News

The Boston Center for the Arts Names New Vice President of Development

by . .
Wednesday Nov 19, 2014

Submitted by BCA

The Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) has announced that Emily Foster Day will join the institution as its new Vice President of Development, effective December 1st. The search for the Vice President position was lead by Arts Consulting Group. Day joins the BCA from Centre for the Living Arts in Mobile, AL where she most recently served as Development Director. Prior to the Centre for the Living Arts, Day served as the Executive Director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving with Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, MA.

"We are pleased to welcome Emily to our new senior management team," said Veronique Le Melle, President and Chief Executive Officer of the BCA. "Her strong leadership in arts fundraising is a perfect fit for our needs as we embark on an overhaul of the BCA's operating model and consider partnerships for the next phase of our growth."

"Veronique Le Melle, her gifted and committed staff, and the incredible and generous board, have done a remarkable job positioning the BCA as a critical hub for emerging artists, as a vital economic driver in the South End, and as a catalyzing force in the city-wide dialogue about the future of working artists in Boston. I am honored and delighted to join this effort and look forward to building support for the BCA, its resident artists, and its programs", said Ms. Day.

The new senior management team includes the naming of Kristi Keefe as Chief of Staff and the hiring of Dawn M. Simmons as Communications Director. The promotion of Keefe and the additions of Day and Simmons are part of a bold new strategic direction for the BCA. The new strategic plan reinvigorates the company's commitment to the arts and the South End by positioning the BCA as a responsive member of the city it serves. Over the next few years the company BCA will embark on ambitious engagement and philanthropic campaigns to advance the organization's mission, allowing it to serve a greater number of artists and residents, reinforcing the vitality and necessity of the BCA as a gateway to the arts in the city.

The strategic planning process, launched in June 2013, with TDC, engaged a wide range of stakeholders including staff, board and community members. It provides a roadmap to activate key constituents as philanthropic and artistic cohorts as well as identifies provides a roadmap for major capital improvements.

Gulf Coast.

Emily Foster Day began her career at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where she served for six years, most recently as Senior Development Officer, Annual Giving & Special Events for the School of the Muse of Fine Arts, Boston (SMFA). While at SMFA, Emily brought annual giving up to an historic $1m and directed the school's fundraising events program, including the SMFA Art Sale, Medal Award Gala, and Proof of Purchase. Emily's early work with young artists instilled a deep commitment to supporting and advocating for the professional needs of creative people.

In 2010, Emily took the position of Executive Director of Alumni Relations and Annual Fund at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. For the next three years, Emily directed the Foundation's annual unrestricted fundraising effort, raising $400,000 annually for scholarship support, and led a comprehensive alumni relations program for a 16,000-member alumni association during a time of extraordinary growth for the college.

In 2013, Emily left MassArt to serve as Director of Development at Centre for the Living Arts (CLA), a non-collecting contemporary art museum in Mobile, Alabama. While at CLA, Emily established and grew a strategic multi-channel fundraising and external relations program with a focus on building a national foundation grants program and major individual gifts. Emily also worked closely with local, county, and state government officials to emphasize and demonstrate the critical importance of cultural organizations in the economic development and growth of Mobile and the Gulf Coast.

Emily has a B.A. in Art History from the University of Virginia and a M.S. in Arts Administration from Boston University. Emily looks forward to returning to Boston with her husband Jim and their two children.