Stina Taylor has been promoted to Development Manager at The Art Center Highland Park. Taylor, who joined The Art Center in 2020 as an unpaid intern and has served in various paid positions since then, is the first full-time Development Manager since there were staff cutbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I like promoting people from within,” said Executive Director James Lynch. He praised Taylor, saying, “When you get someone really good, you want to grow them and develop them and she’s been great.”
He noted that when Taylor came to The Art Center as an intern, she worked with the Director of Development. Since then, Lynch added, “She’s been doing a good part of this job already over time. A lot of that is running the fundraisers.”
Lynch reported that there are many aspects to Taylor’s new job, in addition to fundraising. “In a not-for-profit, you can’t just walk around with your hand out all the time,” he explained. “It’s about communicating with people all year long, knowing what people are interested in so that when you ask them for a sponsorship or a donation, it’s in line with what they believe in and it’s important to them.”
He added that good recordkeeping and management skills are also essential to the job. He noted that those skills are part of Taylor’s “life outside of The Art Center. She is a set designer, lighting designer, and a stage manager in theater.”
“It’s exciting to move into the new role,” Taylor said.
She reported that when she joined The Art Center in 2020 as an unpaid intern, “I came on to learn a little bit more about events and development.” When the pandemic started, Taylor became a contractor, helping to shift the Art Center’s events from in-person to virtual.
After helping with that project, Taylor was hired as an employee.
“I was on desk for about a year and then I took on a new role as Program Manager,” Taylor said. “I was doing a lot more scheduling and logistics around the building but I was still in the background fulltime doing a lot of database management for our constituents so I always had my hands in development a little bit.”
Being promoted to Development Manager means a lot to Taylor, she indicated.
“I really love being able to have the relationship with all of our donors,” Taylor said. She particularly enjoys answering donors’ questions “and being a face that they recognize.”
Taylor said that this job is a fit for her because, “I’m a good organizational person. I’m good at following a schedule and looking ahead and making sure that we’re able to do what we need to do next.”
Taylor is looking forward to what she can accomplish in her new role.
“I’m excited to be building our base and getting the message across that what we’re doing is important and any contribution to that helps,” she said.
Executive Director Lynch concluded that promoting Taylor to the position of Development Manager “is really an investment in her. She’s invaluable and I want to see her grow and develop here.”
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
