Newsroom

Press Release: Art Colony Moves to a Co-Directorship and Welcomes New Executive Director Lyla Brown.

Published November 5, 2018
The Art Colony is pleased to announce it will be moving into a co-directorship model. Ruth Pszwaro, previous Program Director, has already taken on the new role of Artistic Director and has served as Interim Executive Director since July.

Lyla Brown will join Pszwaro as co-director and Executive Director, on November 16, 2018. Brown comes to Cook County from Kent County, Maryland. Her experience has focused on a variety of issue areas, such as housing, civic engagement, land conservation, youth development and human services through leadership roles in nonprofits and international development over the past 20 years. These engagements have taken the form of capacity building, program planning, and fundraising as well as research and evaluation.

From the board of directors:

We are impressed by Lyla’s intellect, inspired by her previous accomplishments, and excited to bring her on as our co-director. Collectively, we have many hopes and aspirations and we invite the community to celebrate with us as we move forward.

Together, the co-directors will manage operations, guide the board of directors, and lead strategic planning. While Pszwaro will focus on programmatic development and artistic direction, Brown will oversee communications and external relations, including fundraising and grant writing.

The Art Colony looks forward to continuing its work to advocate for the arts and artists. While it will always remain tethered to the local community and to its long legacy of bringing cultural and economic vitality to the North Shore, the organization also looks to create new regional and national partnerships and initiatives.