Who's Involved
The ArtistsUnitedForHealthcare.org website was created through the collective efforts of key organizations and individuals who share a common belief that artists have a right to quality, affordable health care. Here's a brief rundown of who's involved:
Center for Cultural Innovation, Cora Mirikitani, President and CEO
Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI) is a California nonprofit organization launched in 2001 to promote knowledge sharing, networking and financial independence for individual artists and creative entrepreneurs by providing business training, grants and loans, and incubating innovative projects that create new program knowledge, tools and practices for artists in the field.
Cora Mirikitani is the co-founder and current President and CEO of the
Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI). Cora has worked for more than 25
years in philanthropy and the arts, as Program Officer for Culture at
The Pew Charitable Trusts and Senior Program Director at The James
Irvine Foundation in charge of their Arts program and Innovation Fund,
and as an arts administrator in leading organizations around the country
including the JACCC in Los Angeles, the Japan Society in New York, and
the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. Cora knows so many artists
who have come up on the short end of the health insurance issue that she
finally decided to do something about it (www.cciarts.org)
Leveraging Investments in Creativity, Sam Miller, President and Judilee Reed, Vice President
Leveraging Investments in Creativity
(LINC) is a 10 year initiative
dedicated to improving the conditions in which individual artists live
and work. LINC is currently supporting organizations in 14+ communities
around the country where projects concerning training, information,
donor development, health insurance, and artists' space are being
tackled through dynamic network of local and national people and
organizations. LINC started its work to reduce barriers to health
insurance for artists in 2004 in Seattle. Today, LINC partners with arts
organization in California, Washington state, the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, and Philadelphia, PA in the charge to change the
conditions artists face in obtaining and maintaining health insurance.
Read more at www.lincnet.net.
Sam Miller is the president of LINC. Previously, Mr. Miller served as
Executive Director of the New England Foundation for the Arts for ten
years. Prior to NEFA, Mr. Miller was at Jacob's Pillow where he served
as Executive Director and President. He has also worked with Pilobolus
Dance Theater, Pennsylvania Ballet, and managed various theater
renovation projects in New England.
Judilee Reed joined Leveraging Investments in Creativity in 2004 as its
Vice President. Judilee has over 10 years of experience working with
arts organizations that support the intersection of art and community.
Prior to LINC, Judilee was a development and program manager at the New
England Foundation for the Arts where she helped design projects
including the Cambodian Artists Project, an international cultural
restoration program, and Art and Community Landscapes, a national public
art program.
The Actors Fund of America, Jim Brown, National Director of Health Services
The Actors Fund is a nonprofit, national human services organization that helps entertainment and performing arts professionals in theater, film, music, opera, television and dance through a broad spectrum of social, health, employment, and housing programs that address their essential and critical needs (www.actorsfund.org). The Actors' Fund maintains the Artists Health Insurance Resource Center; a nationwide database of healthcare resources for artists of all disciplines (www.ahirc.org)
Evolve Strategies, Rob Stuart, Founder and Aaron Couch, Project Manager Evolve Strategies is a full-service communications firm that uses new media and technologies to expand and mobilize progressive constituencies.
Rob Stuart, the company's founding president, is a famous "early adopter" who's been leading the way in Internet media and network strategy for numerous political and advocacy organizations since 1995. Some of Evolve Strategies' clients are: The ACLU Freedom Files, Sierra Club, global philanthropist George Soros, and MoveOn.org. Aaron Couch is Project Manager at Evolve Strategies. He has been involved in new technology and social justice causes for a number of years. His recent experience includes web design and video production with groups such as the Philadelphia Independent Media Center and Media Tank, and direct service as a homeless outreach worker with Project HOME.
Strategic Policy Concepts, David Rice, Founder
Strategic Policy Concepts is a private, non-partisan consulting firm conducting public policy research and analysis on behalf of think tanks, government agencies, academic institutions, and lobbying firms.
The firm's director is David Rice, a professional public policy research analyst and writer, who has extensive international and domestic experience on a wide-variety of issues. David is the consultant to LINC's national health insurance initiative and has been working closely with arts organizations in Massachusetts on their own version of comprehensive health care reform.