The Arts and Business Council of Greater Nashville, currently housed on Belmont’s campus, has recently welcomed a new Executive Director, Jill McMillan. The Council has been on Belmont’s campus since 2013 through a partnership that advances the educational and charitable purposes of both organizations by leveraging and uniting their unique resources to create a thriving, sustainable creative culture in Nashville.
Originally from Indiana, McMillian comes to Nashville from Boston, most recently. Throughout her career, she has gained a range of experiences and arts exposure including her first professional position as a marketing intern at a major studio in Los Angeles to her most recent role as a strategic fundraiser at one of Boston’s leading cultural institutions.
McMillian graduated summa cum laude from Pepperdine University with a B.A. in Integrated Marketing Communication and a minor in Industrial Organizational Psychology. After graduation, she taught with Teach for America in Phoenix, Arizona before moving to Boston to begin her career in arts administration. There, McMillan worked with Boston Children’s Theatre, ArtsBoston, Broadway In Boston and the Institute of Contemporary Art.
In her new role, McMillan will oversee the Arts and Business Council’s five main programs. Focused around the viability of Nashville’s creative community these programs offer assistance to artists from all genres and include:
- The Volunteer Lawyers and Professionals for the Arts: A program that provides free legal services to Nashville’s artists
- Educational Offerings: Monthly seminars cover topics pertinent to the sustainability of artistic ventures and Periscope, ABC’s 6-week intensive training program, is an artist entrepreneur training experience
- Arts Board Matching: A program that pairs young professionals with arts organizations and prepares them for board membership
- WorkCREATIVE: Bridges the gap between arts and business by inviting artists into the workplace to help produce a more engaged, innovative and productive workforce through the tactful collision of art and industry.
“ABC is currently experiencing a time of excellence and stability,” McMillan said. “Now with over 10 years in service of artists in Nashville, the Arts and Business Council’s current position allows us to focus on strategic growth and innovation in our programs and offerings. We hope to serve as a translator and connector, leveraging and uniting the unique resources of the arts and business communities to ensure that Nashville is, and remains, a dynamic cultural hub.”
Image provided by Heidi Ross.
