Spotlight on AEFI's Project Consultant

AEFI is pleased that Nikki Kirk has joined the AEFI team as the Project Consultant for the three-year demonstration project (2023-2025), the Artist-Endowed Foundation Consortium Advancing Next-Gen Leaders in the Visual Arts. The consortium is a national collaborative of AEFs whose members provide paid summer internships/fellowships to college students from backgrounds under-represented in the visual arts who are interested in careers in this field. Through the Consortium, students’ individual project-based learning experiences with their host AEFs are enhanced with collective educational, professional development, and mentoring programming that supports the evolution of their personal life/learning path.

Nikki Kirk (she/her) is a leadership development and cultural equity practitioner who is dedicated to advocating for systemically excluded and institutionally oppressed populations. Through her work with organizations like Americans for the Arts, the Center for Arts-Inspired Learning, and El Sistema USA, she has supported individual and organizational growth in the areas of youth and leadership development. Nikki has a background in designing, restructuring, and transitioning programs, both in-person and in virtual spaces. She has diverse experience as a facilitator, curriculum developer, program coordinator, project manager, mentor, and advisor, including designing and managing internship/fellowship programs, specifically for leaders of color.

Read more about Nikki here.