John Killacky to Head Arts Center in Vermont

(4-14-10) GIA Board member John Killacky, one of the Bay Area's most vigorous champions of the arts will announce today that he is leaving the Bay Area to oversee a respected arts center in Vermont.

For seven years, John Killacky has been the program officer for the San Francisco Foundation, a philanthropic organization that funds a variety of community initiatives, including arts and culture projects. On June 1, he will leave that post to become the chief executive officer of the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts in Burlington, Vt., a multidisciplinary arts organization housed in a 75-year-old, 1,300-seat theater.

"I've been very blessed in my life," Killacky, 57, said in an interview Monday at his foundation office. "I've gotten to do everything I wanted to do here - every idea, every new initiative was met with a great big yes" from foundation Director Sandra Hernández and the foundation board.