The Alliance's new Executive Director, Joe Landon

published by CAAEStaff on September 20, 2011 - 1:48pm

Los Angeles, CA, July 7, 2011 - The Board of Directors of the California Alliance for Arts Education has named Joe Landon the organization’s new executive director, effective August 1. Landon currently serves as policy director for the Alliance. He will replace Laurie Schell, who has served as executive director for the past ten years.

“I am honored that our Board of Directors has entrusted me to guide California’s leading policy and advocacy organization,” said Landon. “At this challenging time for our public education system, the Alliance is committed to ensuring that every student receive the benefits of a well rounded curriculum that cultivates creativity.”
The bulk of Landon’s professional career was spent as a practicing artist, having been a Playwright in Residence at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, with his plays and musicals produced there, at the Manhattan Theater Club in New York, and the Z Space in San Francisco. He also spent 15 years writing for television in Los Angeles, with credits that include the movie “The Comeback Kid” and working for several years on the award winning series “The Paper Chase.”

His background also includes six years of classroom teaching experience, one as a preschool teacher, and five as a music and theater specialist at Marin Primary and Middle School. He lives in Davis with his wife Laura, and the comings and goings of three fully grown children.