Jim Leija

Background

About Jim Leija

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY Accomplished arts and culture leader with nearly 20 years of experience in nonprofit management, fundraising, strategic planning, community engagement, facilities and retail management, and program development. Expertise in strengthening arts organizations, advancing cultural vibrancy, and fostering collaborations that drive systemic impact. Adept at capacity-building, team leadership, financial stewardship, and leveraging networks to support the long-term sustainability of cultural institutions. Deeply connected to Southeast Michigan’s arts ecosystem, with a passion for ensuring the resilience of arts organizations and their role in a democratic society.BIO In Winter of 2025, Jim served as UMMA's Acting Director supervising UMMA’s leadership team and overseeing the full portfolio of executive job duties. As Deputy Director for Public Experience and Learning at the University of Michigan Museum of Art (since 2019), Jim leads the dynamic team responsible for producing hundreds of programs annually that serve UMMA’s more than visitors. A defining aspect of his work at UMMA has been transforming strategic vision into innovative programs that impact communities. Under his leadership, UMMA developed initiatives like the "Vote!" project and U-M's campus-wide "Arts & Resistance" theme semester. He’s helped form key national partnerships with organizations such as the Inuit Futures in Arts Leadership Program and Monument Lab. Before UMMA, Jim served on the senior executive leadership team of the University Musical Society (UMS) as Vice President, Education & Community Engagement for 8 years. Highlights include producing multiple residencies with the New York Philharmonic; serving as project director for UMS’s “Engaging Dance Audience” grants (Dance/USA and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation); launching an arts-academic integration program in partnership with the U-M College of Literature, Science, & the Arts (supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation); and producing a "Day of Action" with Yo-Yo Ma in Flint, Michigan.Jim serves on the board of InsideOut Literary Arts Detroit and is co-chair of the Grants Committee for PRISM LGBTQ Chorus. He previously served as a publicly elected trustee of the Ann Arbor District Library (2014–2025) and as a trustee of Dance/USA (2017–2025). He holds an MFA in art and design, a BA in sociology, and a BFA in musical theatre from the University of Michigan. As a queer Latinx person, he is deeply inspired by BIPOC and queer artists forging new creative pathways in the arts.