Jonathan Moscone
Jonathan brings over 30 years experience in arts practice and leadership to partner creatively with arts organizations to develop and enact a compelling vision with actionable strategies; build a case for support; develop strong relationships with key constituents, and build strong, lasting and authentic community engagement practices.
A former Artistic Director of the California Shakespeare Theater, Jonathan also served as Chief Producer/Chief of Civic Engagement of Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and most recently as a Council member and Executive Director of the California Arts Council, the State’s arts agency. He has sat on several local and national non-profit boards and currently serves as co-chair of the Chinese Culture Center in San Francisco, his hometown. He is the first recipient of the Zelda Fichandler Award, given by the Stage Directors and Choreographers foundation for “transforming the American Theater through his unique and creative work”.
Full Bio:
Jonathan has served in the arts for over 30 years and is deeply committed to providing cultural experiences for all people regardless of age, circumstance or background. Born and raised in San Francisco and trained as a theater director, Jonathan has spent most of his career in leadership roles producing multi-disciplinary work for a wide diversity of community members, as well as advocating for the arts at the local, state and national levels.
From 2020-2023, Jonathan served as Council Member and Executive Director of the California Arts Council, the State’s arts agency. As Executive Director appointed by Governor Newsom, he led a 30 member staff, overseeing a $34 million dollar grant budget and a $5 million operations budget. He and the CAC staff worked with a myriad of partners – government agencies, arts organizations, state and regional networks, and individual artists -, to create strategic and equitable investments in the State’s arts infrastructure, notably through the implementation of the California Creative Corps, a 3-year $60 million workforce development pilot program.
From 2015-2023, Jonathan served as Chief Producer and of Civic Engagement at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. As a member of the senior leadership team of a $12million multi-disciplinary arts organization, he produced theater, dance, music, visual art and speakers’ series throughout YBCA’s campus and in San Francisco neighborhoods, with a focus on increasing engagement of diverse audiences and communities. In 2018, he was a lead collaborator in the successful Proposition E campaign, which restored arts funding from the San Francisco Hotel Tax.
From 2000-2015, Jonathan served as Artistic Director of California Shakespeare Theater, a LORT-B Theater in the East Bay Area hills. During his tenure, Cal Shakes grew from a $2.1 million local Shakespeare festival to a $5 million nationally recognized regional theater, making bold interpretations of the classics, new and contemporary American works, and providing innovative arts education programming. Jonathan co-led a $9 million capital campaign to redesign the artist/artisan/and audience spaces and amenities at Cal Shakes’ home, the Bruns Amphitheater, and to establish an endowment. He was an early adopter of an organization-wide commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, with Cal Shakes participating as a member of the inaugural TCG/EDI Institute with 15 other regional theaters throughout the country.
Jonathan received his Masters in Fine Arts Degree in Directing from the Yale School of Drama and his Bachelor’s Degree from Williams College. He has served on several local and national boards and is currently board co-chair of the Chinese Culture Center in San Francisco. In 2009, Jonathan was named the first recipient of the Zelda Fichandler Award, given by the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation for “transforming the American theater through his unique and creative work.
To read Jonathan’s preface to Nina Simon’s The Art of Relevance, click here.