Honoring our first Executive Director, India Downes-Le Guin

After leading the Hoffman Center for the Arts for the past four years, India Downes-Le Guin is moving on to a new chapter, and while we couldn't be happier for her, we won't pretend it's easy to see her go.

India took the reins of this community–based organization and gave it her all. She led with a steady hand, a generous heart, and care for the work and the people who make it possible.

When India arrived, she inherited a beloved community institution with a lot of different possibilities. What she leaves behind is strong, organized, visionary, and durable. She worked with an engaged, thoughtful board to get the organization on its firmest financial footing yet. We are grateful to have a diversified base of support that gives the next chapter room to dream. During her tenure, our programs found new energy. India didn't make that happen single-handedly, and she'd be the first to say so, but she created the conditions for all of it to thrive.  

India is leaving to steward the literary estate of her grandmother, Ursula K. Le Guin, one of the most singular voices in American letters. It's hard to imagine a more fitting next act for someone who has spent the last four years tending words, images, and the people who create them. We couldn't be prouder. 

India, thank you for the relationships you built, the people you lifted up, and the joy you helped make ordinary around here. You'll always have a home at the Hoffman Center, and we'll always be cheering you on!