YBCA Interim CEO, Jim Rettew, 90-Day Reflection

Today marks my 90th day as interim CEO at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

When I began this role on April 15, it was during a tumultuous time for YBCA. I have previously served as a nonprofit interim CEO over a half-dozen times, which means I’ve encountered a range of challenges, financial realities, and states of morale during transitional times.

I can say with confidence that the team at YBCA today is among the most welcoming, dedicated, and passionate teams that I’ve seen. Working with my new colleagues over these three months has renewed my enthusiasm for the arts and brightened my outlook on the future of downtown San Francisco.

Since the protest on February 15, we’ve worked to rebuild trust in the community. It’s a set of responsibilities that this team takes seriously. Working with the YBCA staff and my new board co-chairs Robin Abad Ocubillo and Malia Simonds, we’ve taken a number of important reparative steps forward:

Met, listened to, and engaged with numerous stakeholders, including community groups, patrons, donors, and fellow arts organizations;
Paid community organizations and artists for programming canceled because of the building’s closure;
Shown up as a collaborative partner to improve relationships with SOMA Pilipinas, the Yerba Buena Gardens Conservatory, and the City Council;

In tandem, we’re focused on our core mission: to be a vibrant cultural anchor for downtown San Francisco.

Over the last couple of months, it’s been a pleasure to see so many people back in our buildings—whether to experience Nick Dong’s meditative installations as part of his immersive solo exhibition, to attend community events like SOMA Pilipinas’ Annual Celebration of Flores de Mayo, or simply to drop-in to our free afternoon art workshops on Wednesdays.

That’s not to say that we don’t have our challenges. Like many arts organizations, we’re determining our role in a world of increasingly rapid changes. There are so many well-funded digital distractions that keep people at home; what does it take to bring people together in a physical space on behalf of art and culture? In a city with significant post-pandemic changes to in-person work, how do we support the evolving role of downtown? How does an organization of our size address these questions, and how do we do it in a financially sustainable way?

Our team is far from having perfect answers, but we’re making headway on these topics by:

Reorienting our teams on shared organizational goals;
Revising our revenue strategy to increase the use of our venues and spaces;
Streamlining our regular financial reporting process for greater accuracy and faster decision-making;
And beginning a strategic planning process, with support from Michael Kaiser, a well-known turnaround advisor in the arts and cultural sector.

These are big challenges, but each day I see us make strides—figuring it out together, in dialogue with our partners, on behalf of our visitors and community, making use of the lessons we’ve learned. And I couldn’t do it alone. I am so thankful for our YBCA staff who come to work each day in support of art, artists, creative expression, and our broader San Francisco community. I am so thankful to have our dedicated board serve as a true co-pilot on these difficult challenges.

To anyone looking to be inspired, see something new, or celebrate the creativity of our city, we invite you to visit.

To anyone looking to host an event, put on a show, or bring their people together, we’d love to work with you.

And to anyone who has questions, suggestions, or concerns, my inbox is open.

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