Cultural Council Executive Director Departs, Interim Replacement Named

On behalf of the staff of the Cultural Council we wish Joy Young the best in the future and thank her for her excellent leadership. We welcome Diana Donovan to our team as the interim Executive Director.

Cultural Council Executive Director Departs, Interim Replacement Named The Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville Board of Directors today announced that Executive Director Joy Young is leaving the organization to pursue other opportunities. “We thank Joy for her service to the Cultural Council and wish her the best as she embarks on a new chapter,” said Jannet Walker-Ford, board chair for the Cultural Council. “The Cultural Council is in good shape financially and operationally.” 

The board unanimously appointed Diana Donovan as interim executive director while a nationwide search for the next executive director is underway. Donovan is deeply familiar with the Cultural Council through her service as a past board member appointed by Mayor Lenny Curry. For the past six years, Donovan has served in successive leadership roles at Jacksonville University, most recently as executive director of the Office of the President and Community Relations at Jacksonville University. She is a member of Leadership Jacksonville and JAXChamber’s inaugural Hightower Fellowship, and a past member of the citizen’s editorial board at the Florida Times-Union. She currently serves on the board of the Women’s Center of Jacksonville and is a Delores Barr Weaver Fellow at the Women’s Giving Alliance. The board also established a board search committee to oversee the selection of the organization’s next executive director including Lisa V. Johnson as chair, Kirsten Doolittle, Ari Jolly, Kemal Gasper, and City Council liaison Michael Boylan. Young joined the Cultural Council in December 2018 after serving 14 years as director of administration, human resources and operations at the South Carolina Arts Commission in Columbia, S.C. Under Ms. Young’s leadership, the Cultural Council most recently scored well in its grant application to the Florida Department of State Division of Cultural Affairs. The organization's Cultural Service Grant program and Art in Public Places program are both in strong positions. About the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville The Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville’s mission is to enrich life in Northeast Florida by investing in arts and culture. They serve as the official regranting and administrative agency for City of Jacksonville funding to arts and cultural organizations, as well as provide several programs that benefit artists and arts and culture organizations of all disciplines.