Jessica Cusick is president of Cusick Consulting, where she specializes in civic art and community development.Ê Jessica was the founding director of the civic art and design program for the Cultural Arts Council of Houston and Harris County.Ê While there, she conceived and oversaw the precedent-setting Houston Framework planning process, which received awards from both the American Planning Association and the American Institute of Architects.Ê Prior to being in Houston, she founded and directed the nationally-acclaimed art program for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in Los Angeles.

SheÊrecently received an award from the WomenÕs Caucus for Art in recognition of her work in the field of public art and on behalf of women artists and artists of color.

Carissa Hussong, executive director of the Urban Art Commission in Memphis.Ê She has been at the center of a recent public art debate in the city and is pushing a Percent for Art program.ÊShe was formerly the associate curator at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens in Memphis and was on the curatorial staff at the Whitney Museum of American art.