NEW ORLEANS — Sally Perry, executive director of the NOCCA Foundation, has announced her plan to retire at the beginning of July. Since 1998, she has led the foundation that supports the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. During her tenure, the foundation has raised $30 million via capital campaigns, acquired land for school expansions and navigated challenges presented by Hurricane Katrina, the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic.
In collaboration with the Emeril Lagasse Foundation, Perry raised funds for a summer program in culinary arts for high school students. She then raised capital for a four-year high school conservatory curriculum in culinary arts. Under her direction, foundation staff raised funds to develop an academic curriculum that would give young artists a means of learning history and biology. Today, that curriculum is the foundation of NOCCA’s full-day, diploma-granting Academic Studio program.
“It has been an incredible honor and privilege to serve as the executive director of the NOCCA Foundation,” Perry said in a press release. “Witnessing the artistic growth and achievements of NOCCA’s students has been the highlight of my career, and being able to play a role in support of them will remain one of my proudest achievements.”
“Sally has been a transformative leader, guiding the foundation with vision and dedication,” said Shanekah Johnson, president of the NOCCA Foundation board. “As a trained artist herself, she has a deep appreciation for the arts and arts education. Her legacy will endure in the countless students whose lives have been touched by the foundation’s programs under her stewardship. We thank Sally for her unwavering commitment and wish her the very best in the next chapter of her life.”
“NOCCA has been very fortunate to have the foundation in its corner, working tirelessly to give faculty and students the tools they need to excel,” said Silas Cooper, president and CEO of NOCCA. “And I have been equally fortunate to have had Sally as a colleague — someone who shares my belief that the arts make the world a better place and that the best leaders are those with creative minds.”
The NOCCA Foundation has begun a nationwide search for a new executive director. The process is being managed by The Jones Group of New Orleans.
