It’s with great enthusiasm that we announce the appointment of Gregory Liakos as Director of Gateway Arts.  Greg comes to Gateway with extensive experience in a range of institutions including the Peabody Essex Museum, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and most recently as interim director of the Boston arts nonprofit, SPOKE.

“In addition to Greg’s professional expertise, the search committee was impressed by his sensitivity, openness, and ability to communicate in a clear and articulate manner.  With his collaborative and inclusive management style, Greg will bring strong leadership to the team at Gateway Arts.  Please join us in welcoming Gregory to the Gateway Arts community.” – Lorri Berenberg, Chair of the Gateway Arts Advisory Committee.

From Gregory: “I’m truly grateful and honored to help lead this remarkable organization. I benefit from the leadership legacy of Rae Edelson and Stephen DeFronzo, whose commitment to cultivating the unique gifts that each of our artists brings to the world. And I am in awe of the knowledge and commitment that the Gateway staff brings to this work. I can’t wait to work with our Gateway Advisory Committee, our many supporters and the team here and across Vinfen, to advance Gateway’s mission as a national leader in art and disability.”

Gregory Liakos is a leader in the arts and cultural sector, with more than two decades of experience supporting artists, cultural institutions, and the creative economy. Most recently he served as Interim Executive Director of SPOKE (formerly Medicine Wheel), a S. Boston nonprofit that uses art to heal, overcome division, and build community. He worked with Founder Michael Dowling and the Board to strengthen the organization’s capacity and expand support for its public art and creative youth development programs. As Director of Communications and External Affairs for the Mass Cultural Council, he served as senior leader for New England’s leading public funder of arts and culture. He crafted and led strategic communications campaigns that substantially expanded the influence and impact of the agency and its work. Highlights include doubled annual state cultural funding, centered on a groundbreaking Power of Culture branding platform. Liakos led communications and advocacy that established and sustained the Mass Cultural Facilities Fund, a national model capital program for nonprofit cultural institutions. He secured editorial support from influential media like the Boston Globe, WBUR and others, and crafted annual public media campaigns to raise visibility for the cultural sector. He was part of a communications leadership group that included the Barr Foundation, Americans for the Arts, and others to advance creative economy storytelling around Arts & Economic Prosperity V. In 2019 he co-authored the agency’s first plan for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion following months of public engagement. He served on the Board of the Mass Foundation for the Humanities, and was the Council’s liaison to the Mass Arts Funders Network of public and private cultural philanthropies.  In 2019 the Mass Artists Leaders Coalition awarded him a “Champion of Artists” Award for his advocacy. Prior to Mass Cultural Council  he led public relations for the expansion and transformation of the Peabody Essex Museum, one of the nation’s most venerated cultural institutions. The campaign generated international media coverage from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CBS Sunday Morning, and the BBC, among others. Under his leadership of media and community relations, PEM completed a complex, $125 million project that generated strong support from a range of audiences, redefining PEM for a global, 21st-century public. A strong civic and public education advocate, Mr. Liakos served two terms as an elected member of the Wakefield School Committee, including one term as Chair. He is a member of the MASSCreative Create the Vote 2022 Coalition advocating for the arts sector in the coming state election. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Arts/Learning, a leading arts education advocacy network.