Trinity Villanueva Joins Arts Consulting Group as Associate Vice President

BOSTON — Arts Consulting Group (ACG), the leading provider of hands-on management consulting services to the arts and culture industry, announced that Trinity Villanueva has joined the firm as Associate Vice President in Washington, DC. She will be an active member of the leadership transitions team.

Prior to joining ACG, Villanueva led the nonprofit organization Public Art Reston as Executive Director, shining light on community inclusion and equitable public art processes. The work collectively involved stakeholders from government agencies, developers, foundations, residents, and public art committees, as well as strategic and growth planning. Villanueva also cofounded mixt collective, a virtual safe space for mixed-racial identifying artists, including transracial adoptees, in providing creative opportunities to elevate navigating paucal communities.

Pivoting to education, Villanueva founded the Arts Integration and Culture Department at the Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School, empowering low-income immigrants from over 128 countries, and became a leading expert for Emerging Multilingual Learners (or ELLs) in visual and performing arts education. She also leveraged accessible opportunities in collaboration with organizations such as Washington Performing Arts Society, GALA Hispanic Theatre, and the Smithsonian institutions. The work expanded as she curated museum exhibitions, facilitated community-led murals, institutionalized trans and queer storytelling initiatives, amplified an Artist in Residence program, and directed cultural festivals—combining forces with artists and embassies. Leading several professional development sessions for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and The Phillips Collection, Villanueva brought awareness to accessibility for historically vulnerable communities and ELLs.

In making the announcement, ACG Senior Vice President Wyona Lynch-McWhite said, “We are excited to bring Trinity Villanueva and her experience building and strengthening arts and culture organizations to the ACG team. Her passion for elevating and supporting underserved and underrepresented populations will be invaluable as she brings her collaborative spirit to all projects.”

“Marginalized voices and purposely ignored groups hold a special place in my heart, especially being a daughter to English language learners and migrants," said Villanueva. "After spending the majority of my career advocating for arts and its role within historically vulnerable communities, one of the questions I have learned to elevate is 'Who is missing and why?' Arts and culture is one of those spaces that have the ability to amplify those stories. ACG is in a unique position to heavily impact arts institutions to further connect individuals to lead communities in an inclusive and equitable manner.”

Villanueva serves on the boards of National Art Education Association, Indiana University Singing Hoosiers Alumni Council, and as an advisor for the Anti-Racist Art Teachers and the institute of Anti-Racist Education. She is the Past President of Art Education DC and is an active member of the Arts Administrators of Color and the Asian American Pacific Islander Arts Administrators. She is fluent in Spanish with a working knowledge of Hawai'ian, Tahitian, and Māori languages.

Villanueva holds a bachelor of science degree in piano performance with an outside field in art history from Indiana University Bloomington Jacobs School of Music, a master of science degree in nonprofit leadership, through the National Arts Strategies arts and culture strategy executive program at the University of Pennsylvania, and a post-graduate degree in international perspectives of theatre and drama in education from the Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. She also holds certifications from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education and the Hablá Institute in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico.