Jason Evenson’s Aspirations as the New GCD Executive Director
New to this role but certainly not to the organization, Jason Evenson is excited to help the Greeley Creative District grow and thrive as the board envisions the future!
In his third year as chair of the Greeley Arts District board, Jason Evenson began to wonder if he was actually filling another role. Was he, in fact, the executive director?
It was a weird question, if you consider that the organization didn’t have an executive director position. And yet, it didn’t seem that weird at all. The Greeley Creative District Board, and especially Evenson, was doing the kind of things employees do—board members were handling logistics and set-up tables at their AgFeast and Do Tell! events.
When he left the City of Greeley as the manager of cultural affairs, a role he’d had for nearly a decade, he began to wonder if he could become the board’s first ED. It felt like the right time to leave the city—he is excited to have more time to spend with his partner Karen and their three boys—and it also felt like the right time to look ahead with the Creative District, as the board continues to finalize a new strategic plan based on a survey of creatives it completed last year.
“I was thinking about what the district will need to take a major step forward,” Evenson said. “There wasn’t any time for the day-to-day efforts of an organization. It takes a lot of grunt work.”
Evenson is now the board’s first director, and Dana Buckingham is, essentially, his first employee. While Dana is in charge of the marketing and events for the Greeley Creative District, Jason will be responsible for fundraising, partnering and daily leadership for the organization. He has many goals, but the first may be for the board to think about the organization as, well, a board and not a bunch of passionate workers. A board should worry more about the vision and direction of its organization for the next few years while mapping out a way to achieve both.
“It’s a whole different board mentality,” he said. “Honestly it will be a challenge going forward for them to think in new ways. It’s a natural growth point.”
Evenson has some immediate goals, such as improving recognition of the Greeley Creative District and communicating its distinct role among a small group of other organizations such as the Downtown Development Authority, Visit Greeley and the city’s public art department.
“We share common goals, and we partner with those organizations,” Evenson said. “But we are a unique organization.”
He also hopes to build relationships with legacy performing arts organizations, ensure the financial stability of the organization and figure out the strengths of the board members and what they can bring to the district. It’s not lost on him that that’s what he was doing as chair. Now he has all the time to do it.
By Dan England