Lifetime Arts Announces the Promotion of Heather Ikemire to Executive Director

A headshot of Heather Ikemire, Executive Director for Lifetime Arts. She has long blonde hair and blue eyes. She is wearing a blue blouse.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 11, 2023

CONTACT
Jacqueline DuMont, Lifetime Arts
jdumont@lifetimearts.org

Lifetime Arts proudly announces the promotion of Heather Ikemire to the position of Executive Director. Heather’s promotion coincides with Lifetime Arts’ 15th anniversary year as a national service organization for creative aging. With her leadership, the organization is poised to launch a new phase of programming and cross-sector collaboration to accelerate the impact of creative aging nationwide.

“Heather is a visionary leader, strategist, and long-time creative aging advocate who brings the necessary passion, commitment — and sense of humor — to help lead this organization and our collective work forward. We couldn’t be more excited,” says Lifetime Arts CEO/Co-Founder, Maura O’Malley.

A longtime partner of Lifetime Arts, Heather joined the Lifetime Arts team as Deputy Director in July 2022. She came to Lifetime Arts with twenty years of experience in arts education and nonprofit management, including fifteen years with the National Guild for Community Arts Education, also a national service organization. While working there, she:

  • Directed the Guild’s large-scale, multi-year investment in Catalyzing Creative Aging
  • Led the Guild in its role as backbone organization for the Creative Youth Development National Partnership
  • Convened hundreds of arts education stakeholders annually through national conferences, regional networks, and online events; and
  • Developed a strong internal team and adaptive organization.

Most recently, Heather led Lifetime Arts’ work to organize the 3rd annual International Creative Summit in partnership with colleagues from the U.K. and Finland, bringing together more than 440 arts and aging leaders from 24+ countries.

“I’m honored to build on Lifetime Arts’ consistent track record of success and look forward to continuing to innovate to meet the growing and diverse needs of older adults nationally,” says Ikemire. “Creativity is a human right at every age and an essential driver in developing age-friendly places. By working collectively, we can champion–and adequately invest in–older adults’ creativity and cultural agency across organizations, areas of practice, and communities. I’m proud that Lifetime Arts is one of the significant leaders of this movement.”

“Heather is a team builder with extensive experience working in arts education nationally. Her dedication to providing lifelong access to arts engagement, formidable organizational development skills, and deep experience fostering cross-sector collaboration will help Lifetime Arts achieve its vision going forward. And she is a pleasure to work with. We are thrilled to have her on board!,” says Lifetime Arts Board Chair, Doug Wingo. 

Heather has a Ph.D. in Theater for Youth from Arizona State University and a B.A. in English Literature from Vassar College. A former teaching artist and lifelong lover of stories, she lives with her family in Exeter, New Hampshire and currently serves on the Exeter Elementary School Board.