Colleen Houston

Colleen is a passionate nonprofit arts leader who believes that art belongs to everyone — and that by tapping into their creative energy, they can deepen empathy, strengthen social bonds, tackle tough issues, and unleash the potential of individuals and communities alike. Colleen serves as CEO & Artistic Director at ArtWorks, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Colleen leads this 26-year-old award-winning arts nonprofit to employ and develop artists and youth apprentices to work on transformative community public art across greater Cincinnati. Colleen launched ArtWorks mural program, the pioneering public art program in the City of Cincinnati and one of the largest in the country, instrumental in Cincinnati’s win for the 2010 City Livability Award by the U.S. Conference of Mayors (VIDEO) and Cincinnati being recognized in the top 20 most vibrant art and cultural cities in 2020. Colleen has also mentored many other cities on creating civic mural programs.

Colleen has a degree in Public and Social Art from Warren Wilson College. She is the 2020 Distinguished Alumni honoree for Warren Wilson College. She has received a Legacy Next Generation Leader Award and has been honored as a Cincinnati Business Courier C-Suite honoree. Colleen is a graduate of Nonprofit Leadership Institute of Greater Cincinnati’s EXCEL, Leadership Council for Nonprofits’ BOLD, (Board Orientation + Leadership Development), Leadership Cincinnati and Strong Cincinnati. She is an active leader in the community and currently serves on three boards, Ohio Citizens for the Arts, dedicated to advocacy for arts access and support for all living in the state of Ohio, Leadership Council for Nonprofits, advancing and strengthening nonprofit leadership, and WavePool, a creative placemaking arts organization in the neighborhood of Camp Washington.

Colleen and her husband, Andy, are the parents of two wonderfully creative girls. She loves engaging her own children in arts such as organizing their own art openings, creating youth-designed costumes for the school play, completing a school-wide mural, and publishing a cookbook featuring student’s art. She enjoys the beauty of the outdoor world through camping, canoeing and hiking and her own creative practice of photography and writing.