MENLO PARK, Calif. – John McGuirk, a veteran Bay Area grantmaker and a former officer in The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s Performing Arts Program, will rejoin the Foundation in November as director of that program, officials announced today.
For the past three years, McGuirk has served as director of the Arts Program of The James Irvine Foundation. He served as an officer at the Hewlett Foundation – the largest funder of performing arts organizations in the Bay Area – from July 2002 until October 2006.
“It’s great to have John return,” said Hewlett Foundation President Paul Brest. “He comes with an even broader and deeper knowledge of the performing arts in California. In these difficult economic times for the arts, someone with John’s intimate knowledge of the terrain is invaluable.”
McGuirk said it’s been his good luck to have the opportunity to serve both institutions:
“I’ve been very fortunate to be able to move from one great foundation to another. Returning to Hewlett in this new capacity will allow me to focus more on the Bay Area performing arts scene, as well as address some new challenges in grantmaking that go beyond performing arts.”
In addition to his responsibilities directing the Foundation’s more than 200 performing arts grant recipients, McGuirk will assist Brest with local grantmaking projects and serve as Hewlett’s liaison to the Community Leadership Project, a joint effort of the David and Lucile Packard, Irvine and Hewlett foundations to serve low-income and minority-led nonprofit organizations in the Bay Area.
Irvine Foundation President Jim Canales praised McGuirk for his service to that organization.
“In John’s three years with Irvine, he has been a terrific colleague, providing leadership to many of our initiatives,” Canales said. “John’s transition will ensure the continuity of the strong partnership the Hewlett and Irvine foundations have developed on our many issues of common interest in California.”
Earlier in his career, McGuirk was director of grants programs for Arts Council Silicon Valley, one of the largest local arts agencies in California. Before that, he worked for seven years at the Community School of Music and Arts in Mountain View, California, and held positions at both the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Opera.
McGuirk is a graduate of Grove City College in Pennsylvania and earned his master’s degree in public management at Carnegie Mellon University, with a concentration in arts management.
He will succeed Moy Eng, who will reach the end of her eight-year term as director of the Performing Arts Program in November.
About The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation has been making grants since 1967 to help solve social and environmental problems at home and around the world. The Foundation concentrates its resources on activities in education, the environment, global development, performing arts, philanthropy and population, and makes grants to support disadvantaged communities in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Media Contact:
Jack Fischer
Hewlett Foundation Communications Officer
(650) 234-4500 x5744
jfischer@hewlett.org