Association For Visual Arts Names Jennifer Lewis As Interim Executive Director

Monday, July 24, 2017

Jennifer Lewis

The Association for Visual Arts (AVA) board of directors announced today that Jennifer Lewis has been appointed as its Interim Executive Director. Ms. Lewis, who will join AVA in August 2017, brings extensive experience in program development, non-profit leadership, the arts, and a record of impact-driven results.

"We are ecstatic to welcome Jennifer Lewis as the new Interim Executive Director of AVA. She brings a wealth of experience in business operations, program management, and donor relations to the role.

Equally important, Jennifer has as an understanding and appreciation for visual art and the artists who create it – key tenets to the AVA mission,” said Lisa Brock, chairwoman of the AVA board of directors. “Her passion for the arts, demonstrated leadership skills, and commitment to action make her an exceptional choice to lead and build on the legacy of AVA as an organization that delivers vitality and creativity to the scenic city."

Ms. Lewis is excited to bring her family to Chattanooga, noting she is especially impressed by its innovative spirit, revitalized downtown, and outdoor activities. After graduating from the University of California at Santa Barbara, she began her career planning teen activities and served as a camp director for a children’s theatre program while taking graduate courses in nonprofit business management. She later brought those skills to Memphis, where she held a similar post.

When graduate school took her husband to Jerusalem for a year, Ms. Lewis worked part-time creating curriculum for Jewish teens and pursued her interest in ceramic arts. After moving to Cincinnati, OH, she began teaching classes in pottery, including basic hand building and advanced wheel throwing. When her husband’s career took the family to Orange County, CA, she returned to non-profit management as the Cultural Arts Director for the Jewish Community Center in Irvine where she planned multiple festivals and ran a gallery featuring local artists. Most recently, before her move to the Scenic City, Ms. Lewis was living in Lincoln, NE, where she worked on the management team for a non-profit which serves adults with developmental disabilities. Among her proudest achievements there was the creation of the Live Yes Studio, a day program that developed her agency’s clients into budding artists who had opportunities to work in media ranging from music, to drawing, to three-dimensional art. Live Yes even has a gallery where their work is displayed and sold in the city’s First Friday events, bringing recognition and income to the artists.

Ms. Lewis is thrilled to call Chattanooga home and has fallen in love with the city. She is married to Craig who serves as the Rabbi of Mizpah Congregation. They have a son, Eden, a budding artist in his own right, who loves Legos, Super Heroes, musical theatre, and Yugi-Oh. Together the family shares a love of animals with two dogs, Rocket and Tipper, and a cat named Daisy. In their free time, the Lewis family enjoys exploring all that there is to do in and around their new home on the Tennessee River as they look forward to building their lives here.