Introducing our new Executive Director!
After an extensive and rigorous search led by the 826 New Orleans Board of Directors, we are proud to announce that Brooke Pickett has accepted the position of Executive Director and began last Friday, June 21, 2019. A native of Louisiana, Brooke brings robust and multifaceted experience in the arts, nonprofits, fundraising, marketing and operations. Read on to learn more about our new ED!
Name: Brooke Pickett
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Job Title: Executive Director
Hometown: I don’t actually have a hometown! I moved all my life – though I’ve lived in New Orleans longer than anywhere else. I was always a little jealous of people with hometowns!
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What brought you to 826 New Orleans?
I have always believed that artists and writers are an integral part of any healthy community. The opportunity to support the next generation of writers and thinkers is a dream come true for me.
What are you most excited for as our new Executive Director?
I really look forward to promoting the publications of our young authors. The two most recent books released from the Young Writers Council are important reads for all ages.
What was your favorite book as a kid, and why?
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst. My mom and I read it a lot- I remember thinking then how much the author understood children’s feelings and thoughts, and gave voice to a child’s frustrations.
What are you up to outside of your work with us?
Lots! I’m a visual artist, sometimes a fabric maker, and an avid gardener. I also enjoy trying to keep up with my husband on my bike.
If you were a ghost for a day, where would you most like to haunt?
Tough one! Either the main branch of the New Orleans library, or the newly expanded sculpture garden at the New Orleans Museum of Art.
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Brooke earned an M.F.A. in Painting from the University of Albany, State University of New York in 2005 and a B.A. in both Painting and Literature from the Louisiana State University in 2002. She was an artist in residence at Hotel Pupik, Schrattenberg, Austria in 2009 and at the Virginia Center for Creative Arts in 2007. From 2008-2010, she was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Painting at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont.
Brooke was the founder and director of Central City Artist Project, a non-profit residency program in New Orleans that created opportunities for artists to produce work informed by the community and its residents.
She joins our team after 9 years as the Attractions Director of Operations and the Director of Marketing at Mardi Gras World.
We’re so excited to have her leading our team.
Welcome, Brooke!
