The YoungArts Leadership Award, established in 2010, recognizes the recipients’ support of arts organizations and the arts in America. Cultural arts in every city and in every state thrive due to the support and guidance of civic, philanthropic and corporate leaders. Without them, most arts initiatives could not flourish. The Leadership Award acknowledges the vital impact these individuals and their organizations create. This year’s award was created by alumnus Daniel Arsham.

2013 / Debbie Allen

Past Recipients

2012 / Robert L. Lynch is the president and CEO of Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading organization for advancing the arts and arts education in people’s lives, schools and communities. With more than 30 years of experience in the arts industry, Mr. Lynch is motivated by his personal mission to empower communities and leaders to advance arts and arts appreciation in society. Under his 25 years of leadership, the services and membership of Americans for the Arts has grown to over 50 times its original size. He has personally reached audiences in over 1,000 locations spanning 49 states and more than a dozen nations, ranging from Native American tribal gatherings to the U.S. Armed Forces in Europe to the President of the United States.

2011 / Michael Kaiser, President, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Adrienne Arsht, Philanthropist, were the joint recipients of the 2011 YoungArts Leadership Award. With the leadership of Kaiser and the financial support of Arsht, they have created Arts in Crisis: A Kennedy Center Initiative, a program designed to provide emergency planning assistance to struggling arts organizations throughout the United States.

2010 / Alberto Ibargüen, President and CEO of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, has shown a true commitment to the arts, in our community and throughout the nation. He was the former publisher of The Miami Herald and has served as board chair of PBS and Florida Philharmonic. We were honored to celebrate his accomplishments and those of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.