Term expires February 15, 2024.
Erika Mallin has dedicated her career to the arts and public service. Most recently, she led the Aspen Institute Arts Program, which champions artists and cultural leaders as thought leaders, futurists and change makers. Through its programs, the Institute's well-¬known convening power and vast network, the Arts Program gives platform to artists to ensure their inclusion on how to address some of society's most complex issues and connects them with experts across fields to exchange perspectives, foster collaboration and inspire new approaches to social change. Mallin selected talent, curated forums, and produced the Arts Track at the renowned Aspen Ideas Festival, the prestigious year-¬long Harman/Eisner Artist in Residence Program, the Eisner/Lauder New Views Documentary Series, the Michelle Smith Arts and Culture Series, her newly created program ArtLeads and other series. During her tenure, she brought to the forefront artists and cultural leaders from all disciplines to celebrate their craft and tackle a range of issues, including: book banning, gender equity, gun violence, education, mass incarceration, public art/monuments, the role of art and culture in our democracy and communities, and the creative economy. Prior to the Institute, she was the Executive Director of New York City's Tony Award winning Signature Theatre. Under her leadership, Signature became one of the country’s preeminent theatre companies, including leading Signature’s expansion to Pershing Square Signature Center. Designed by Frank Gehry, the Center was the largest new theater center built since Lincoln Center. She also created the Signature Ticket Initiative, a subsidized ticket program to make theater more accessible. The Initiative became a national model and to date has served over one million people. She has held positions at Manhattan Theatre Club, Atlantic Theatre Company, and at New York City's Mayor’s Office, where she developed the Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Program which received an "Innovations in Government" from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. She began her career as a journalist. Mallin has moderated panels, presented and lectured at Columbia, Yale, NYU, The Kennedy Center and the Aspen Ideas Festival. She has sat on various grantor award committees and consulted on arts management for various national and international cultural institutions. Ms. Mallin received her M.A. from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and her B.A. from the University of Michigan.