Rebecca Blunk is Executive Director of the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), a position she has held since 2004. Joining the NEFA staff in 1985 as director of performing arts and later serving as deputy director, she currently works with a Boston-based staff of twenty and an annual budget of $7 million. Through a series of public and private partnerships, some national and international in scope, NEFA supports artists with grants and professional resources, and establishes vital connections between artists, arts programmers, and the public. NEFA also strengthens New England's creative economy through tools and research that inform policy development. Currently, NEFA's programming includes: New England presenting and touring, public art, Native American arts, international cultural exchange, the National Theater Project, and the National Dance Project. Rebecca grew up in Kansas and has a B.F.A. in Art and an M.A. in Arts Administration. Before coming to NEFA, Rebecca spent eight years at the Nebraska Arts Council. Rebecca has served on numerous grant review, advisory, and policy panels. From 2007 to 2010 Rebecca chaired the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations, which in 2009, published and presented Global Positioning Strategy (GPS) for the Arts: Recommitting America to International Cultural Exchange to the Obama administration.