Millinger to direct regional arts partnership

Myra Millinger, long-time associate director of the Flinn Foundation, has been named President and CEO of the new Maricopa Partnership for Arts and Culture, a nonprofit organization that will lead collaborative strategies to advance the region's arts and culture organizations. Millinger began the new assignment on October 1, ending her 21-year tenure with the Foundation.

Millinger joined the Foundation in 1983 after serving in administrative positions in education, government, and private philanthropy. She assisted in the development of the Foundation's strategies and programs in community health and health policy, education, and the cultural arts.

"We're sad to see our long-time colleague leave the Foundation, but couldn't be more excited about the new opportunity before her—she's the perfect person for the job," said John W. Murphy, Flinn Foundation President and CEO. "She understands both the creative and business sides of arts and culture, knows keenly the issues and dynamics of the local sector, and has an extensive track record in building and leading broad-based partnerships."

At MPAC, Millinger will lead a new nonprofit organization whose mission is to build vibrancy in the arts and culture sector to generate greater economic prosperity and competitiveness with other regions.

Millinger played an integral role in the process that led to the formation of MPAC. She coordinated a 2002 study of Arizona's cultural arts field by consultant Adrian Ellis, who recommended that arts organizations must work collaboratively to prosper in the new century. She worked closely with leaders of The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, J.W. Kieckhefer Foundation, and Margaret T. Morris Foundation to develop a task force of arts and business leaders to study pertinent issues and recommend actions to advance the arts and culture sector in Maricopa County.

During her years with the Flinn Foundation, Millinger helped to design and implement the Foundation's programs to provide project-specific support for the state's principal arts organizations. She also oversaw an effort spanning nearly two decades to strengthen the fiscal and managerial capacity of Arizona's arts organizations in partnership with the community and National Arts Stabilization (now National Arts Strategies).

In the health and social service fields, Millinger led a long-standing program to provide health care and education services for parenting teens in school districts throughout the state; a statewide effort to establish health clinics in schools; a program in partnership with the Arizona Department of Health Services to create an online childhood immunization database that later became a national model; and numerous others.

She also contributed to the design of the Flinn Scholars Program, the Foundation's 20-year program to provide scholarship packages to Arizona's top students to attend Arizona public universities. In addition, she took a leadership role in launching an annual seminar series for Flinn Scholars to study public policy issues.

Millinger is the present chair of National Arts Strategies. She previously served as president of the Conference of Southwest Foundations, Arizonans for Cultural Development, and the University Club of Phoenix. She has served on the boards of Grantmakers in the Arts and the Phoenix Arts and Culture Commission, the latter through a mayoral appointment.

In 1995, Millinger received a Governor's Arts Award in recognition of her significant contribution to the arts in Arizona. In 1999, she was recognized by the Business Journal as one of the ten most influential nonprofit leaders in Phoenix.