Gratitude, Support, and a New Chapter

Dear RAC Community Members,

As you know, Riverside’s Executive Director, Emily Tuesday, has made the decision to resign from her position to focus on her family, effective April 30, 2019. Emily joined the Riverside Board of Directors in April 2016, was hired as a half-time Director of Programs and Advancement in November of 2016 and became Executive Director on May 8, 2017. Under Emily’s leadership, Riverside has experienced exponential growth both as a vibrant and visible arts facility and as a partner to many individuals and other organizations in the community. Because of this growth we have added two full-time staff members, Outreach Manager Marisa Dluge and Program Manager Trevor Stone, as well as completed numerous renovations and upgrades to RAC physical space and administrative practices. Our unofficial motto is to have “all parts of the building alive with activity”, and this team of three has made this a reality through their vision, leadership, and boundless energy.

We echo Emily’s expressions of gratitude to all in the community who have supported her and her family through her daughter Greta’s health crisis that resulted in her departure from RAC. We remain in contact with and supportive of her as she continues navigating her current challenges. We fervently wish her nothing but the best and hope she will find the space to maintain a relationship with RAC in the future. Below are some ways to reach out to her family with your support.

We are moving forward with the momentum that Emily brought to RAC, expanding our services to the community, and adapting our spaces and programming to address a widening range of community-driven needs. A continuity plan is in place for an interim period of leadership structure, and in the coming months, we will capitalize on the gains made by Emily and her staff, to establish the next phase of RAC’s leadership team. In the meantime, please contact us as follows should you have questions or concerns during this transition:

For marketing, outreach, and rentals contact Outreach Manager, Marisa Dluge at marisa@riversidearts.org

For programs, contact Program Manager, Trevor Stone at trevor@riversidearts.org

For facilities, contact Facilities Chair, Barry LaRue at blarue@umich.edu

For organizational concerns, contact Board Chair, Akosua Dow at akosua.dow@gmail.com

With Emily’s family in our thoughts and prayers, we will continue to advance our diverse slate of usual (and some unusual!) activities at RAC in the coming months. Save the date for our annual Fall For Art celebration (Sunday, September 22, 1:00-4:00pm), summer camps, First Fridays exhibition openings and Second Saturdays free all-ages workshops.

With warm thanks and best regards,

Akosua Dow, Chair and the Riverside Arts Center Board of Directors & Staff