The Richmond Art Center has appointed Jose R. Rivera as its new executive director.
Rivera brings over 25 years of experience with for-profit and non-profit organizations in California, Florida, Puerto Rico and Massachusetts, according to the art center. Previous to this appointment, he was director of administration at privacy and compliance at Lincoln Families in West Oakland. Before that, he was the executive director of the Work2Future Foundation with the City of San Jose as well as Stagebridge in Oakland.
Rivera succeeds Richard Ambrose, who resigned last year after seven years as ED. Ambrose was noted in a KQED report for securing a 50-year lease with the city for the 84-year-old art center. The center’s budget grew from about $500,000 to $1.6 million under Ambrose’s tenure, with 22 percent of those funds coming from the city, KQED said.
Patricia Guthrie, board of directors president for the Richmond Art Center, described Rivera as having “a wealth of management experience and a deep commitment to the arts and community which we feel will help move the Richmond Art Center forward at a time of great societal change.”
In a statement, Rivera said he was thrilled to join the Richmond Art Center and to “safeguard this artistic jewel of the Bay Area.”
“I am confident that despite these very difficult times, our team and community will come together to ensure that we emerge from this situation vibrant and ready to, once again, provide artistic expression and art education programs to our communities,” Rivera said. “I look forward to greeting you at The Center.”
For more information, visit the Richmond Art Center website.
