AAC Board of Directors Elect New Co-Chairs Ariel Davis and Elizabeth Thompson

(Washington DC, February 21, 2023) — The Arts Administrators of Color Network (AAC) announced today the election of a new executive committee including co-chairs Ariel Davis and Elizabeth Thompson. Ariel Davis has served on AAC’s board since she co-founded the organization in 2016 with Dr. Quanice Floyd and has acted as co-chair of the board in 2022. Elizabeth Thompson joined the board in 2020 and has been instrumental in hiring AAC’s executive director Karla Estela Rivera in 2022. They assume leadership of the board as AAC continues to evolve into a national organization that harnesses the power of artists, arts administrators, and organizations of people of the global majority to connect and expand BIPOC leadership across the U. S. creative sector.

“Boards play such an important role in the development and growth of organizations. The AAC board is no exception,” says Executive director Karla Estela Rivera,  “I am so grateful for the AAC board, and I cannot wait to work with our current executive committee to continue to build on the incredible foundation begun by our founders and members past and present.”

Ariel Davis and Elizabeth joined Kenney Elkomous, newly elected parliamentarian, and Deliasofia Zacarias, re-elected secretary of the board, as the 2023 executive committee. Both Kenney Elkomous and Deliasofia Zacarias joined the AAC board in 2020. 

Ariel Elizabeth Davis (she/her/hers) is the co-founder of the Arts Administrators of Color Network and is dedicated to supporting cultural organizers and leaders as they design processes and programs that align with their vision and values. 

Previously, Ariel has worked with Save The Music Foundation, The Lewis Prize for Music, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Los Angeles Fellowship Program with the Inner City Youth Orchestra of LA, National Arts Strategies, Washington Performing Arts, The MusicianShip, The Washington Women in Jazz Festival, and The String Queens. She also spends time volunteering with the HBCU Jazz Education Initiative.

Ariel has served as a guest speaker and lecturer at Georgetown University, American University, University of Michigan, and her alma mater, Howard University. She has also contributed as a grants panelist for the Department of Education, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the Maryland State Arts Council, the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, and the Association of Performing Arts Professionals. She is a proud member of the Recording Academy.

Ariel’s passion for the arts began onstage, as a French Horn player. She has had the opportunity to perform with ensembles across the world, from the Grammy’s stage with Lizzo to an international festival in Guadeloupe celebrating the work of composer Chevalier de Saint George. She takes as many opportunities to visit her hometown of Detroit, Michigan as she can, and currently resides in Mount Rainier, Maryland.

Elizabeth Thompson (she/her/hers) is an art appreciator and process investigator. She is passionate about mixed race identity, inclusive leadership and management approaches and finding those aha moments in personal growth. She likes unpacking nonlinear gray ideas and rethinking them into workable action plans that make space for deeper learning and awareness. Incorporating resources and perspectives and building networks brings a thoughtful and thorough approach to her work. She’s curious about facilitation methods and experiential and collective learning experiences.

Elizabeth leads the Arts + Business Council, a Council of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia. She is also a founding member of the Arts & Culture Jawn, a burgeoning BIPOC arts administrators group in Philadelphia.

Previously, she led operations and people management at Asian Arts Initiative, a multi-disciplinary and community-based arts center that advances racial equity and understanding through creative practice. At the Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership (CAPAL), she oversaw internal and external activities for an organization seeking to empower the next generation of Asian American leaders in public service. When serving on the Spruce Foundation’s board of directors, which cultivates the next generation of philanthropists through community giving, she co-led the grantmaking process to support emerging organizations in the arts, health and wellness, education and LGBTQ+ communities in the Philadelphia area. 

Forever a professional development seeker, her notable activities include ProInspire’s Managing for Success Program, The Management Center’s Managing for Racial Equity, Inclusion and Results training, and most recently, a training on group facilitation in social justice movement building work by Training for Change. She has received scholarships from the Association of Fundraising Professionals and ProInspire. She received her BA in Art History from Western Washington University and MA in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from the University of Pennsylvania.

Originally from Washington State, she has spent time in the Washington, DC metropolitan area and Philadelphia. Elizabeth is a dog mom, thrifter and roller coaster and true crime and fantasy enthusiast. ISTJ. Cancer/Leo rising.

“I’m thrilled to work alongside the inspirational Ariel Davis and Karla Estela Rivera as the next co-chair for AAC. An organization close to my heart, I welcome this next chapter and all the growth and learning it brings,” shared Elizabeth.

About AAC

Founded in July 2016, the Arts Administrators of Color Network (AAC) is a service organization that focuses on networking and community building through the arts. We are advocates who continue to fight for equity in the arts through collaborations, forums, and outlets that provide a voice for arts administrators and artists of color where there may not be one.

Since its creation in 2016, the Arts Administrators of Color Network has held over 25 events, served over 1,000 arts leaders in DC/Maryland/Virginia, over 200 arts leaders nationally and maintains a Facebook group that reaches nearly 3,000 members.

AAC is a 501(c)3 organization, made possible through generous donations.

AAC Mission

The Arts Administrators of Color Network is a support network that harnesses the power of artists, arts administrators, and organizations of people of the global majority to connect and expand BIPOC leadership across the U. S. creative sector.