Dr. Anne Huang is a highly regarded cultural arts leader in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. Anne is currently the Executive Director of World Arts West (WAW), a regional presenting and arts services organization that supports Northern California artists and dance companies that sustain the world’s diverse dance and music traditions. World Arts West supports 450 dance companies based in Northern California, engaging more than 20,000 artists that sustain over 100 dance forms from around the world.
As a long-time culturally specific capacity building consultant and resource equity advocate, Anne has worked extensively with Bay Area cultural artists and culturally specific arts organizations. Anne connects artists and arts organizations with resources such as grants funding, space, and professional development opportunities. She also advocates for resource equity by working with funders to create equitable funding guidelines, speaking on panels such as Grantmakers in the Arts and Dance/USA, and connecting funders with culturally specific communities.
Supporting and promoting cultural arts is Anne’s second career. Inspired by her involvement as a singer and dancer with groups such as Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir and Obakoso, she left her successful career in dentistry to fulfill her lifelong dream to advocate for cultural arts. Anne is the former Executive Director of the Oakland Asian Cultural Center (OACC), where she transformed OACC from a struggling arts organization into a leading cultural institution serving 50,000 people per year. Under Anne’s leadership, OACC developed into a thriving arts organization that was deeply rooted in the local community and presented diverse and high caliber artists.
As a long-time leader in the cultural arts community, Anne has been the co-chair for City of Oakland’s Mayoral Arts Task Force, panelist and guest faculty for National Dance Project’s Regional Dance Development Initiative, and mentor for Dance/USA’s Institute for Leadership Training. Anne has served on many funding and cultural panels, such as Grantmakers in the Arts, Northern California Grantmakers, California Arts Council, San Francisco Arts Commission, City of Oakland’s Cultural Funding Program, and Alliance for California Traditional Arts.
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