FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Nanibaa Beck, 602/257-0335 X25 nbeck@azhumanities.org

Herbert J. Paine Named Executive Director
of the Arizona Humanities Council

Phoenix, AZ, April 10, 2008— The Board of Directors of the Arizona Humanities Council is pleased to announce the selection of nonprofit executive and business consultant Herb Paine as the new executive director. Current director, Juliana Yoder, who is retiring, has been with the Arizona Humanities Council since 1987, and she has served as executive director since July 2005. Paine will begin May 1 and work with Yoder through the month until he fully assumes his new position on June 1.

Paine is eager to share his passion for the humanities and believes that the humanities provide a unique prism of multiple perspectives through which we can better understand and collaboratively address society’s difficult issues. When accepting the offer to serve AHC as executive director he said, "I am delighted, honored, and privileged about the possibilities that exist in growing and positioning the Council to its full potential as a highly-valued community asset."

He brings to AHC his 19-year experience as president of Paine Consulting Services, specializing in organization development, strategic planning and marketing, governance, mergers and collaboration, and interim executive management. His many accomplishments include successfully repositioning organizations for growth and sustainability and facilitating organizational alignment around mission, vision, values, and core strategies. His experience also includes years of service as the executive director of United Way of California. Among Paine’s nonprofit clients, those in the arts and cultural community have included the Arizona Commission on the Arts, Arts and Business Council of Greater Phoenix, Actors Theatre, Ballet Arizona, Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra, Free Arts of Arizona, Mesa Arts Center, National Poetry Festival, Oakland Ballet, Children’s Museum of Phoenix, Scottsdale Artists’ School, West Valley Fine Arts Council, Sedona Jazz on the Rocks, Museo Chicano, and Xico. Paine is a graduate of the Executive Management Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Business. He earned a Master of Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science with distinction in government from Boston University.

About the Arizona Humanities Council:
Founded in 1973, AHC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and the Arizona affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. AHC is not a state agency. www.azhumanities.org
Stories convey our histories, traditions, social mores, beliefs and insights about what it means to be human. AHC creates opportunities for sharing these diverse stories through critical thinking and public discussion, so that we can better understand and appreciate one another, and make informed decisions about our collective future.

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