FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 30, 2007

Contact: Gregory Liakos, Communications Director 617-727-3668 x343

MCC NAMES ANITA WALKER AS NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

(Boston, MA)… The Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) is pleased to announce that it has named Anita Walker as the state agency's new executive director. On Friday the MCC Board voted unanimously to select Walker as Massachusetts' highest-ranking public official in the arts, humanities, and sciences.

"We are delighted that Anita Walker has agreed to serve the Massachusetts Cultural Council as its next executive director," said Elyse Cherry, MCC Chair. "She is a nationally recognized leader who has succeeded at positioning arts and culture at the center of efforts to foster economic growth, improve education, and revitalize communities."

Walker brings a broad range of leadership experience in the arts, humanities, and public policy to her new position. Most recently, she served as director of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs from September 2000 until this past January. In that cabinet-level position, Walker served simultaneously as executive director of the Iowa Arts Council, administrator of the State Historical Society, and the state historic preservation officer, overseeing a $10 million budget and 100 employees.

During her tenure in Iowa Walker engaged more than 400 state and local businesses to consider the role of the creative sector as a driving force in economic development, in part by leading the first comprehensive study of the state's creative economy. The study was hailed by economist Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class, as a significant advance on his work in this area, and resulted in several key regions of the state incorporating arts and culture in economic planning efforts.

Walker also led "Imagine Iowa 2010: A Cultural Vision," a grassroots, 10-year plan for fostering arts and culture in that state. And she spearheaded several other initiatives that have since become national models, including the Iowa Cultural Trust, legislation establishing $10 million to support the operating budgets of the state's cultural organizations; and Iowa Great Places, which placed arts and culture at the forefront of community development efforts.

Prior to her appointment to the Department of Cultural Affairs, Walker spent two years as the director of development at the Des Moines Playhouse, and two years as the director of development and community relations at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines. From 1990 to 1996 she was bureau chief, Communications and Technology Services, for the Iowa Department of Economic Development and Iowa Workforce Development. Walker's early career was spent in media and public relations. She holds BS in Journalism from the University of Arizona.

"Massachusetts is poised to accomplish great things in the arts, culture and tourism sectors with new leadership and a new vision for the future," said Senator Brian Joyce of Milton, Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts, and Cultural Development. "The MCC has selected someone who can build on that momentum and advance our work together."

Walker will replace Mary Kelley, who retired in March after serving as MCC's executive director for 11 years. She begins work May 14.