Chief Engagement Officer, ArtsMemphis
Linda oversees all community impact grantmaking and capacity-building initiatives at ArtsMemphis, and she invests in projects that demonstrate the role of arts and culture in a neighborhood’s revitalization and redevelopment. In 2014, Steele launched the ArtsMemphis Fellows program to build the capacity of Memphis arts groups, artists, and neighborhood leaders in the emerging field of arts-based social change and has presented across the country on this work. The Fellows Program at ArtsMemphis is a 2016 recipient of the inaugural Robert E. Gard Award from Americans for the Arts and an Artworks grant from The National Endowment for the Arts. Linda came to Memphis from New York City where she was a Fellow with the Arts Leadership Institute at Columbia University. Her professional experience includes work at Urban Gateways: Center for Arts Education, The Art Institute of Chicago, and Cool Culture, Inc. She is a graduate of Amherst College and Harvard University.
Prior to ArtsMemphis, Linda worked as an arts consultant based in New York City where she helped to open the first arts-based private pre-school in Park Slope, Brooklyn. She began her career in the arts at Playhouse Square Center and Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival in Cleveland, Ohio. She also has a background in youth development and K-12 education.