As Director of the Department of Cultural Affairs, Michael Spring has been responsible for establishing policies and programs that have helped build the organizational growth and facilities development of Miami-Dade County’s cultural community into a $922 million annual industry comprised of more than 1,000 non-profit cultural groups and thousands of individual artists. This work has encompassed: providing comprehensive support for the entire cultural community from major institutions to grassroots and multicultural arts groups with a focus on neighborhood activities; establishing an ongoing cultural facilities improvements program, with more than $80 million of public funds devoted to improving existing and building new theaters county-wide; and developing initiatives to increase more participation in cultural activities for Miami-Dade’s more 2 million residents and 11 million visitors each year. In 2004, he helped lead the work to pass a referendum for the Building Better Communities bond program, dedicating more than $450 million for building the next generation of Miami-Dade’s cultural facilities, ranging from major new art and science museums to theaters and neighborhood arts centers. He serves the Cultural Affairs Council, a 15-member volunteer advisory board entrusted with setting policy for the Department of Cultural Affairs, the Tourist Development Council, a 9-member board dedicated to supporting visitor-oriented cultural and special events, and the Art in Public Places Trust, a 15-member board responsible for one of the nation’s leading public art programs. He has worked effectively on legislative issues at the local, state and federal levels and was successful in leading the initiative in 1993 to secure $7.3 million from the state’s Hurricane Andrew Recovery and Rebuilding Trust Fund for the recovery of Miami-Dade’s cultural community. He has served on state and National Endowment for the Arts grants review panels and has participated in national arts policy discussions on the future of local arts agencies and on the issues of funding, facilities development, advocacy, stabilization of major institutions and the evolving relationship between the non-profit arts and commercial entertainment industries.

Deborah is the department's chief financial officer, managing its $24 million annual operating budget and its oversight of $80 million of County capital investments in cultural facilities; is responsible for the development and implementation of local, regional and national multimedia marketing initiatives; manages the financial and programmatic initiatives of the South Florida Cultural Consortium, a regional coalition of the local arts agencies in Broward, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe and Palm Beach counties; and, as the department’s Public Information Officer, is its media point person. In addition, she serves as liaison to the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, the National Arts Marketing Project, Americans for the Arts, the US Urban Arts Federation, the Florida Assembly of Local Arts Agencies, and the Florida Cultural Alliance. Deborah is a regular contributor to South Florida Arts Beat broadcast on WLRN – 91.3 FM. She has served as a grant panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs.

After working for the private sector for seven years, she has extensive experience in management of curtain wall operations, as well as experience working for Architecture firms and General Contractors in both Public and Private projects ranging from $10 to $60 million dollars.

Her main responsibilities are to work in the management and development of Contract executions of Projects under the Building Better Communities General Obligation Bond Program. She is also one of the Project Managers for the new upcoming theater “The South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center” located in Cutler Bay Florida.

In addition, Kelly assists with the coordination and development of operational and programming policies, as well as management and marketing objectives for numerous neighborhood cultural facilities throughout Miami-Dade County. Kelly is also the Department’s direct liaison for the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce’s Creative Industries Committee.

Kelly is also responsible for directing the Department’s work on Arts & Economic Prosperity III, an economic impact study, in partnership with Americans for the Arts, which measured the impact of spending by nonprofit cultural organizations and their audiences in Miami-Dade County. The recently published study provides compelling evidence that non-profit arts and culture are a significant industry in Miami-Dade County, generating $922 million in local economic activity.

With the Department, Ms. Andersen served as an administrator for the Performing Arts Center Trust during the design phase of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, and has been actively involved in the development of the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center since its inception. In past years as Chief of Cultural Facilities, Ms. Andersen oversaw a number of neighborhood cultural facilities projects and served as administrator for the Capital Development Grants Program.

In 2002, Ms. Andersen was made Chief of Arts Education and currently oversees the Department’s work in this area. Current assignments include the development and administration of the Department’s Youth Arts Miami Grants Program created in 2005; launching and securing NEA funding for the Department’s senior citizen’s initiative: the Golden Ticket Program, as well as the Department’s Pre-K initiative using Start with the Arts, a VSA arts resource which offers an arts-based learning approach to literacy and school readiness for children ages 3-6; and coordinating the Department’s annual “Arts Access Made Easy!” workshop on ADA/Accessibility issues for cultural organizations.

In 2006, Ms. Andersen helped secure a $1 million grant from The Children’s Trust to develop a comprehensive array of youth arts program initiatives, which includes the Youth Arts Enrichment Grants Program, Summer Arts & Science Camps for Kids grant program, and the All Kids Included – Accessible Arts Experiences for Kids program initiative for children with disabilities. Grant funding from The Children’s Trust has enabled the Department to double its investment in arts education and outreach programs and reach over 130,000 children and families in 2006-07. Based on this demonstrated success, The Children’s Trust increased its support by awarding a $1.5 million grant to the Department in 2007.

Ms. Andersen’s responsibilities also include producing and editing the Golden Ticket Arts guide, which provides free admission to cultural events and venues for seniors; the Family Guide to Greater Miami and the Beaches, a joint project of the Department and the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau designed to provide residents and visitors of Miami-Dade County with a comprehensive guide to family friendly attractions and activities; and development of the new Arts Kids Miami website, a searchable directory of artists and arts organizations that offer cultural arts programs for children.

Ms. Andersen also provides support to Culture Shock Miami, a student discount ticket program to encourage high school and college students to attend cultural events, and coordinates the Florida “State of the Arts” license plate program for Miami-Dade County. Ms. Andersen represents the Department for Miami-Dade County District 11’s Creative Visions student art exhibition and the Miami-Dade Coalition of the Arts for a Complete Education/Florida Alliance for Arts Education. In addition, Ms. Andersen serves as the Department’s liaison to the Miami-Dade County Public Schools Division of Life Skills, Arts for Learning/Miami, VSA Arts of Florida, and is a member of the Florida Department of State - Division of Cultural Affairs / VSA Arts of Florida Access Task Force on disability issues.

Upon her arrival at the Department, Ms. Benjamin served as an administrator for the Performing Arts Center Trust during the design phase of the Performing Arts Center of Greater Miami. Ms. Benjamin was responsible for the development and administration of public information and presentations, budget operations, and design and implementation of programs such as arts education and community outreach. After the privatization of the PACT, Nikki decided to return to the Department as an Administrative Officer, where she provided technical assistance to four grant programs: Community Grants, Festivals and Special Events, International Cultural Exchange and the Tourist Development Council.

In 2002, Ms. Benjamin became the Cultural Projects Administrator for the Tourist Development Council Grants Program (TDC). The TDC is a quarterly program which is responsive to significant cultural and/or special events that promote Miami-Dade County’s appeal as a tourist destination and stimulates tourism by increasing hotel occupancy and has a significant media impact for the destination.

In her current capacity as Cultural Projects Administrator, Nikki also administers the Department’s Targeted and Service Organization Grants Programs, where she is the liaison to the Diaspora Arts Coalition, the Black Archives, History and Research Foundation of South Florida, Inc., Florida Memorial University, and the Miami-Dade County Department of Park and Recreation - Joseph Caleb Auditorium. Other responsibilities include consultations with potential applicants and the facilitation of technical assistance workshops for the TDC.

Ms. Benjamin is a member of the South Miami Alliance for Youth, an organization that was incorporated in 1995 by a group of concerned residents responding to a call for enhanced youth recreational programs. Its mission is to empower the youth of the South Miami and surrounding communities, to develop their fullest potential through building volunteerism, increasing parental and community involvement to build stronger families, and providing funding and assistance for local youth organizations. Ms. Benjamin assists this organization by sitting on its Special Projects, Event Planning, Grant Writing and Grey Ghosts Committees.

John is also responsible for overseeing the Festivals & Special Events Grants Program that provides funding resources to organizations whose missions predominantly emphasize close examination of artistic disciplines presenting activities that occur primarily indoors and those organizations whose missions emphasize the celebration of heritages, arts and entertainment events presented in outdoor settings.

Other duties include serving as Department liaison to the Arts & Business Council of Miami’s National Arts Marketing Project, the Greater Miami Festivals & Events Association and the Theater League of South Florida.

Lisa D'Andrea joined the staff in 2004 as a Construction Projects Manager. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture from Carnegie Mellon University and her Master’s Degree in Architecture from Syracuse University. Lisa is a native of Boston, Massachusetts. She lived in Florence, Italy for one year as part of her Master’s program. While in Florence, she learned to speak Italian and deepened her intense appreciation of painting, sculpture and the built form.

Her current responsibilities include construction project management for the Department’s $45 million South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center located in Cutler Bay, FL, the 12 cultural projects that are part of the County’s General Obligation Bond program, and the existing and neighborhood facilities grants.

As the Cultural Facilities Manager for the City of Miami Beach from 2002 - 2007, he established a strategic business plan for the operation of the network of cultural venues on Miami Beach, leveraging long standing relationships with local and regional arts organizations. Mr. Fliss developed the initial cultural facilities rental programs, customized to the needs of the local artistic community, while increasing annual revenue for the theaters. Additionally, he supervised the construction of a three-year $8.3 million renovation of the historic Colony Theater on Lincoln Road and advised the design and development of the Byron Carlyle Theater renovation.