Maria Jackson

With the aim of building healthy communities where all can thrive, Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson has a 30+ year career in strategic planning, policy research, and program design, implementation, and evaluation with philanthropy, government, and nonprofit organizations. Her work is characterized by systems thinking and the convergence of diverse perspectives. It integrates arts, design, culture and creativity in solutions for pressing local and global issues. Dr. Jackson has written and spoken extensively on quality-of-life measurement, comprehensive community development and urban inequality, support systems for artists and creative entrepreneurs, the importance of “cultural kitchens’ for social inclusion and a healthy democracy and the roles of arts and culture in community health, wellness and resilience. She was appointed by President Biden and confirmed by the US Senate as Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts (2021-2025). She was appointed to the National Council on the Arts by President Obama in 2012. For nearly 20 years, Dr. Jackson was at Urban Institute, a national public policy research organization. For more than ten years, she was senior advisor at Kresge Foundation and other philanthropic organizations. She co-chaired the County of Los Angeles Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative and has served on governing and advisory boards of numerous arts and community development organizations. She is University Professor of Creativity and Social Impact at Arizona State University where she holds appointments in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts and the Watts College of Public Purpose and Community Solutions.