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Angela McConnell, executive director of the Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA) at Finn Center, has announced her resignation, effective next year.
Under McConnell’s leadership, CSMA waged a $12 million capital campaign culminating in the January 2004 opening of Finn Center, the school’s first permanent home since its founding more than three decades ago.
McConnell said the timing of her departure is right for CSMA and for her, both personally and professionally. She said balancing her work and her home life - she is mother to three small children - was challenging and precipitated her decision to shift her priorities and focus on her family.
The CSMA board was quick to offer praise. “It is not an overstatement to say that Angela McConnell transformed CSMA into an agency with a major regional presence,” said Mike Couch, board chairman. “Her talents are many, but her ability to generate passion and galvanize support for the critical need for arts education is the reason why the school today has a permanent home at Finn Center.”
Couch said that during McConnell’s tenure as executive director from 2001 to present, CSMA achieved the distinction of being recognized as the largest non-profit provider of arts education programs in Silicon Valley. The school’s annual budget doubled from $2 million to $4 million during the same period, and the number of individuals served annually grew from 20,000 to more than 30,000, including an additional 10,000 schoolchildren in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.
A committee has been formed to conduct a search for a new leader, Couch said, and McConnell has agreed to continue in her role as executive director until her successor has been named to ensure a smooth transition.
McConnell, whose involvement with the school dates back to 1992, said she would remain a permanent stakeholder in CSMA. Prior to becoming executive director in 2001, she was a member of the board of directors. In addition to continuing her vocal studies at CSMA and being involved as a parent of children enrolled at the school, she said she looks forward to having another role in the future that will support the organization and its mission.
CSMA’s 2006 spring gala, an annual benefit for its arts education programs, will honor McConnell’s service. The gala is scheduled Saturday, March 25, 2006, at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View.
McConnell’s previous honors include the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce 2005 Athena Award as Outstanding Woman of the Year and the Silicon Valley Association of Fundraising Professionals 2005 Outstanding Professional Fundraiser Award.
CSMA is located at 230 San Antonio Circle, Mountain View. For more information about CSMA, visit www.arts4all.org or call 917-6800.
