Mass Cultural Council extends strategic plan through FY2028 while searching for new executive director

The Massachusetts Cultural Council voted on Feb. 25 to extend its current strategic plan for two years through the end of fiscal 2028, a move the board said will give the next executive director time to become familiar with the agency before beginning a new planning cycle. The motion passed unanimously by roll call, with three members absent.

Chair Marc Carroll said the extension follows discussions begun while former Executive Director Michael J. Bobbitt was still in post and that the Executive Committee and Council members agreed the two-year extension would allow continuity while leadership changes. Cecil Barron Jensen moved to approve the extension; Ché Anderson seconded the motion.

The Council also reported work on the executive search process. Carroll and Vice Chair Jo-Ann W. Davis convened senior staff and created a Search Firm RFP Task Force—including Executive Committee members and Council Members Rhonda Anderson and Ashley Occhino—to develop a request for proposals to hire a search firm to assist with recruiting a new executive director. The Council described a two-stage approach: first selecting a search firm; then forming a separate task force to oversee candidate selection.

The action keeps the agency working under the existing strategic priorities for two additional fiscal years and postpones a full strategic-planning effort until leadership transitions are complete. The Council took the vote at its online meeting adjourned at 11:46 a.m.