Arts administrators wear a lot of hats. They manage the details, build relationships, solve problems, raise money, and help turn ideas into actual programs and opportunities. This year’s honorees found thoughtful and creative ways to go beyond their day-to-day roles, from innovative programming and responding to community needs to finding new ways to support their organizations.
The Administrator of the Year Spark Award recognizes an arts or cultural administrator whose work in 2025 and/or 2026 made a meaningful impact both within their organization and across the wider community.
Emily Ebba Reynolds
2026 Administrator of the Year Winner
As co-founder and Co-Director of Strategy & Engagement at the Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art (BICA), Emily Ebba Reynolds works across fundraising, communications, strategic planning, organizational development, and curatorial programming. Since joining BICA as its first paid employee in 2022, she has helped guide the organization from a volunteer-run project into a growing and sustainable cultural institution.
Much of Emily’s work in 2025 and 2026 has focused on building systems that strengthen not only BICA, but the broader arts community. She helped lead the development of BICA’s first formal strategic plan, strengthened the organization’s fundraising infrastructure, and helped grow its individual and institutional support.
She also conceived and built the Buffalo Art Guide, a free, region-wide calendar designed to make visual arts programming easier to find while reducing the administrative burden on local arts organizations. The project reflects Emily’s ability to recognize a shared problem and turn it into a practical resource for the wider sector.
Her curatorial work has similarly emphasized thoughtful, lasting change. As Community Curator at Starlight Art Studio and Gallery, Emily co-curated Bits by Bits, an exhibition at the University at Buffalo Art Galleries that centered the individual practices of artists with disabilities and contributed to broader conversations around accessibility at the galleries.
From organizational strategy to community infrastructure and exhibition-making, Emily’s work demonstrates how thoughtful arts administration can strengthen both an individual institution and the larger cultural ecosystem around it.
“Culture, done this way, is genuine civic infrastructure.”
Parrish Gibbons
2026 Administrator of the Year Finalist
Photo Credit: DJ Carr
Parrish Gibbons became Executive Director of Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center in 2025, stepping into the role as the organization’s first new executive director in 35 years. With more than 15 years of experience working across Western New York’s arts and nonprofit communities, Parrish brought both regional perspective and a steady hand to a significant moment in Hallwalls’ history.
In her first year, Parrish helped guide Hallwalls through a major leadership transition while expanding its reach and strengthening its operations. The organization presented more than 100 events spanning visual art, film, music, literature, and performance, while Parrish also helped advance governance, fundraising, membership, and grant support.
She has also continued building connections across the region, including partnerships with Borderland Music + Arts Festival and Music is Art that introduced Hallwalls to new audiences. Her leadership has been recognized through opportunities including the 2026 Cullen Foundation Fellowship, ASI’s MEDAL program, and the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo’s Cultural Organization Grantee Cohort.
Parrish’s work reflects a thoughtful approach to leadership: honoring Hallwalls’ more than 50-year history while helping position the organization for its next chapter.
Cassandra Lippert
2026 Administrator of the Year Finalist
Cassandra Lippert has spent nearly a decade in the Development Department at Shea’s Performing Arts Center, building relationships with donors, volunteers, colleagues, and community supporters while collaborating across all departments.
Her work has been especially significant during Shea’s Centennial Season and the ongoing Elevate Shea’s capital project, a major investment in the accessibility and future of the historic theater. Cassandra supports the campaign through donor communications, graphic design, financial tracking, and the many details that keep a large-scale fundraising effort moving.
She also played a central role in Shea’s Centennial Gala, helping lead the planning and execution of an evening that celebrated the theater’s history while raising significant support for its future. Across these efforts, Cassandra has become the person colleagues turn to when something needs to get done and someone who is equally willing to pause her own work to help a teammate.
Known for her humility, care, and commitment to Shea’s mission, Cassandra’s contributions often happen behind the scenes. Her work helps strengthen the relationships, resources, and experiences that allow one of Buffalo’s most beloved cultural institutions to continue serving the community.
