(North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 454)
Three weeks into Stephanie Donaldson’s tenure as the new Executive Director of the Johns Creek Arts Center, COVID lockdowns hit. Her experience in the organization, starting years before as a volunteer, coupled with her dedicated team of employees and volunteers, proved to be a potent combination, one that resulted in the Center reopening only eight weeks after lockdowns to provide summer camps for children. Joining host John Ray, Stephanie recounted her journey with the Center, her determination to be open for the community, their numerous programs and community outreach, the mental and psychological therapy that art delivers, the many ways the community can help, and much more.
North Fulton Business Radio is broadcast from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.
Johns Creek Arts Center
The Johns Creek Arts Center was founded in 1996 as the Warsaw-Ocee Arts Center with the purpose of providing art services to audiences in north Fulton County.
The organization changed its name to the Johns Creek Arts Center in 2006 when we moved into our current location on Abbotts Bridge Road in the City of Johns Creek. The arts center facility boasts an outstanding clay and ceramic studio, a digital arts lab, and instruction in a wide variety of visual media. JCAC also has an expansive outreach program that conducts classes and workshops in more than a dozen locations in surrounding communities.
The Johns Creek Arts Center strives to inspire artistic development by stimulating individual creativity and devising a catalyst for personal and community growth by providing quality art instruction and outreach programs.
The Johns Creek Arts Center’s vision is to be a community arts center providing affordable quality arts education to the residents of North Fulton and surrounding communities. We offer a wide and diverse variety of adult and youth classes, after-school art enrichment programs, outreach programs for seniors, and outreach programs for under-served low-income youth.
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Stephanie Donaldson, Executive Director, Johns Creek Arts Center
Stephanie Donaldson has dedicated nine years to the Johns Creek Arts Center. She began as a volunteer developing the “Student to Senior” program bridging together local high school students and residents at assisted living facilities to create art. Following this, Stephanie accepted the position of Registrar & Payroll Director. She developed a membership management program, directed the afterschool program at seven Fulton County Elementary schools, and created and executed the Center’s first Holiday Artist Markets.
In May of 2018, Stephanie was promoted to the position of Deputy Director. Within this scope, she oversaw the development of a new website for the arts center, worked to create community relationships for increased revenue through fundraising, sponsorships, and donations, and curated the Center’s first art auction fundraising gala in November of 2019.
In February of 2020, Stephanie was thrilled to be appointed Executive Director of the Johns Creek Arts Center. Unfortunately, the Center closed three weeks later due to COVID. Determined, Stephanie pioneered an opening plan to move forward 8 weeks later re-opening with 10 weeks of summer art camps. The Center’s doors re-opened in May 2020 with 300 children in camp during the first summer of COVID!
The Johns Creek Arts Center has been open ever since with growing enrollments in all programs and exhibitions. Proving hard work and dedication can overcome anything. Stephanie has served as a volunteer on many different levels; girl scout troop leader, basketball and soccer coach, president of band boosters, owner and operator of a rescue farm for horses and dogs.
Stephanie continues to give to her community, currently as a member of Leadership Johns Creek, Johns Creek Chamber of Commerce board member, Rotary Johns Creek North Fulton, and the School Governance Council.
Questions and Topics in this Interview:
- History of Johns Creek Arts Center; non-profit arts organization
- Overview of services/programming they offer
- Why are you important to our community?
- How did you survive COVID as a non-profit?
- Free community outreach programs
- JCAC Staff
- JCAC exhibitions
- Initiatives for inclusivity
North Fulton Business Radio is hosted by John Ray and broadcast and produced from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta. You can find the full archive of shows by following this link. The show is available on all the major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, Stitcher, TuneIn, and others.
Renasant Bank has humble roots, starting in 1904 as a $100,000 bank in a Lee County, Mississippi, bakery. Since then, Renasant has grown to become one of the Southeast’s strongest financial institutions with over $13 billion in assets and more than 190 banking, lending, wealth management and financial services offices in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. All of Renasant’s success stems from each of their banker’s commitment to investing in their communities as a way of better understanding the people they serve. At Renasant Bank, they understand you because they work and live alongside you every day.
Special thanks to A&S Culinary Concepts for their support of this edition of North Fulton Business Radio. A&S Culinary Concepts, based in Johns Creek, is an award-winning culinary studio, celebrated for corporate catering, corporate team building, Big Green Egg Boot Camps, and private group events. They also provide oven-ready, cooked from scratch meals to go they call “Let Us Cook for You.” To see their menus and events, go to their website or call 678-336-9196.
