborhood. Our work spans the realms of contemporary art, performance, film, civic engagement, and public life. Centering artists as essential to social and cultural movement, YBCA is reimagining the role an arts institution can play in the community it serves.
YBCA Calendar of Events
