The Northport Arts Association (NAA) is looking for an executive director to lead its growing organization, programs, and events starting next year.
NAA announced it was accepting candidate applications for the full-time position on December 17, but Linda Gits, NAA treasurer, said it’s been in their annual report plans since last year to eventually hire a director by 2024 to provide effective and creative leadership moving forward.
With a couple of interested applicants already reaching out, Gits said the NAA board of directors are confident they will find a great candidate to fill the position, noting how they have an excellent group of volunteers on the board with much of the non-profit’s foundation and inner workings set and ready to go for an easy transition into the job.
“I’m thinking we’re going to get a great person, because there are some really wonderful and talented people who’ve moved to Northport and they’re looking for something like this, so I have extremely high hopes. Everybody works really hard and they’re all well educated and it’s just a really nice vibe,” Gits said. “Whoever is coming in will be able to get going and not have to reinvent the wheel or fix problems. Things are going really well and with that, we can move to the next professional level like some of the other organizations.”
Gits said they want to continue building up what they have and aim to get even better instructors, while having artists in residence programs as well as three day workshops where they offer housing for people. As NAA grows, a full-time director would ensure someone is accountable and can be reached, guiding the ship and keeping everything on track. Although NAA is in a good place right now, Gits said the board is made up of all volunteers that donate their time, making it difficult to always stay available.
“(We want) things where we can grow some of these national style workshops that people will travel across the country to come to Northport and enjoy especially during the winter,” she said. “We can’t go any farther with volunteerism, we need one person who’s really keeping an eye on things and doing fundraising. We also want to be able to give discounts on some of these classes because some of these instructors are expensive, and if we do fundraising we can supplement class costs and that brings in more students.”
The salaried executive director would collaborate with the board, volunteers, staff and community partners, and is responsible for driving the organization’s growth by raising funds, building awareness, engaging diverse audiences, ensuring operational and fiscal integrity, as well as adhering to the policies laid down by the president and board. In the position description, it states the ideal candidate holds a passion for the arts, a track record of successful nonprofit leadership and fundraising, and the ability to engage diverse stakeholders to advance the organization’s mission.
With the work and commitment of dedicated volunteers, members, and supporters, NAA has flourished since it formed in 2013, continuing to expand its offerings and impact in Northport and the county. Over the last year, the nonprofit has been successful in raising initial funds of $47,000 to secure the director position, however, the substantial undertaking requires an additional financial commitment of $50,000.
“We just want to make sure as this person gets in we have the funding to keep paying them until they get up and running and then they get their fundraising… the donations are to have a capital fund for this particular position,” she said.
Gits said the board is looking to conduct candidate interviews in February in order to have someone start by March 1, giving the person about a month to get acclimated before they hit the ground running with a number of upcoming events and shows.
Along with searching for a director, board member updates include Betsy Ernst stepping down as president and transitioning to supervising the clay studio. Sheen Watkins will now fill the role as interim president for the next two years, and Linda Bayer will serve as vice president. Gits, board treasurer, and Lisa Westling, board secretary, will continue in their roles. The current NAA directors are Chris Woomer as figure drawing studio administrator, Lydia Woodruff as young artists group administrator, and Nina Collins as director emeritus. Members at large include Jayne Robinson, Tami Maisel, and Mimi Herberlein.
If people are interested in supporting the NAA’s next step, donations can be made online at https:// www. northportartsassociation. org/.
