Speakers
Robert L. Lynch
Robert L. Lynch is the president and CEO of Americans for the Arts, the national organization dedicated to making the arts more accessible to every American. He was executive director of the National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies for 12 years, and managed the successful merger of that organization with the American Council for the Arts to form Americans for the Arts in 1996. In 2005, he oversaw the merger of the national Arts and Business Council into Americans for the Arts and created the Americans for the Arts Action Fund.
In his 30th year of work for the arts industry, Bob is motivated by his personal mission to empower communities and leaders to advance arts and arts appreciation in society. Under his leadership the services and membership of Americans for the Arts has grown by 4,000% over the last 20 years. He has personally reached audiences in 49 states and eight countries, for audiences ranging from Native American tribal gatherings to the U.S. Armed Forces in Europe and the President of the United States.
Bob currently serves on the board of the Craft Emergency Relief Fund. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Bob plays the piano, mandolin, and guitar, and lives in Washington, D.C.
