Fresno Arts Council names new executive director after $1.5M embezzlement scandal
A new leader will take the helm of a Fresno arts nonprofit months after an embezzlement scandal rocked the organization and the arts community.
The Fresno Arts Council announced Monday that Lauren Nikkel has been named Executive Director of the arts council. Nikkel currently serves as executive director for the Kingsburg District Chamber of Commerce, a role she has held since late October, according to a report in the MidValley Times. She is also an avid social dancer; Nikkel is a leader of the Fresno Swing Dance and founder of Back Room Balboa, a social dance group.
The organization’s longtime director Liliana Gonzales-Chavez departed a little over a month after the nonprofit announced in February that an ex-employee had stolen more than $1.5 million in public Measure P funds from the nonprofit. The city terminated its agreement with the nonprofit to administer the arts grant program, which provides around $6 million annually to support arts and culture organizations and programming in Fresno. The former operations manager Suliana Caldwell, who pleaded guilty in April to one count of wire fraud, faces up to 20 years in prison for allegedly stealing a total of $1.8 million.
“I am excited to join the Fresno Arts Council at a pivotal moment in its history,” Nikkel said in a statement.
“I bring to the table my experience as both a nonprofit executive and a social dancer. The work of supporting a regional arts ecosystem has much in common with social dancing. Connection, conversation, authentic expression, and nimble improvisation make for the best social dances––and for the best partnerships,” she said.
Andrea Mele, interim executive director for the Arts Council, said Nikkel was not available for an interview on her goals and vision until after her July 20 start date.
Fresno Arts Council Board President Olga Gutierrez De Nuñez said in the press release that Nikkel is the right leader for the organizations next chapter.
“Throughout the Board’s search process, we were looking for someone who values collaboration, community, and the arts, and we are confident Lauren will build on that vision,” Gutierrez De Nuñez said.
Nikkel helped guide the Kingsburg Chamber of Commerce “through a period of instability,” the statement said.
She also has experience with regional economic development and workforce planning from her time at the Fresno County Economic Development Corporation, a public-private nonprofit focused on business development.
Nikkel lives in Reedley, according to the MidValley Times.
What does the Fresno Arts Council do?
Founded in 1979 as the Alliance for the Arts, the Fresno Arts Council (FAC) has long served as a voice for the arts in the Central San Joaquin Valley.
The 47-year-old nonprofit runs several other arts and culture programs, including the 559 Mural Project, ArtHop, the City of Fresno Poet Laureate and Arts The Rural Arts Access Fund, supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
As a state-local partner to the California Arts Council, FAC provides financial support, technical services, and program assistance to arts organizations, individual artists and more.
“With Nikkel at the helm, the Arts Council looks forward to amplifying the arts-supporting voice its founders envisioned, and to expanding the organization’s reach and impact,” the statement said.
The city of Fresno, meanwhile, announced last month that it is accepting applications for a nearly $6.5 million pot of arts and culture grant funds — marking the first cycle of the program under city control since the scandal.
