PORTLAND, Ore (CelebrityAccess) — The Western Arts Alliance announced that after an extensive search, the organization has hired Joshua Heim as their new Executive Director.
Heim will assume the leadership role on September 19th, as the organization’s longtime senior executive Tim Wilson steps down after more than 25 years. Wilson’s final day with WAA will be on September 30th and the two are working closely to facilitate a smooth transition.
Before his new role at WAA, Heim most recently served as Deputy Director at 4Culture, a cultural funding agency for King County, Washington, where he oversaw a portfolio of grant funding and technical assistance programs with a focus on helping those programs to broaden their outreach to communities that have been long underserved by traditional arts philanthropy.
During his tenure, he helped to craft the organization’s COVID-19 response that included distributing over $12 million of federal disaster relief to cultural organizations and individual cultural workers.
He also served as the Arts Program Manager and Diversity Liaison for the City of Bellevue, WA, following four years as Cultural Arts Administrator for the city of Redmond, WA.
Joshua holds a Master of Arts in Cultural Studies from the University of Washington in Bothell, WA and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Anthropology from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, OR, as well as an International Development Policy and Management Graduate Certificate from the University of Washington in Seattle, WA.
A native of Hawaii, Heim’s resume also includes a brief stint as a professional hula dancer.
“My entire professional career has been based around furthering the arts because I believe culture is the original basic need. We cannot live without shared identity and meaning, and I consider it a privilege to have a career helping people an communities make connections and use creative expression to become better versions of themselves. I am honored and humbled to lead WAA into its next phase, and I know the mission of WAA is one I can fully support and grow,” Heim said of his new role.
“I am so excited for the future of WAA and truly thrilled that Josh Heim will succeed me. WAA is lucky to land someone of his talent, vision, and experience,” added Tim Wilson, the outgoing Executive Director of WAA.
