OCA Announces New Cultural Programs Manager

City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture

The Office of Cultural Affairs is pleased to announce that following a national search, Glenn Ayars has been selected to fill the Cultural Programs Manager position. Glenn currently serves as the contract compliance administrator with OCA’s Cultural Programs Division. He will succeed Charla Sanderson who is retiring from the City of Dallas at the end of 2018.

Glenn was appointed to his current position with OCA in mid-2017. Prior to his service with the City, Glenn worked in higher education and student affairs, in the non-profit arts sector, and as a small business owner providing music instruction to students. Since beginning with the City, Glenn has become certified in Lean Six Sigma, a method that relies on a collative team effort to improve performance by systematically removing waste and reducing variation. Glenn has worked to increase efficiencies in the Division, which have resulted in a significant reduction in time it takes to execute contracts with artists and organizations for cultural services.

Glenn is originally from Corpus Christi and holds a bachelor’s degree from Southern Methodist University and a master’s from the University of Southern California.

During this time of transition, Glenn has been and will continue working with Charla Sanderson to step into the role as seamlessly as possible. Clifton Gillespie, OCA’s business operations manager, will continue to support and oversee the Cultural Programs Division as the department begins its search process to fill what will be the vacant position left in the cultural programs division.

About the Cultural Programs Division:

The Cultural Programs Division of the Office of Cultural Affairs administers Dallas’ cultural support programs, which provides nearly $7 million to support the arts, cultural organizations and individual artists in Dallas. These programs are supported and advised by the Allocations Committee of the Arts and Culture Advisory Commission, which is a City Council appointed body of artists, arts administrators, and interested community members. The division also assists with implementation of the new Cultural Plan for the City, identifying and supporting neighborhood arts programs within the City, growing a technical assistance program to help artists and arts organizations build capacity and strengthen their businesses, and implementing priorities identified by the Director of Cultural Affairs and City management. The Cultural Funding Programs Division Manager reports to OCA’s Business Operations Manager.

OCA Organization Chart