There are some new faces at the Vermont Arts Council. Executive Director Alex Aldrich is pleased to announce the hiring of Zon Eastes as Outreach and Advancement Manager and Rachel Feldman as Web and Communications Manager.
"We are delighted that two individuals with such a breadth of experience have joined our team," said Director Alex Aldrich. "They are tasked with work that is far greater than the sum of its parts. From Marketing and Communications to Development, Advocacy and Event Planning, both Zon and Rachel are, between them, responsible for not only how the Council's work is perceived, but how we can make the most out of that perception. Ultimately, how well we communicate about Vermont's astonishing creativity and versatility will depend on Rachel and Zon's own relationship with their new colleagues, our board and, most importantly, our collaborators and constituents. I have every confidence that people will soon feel a new energy emanating from the Council -- energy based on their experience and creativity."
Zon Eastes, in his role as Outreach and Advancement Manager, is tasked with strengthening the Council’s connections with arts agencies and people around the state. In making these connections, Eastes says his hope is that the Arts Council will collaborate with numerous groups to “advance the infusion of arts and culture into our lives.” Eastes comes to the VAC from the Brattleboro area, where he returned after serving for three years as Executive Director of the Bainbridge Island Arts and Humanities Council. Prior to that, he called Vermont home for 30 years. During that time, Eastes served as Executive Director of the Brattleboro Music Center where he also taught cello and coached chamber music, Conductor of the Windham Orchestra, and as a teacher at Amherst College, Dartmouth College and Keene State College. He was recently honored by the Arts Council staff for having the coolest first name ever.
Rachel Feldman, as Web and Communications Manager, will focus on building the Council’s web presence and finding new ways to get out the word about Vermont’s vibrant arts scene. She joins the Arts Council less than three weeks after returning from Israel, where she spent the past year on a teaching fellowship. Feldman has worked as a Producer and Reporter at WCAX in South Burlington, Vt., as a Reporter and Copy Editor at the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus in Barre, Vt., and as a reporter for MTV News. She is uncomfortable writing about herself in the third person so she is going to wrap up this press release.
Since 1964, the Vermont Arts Council has been the state’s primary provider of funding, advocacy and information for the arts in Vermont. It strives to increase public awareness of the positive role artists and arts organizations play in communities and to increase opportunities for Vermonters to experience the arts in everyday life. The Council is the only designated State Arts Agency in the U.S. that is also an independent, not-for-profit, membership organization.
