National Endowment for the Arts
Laura Zamarripa is an experienced professional in arts management and education with a notable career spanning over two decades. Currently serving as a Grants Management Specialist at the National Endowment for the Arts since July 2024, Laura previously held the role of Program Specialist at the Institute of Museum and Library Services for five years. Early career positions included roles at the Smithsonian Institution as a Latino Museum Studies Program Manager and at the El Paso Museum of Art, where Laura was Community Engagement Manager. Laura's educational background includes a Master’s degree in Arts Management from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor’s degree in Art History from The University of Texas at Austin.
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), established in Congress in 1965, is an independent federal agency that is the largest funder of the arts and arts education in communities nationwide and a catalyst of public and private support for the arts. By advancing equitable opportunities for arts participation and practice, the NEA fosters and sustains an environment in which the arts benefit everyone in the United States. The NEA’s primary activities include grantmaking to nonprofit arts organizations, public arts agencies and organizations, colleges and universities, federally recognized tribal communities or tribes, and individual writers and translators. Grant applications are reviewed by panels of arts experts and individuals from across the country. All grants must be matched one-to-one by nonfederal sources, except for individual grants to writers and translators. NEA funding is appropriated by Congress annually. While the NEA’s primary activity includes grantmaking, it also is a national leader in the field and a convener on issues important to the arts community and people working at the intersections of arts and other fields such as health, community development, and education, among others. The NEA is an important resource for research on the value and the importance of the arts, and shares that information with stakeholders and the public.