Patricia Rojas, most recently leader of strategic housing initiatives for the greater Portland area’s Metro Regional Government, has been named executive director of the tri-county Regional Arts & Culture Council, RACC announced this week. She’ll begin her new job August 1.

“It is a privilege to welcome Patricia Rojas as the next Executive Director of RACC,” Greg Netzer, RACC’s interim executive director, said in a press statement. “Her record of strategic leadership, coalition-building, and advancing equity in complex public and nonprofit environments positions her well for this moment. I admire her ability to navigate systems with clarity, compassion, and purpose and I have full confidence in her capacity to lead RACC with integrity and vision.”

Rojas, who was chosen from among 50 candidates in a national search, will take over an agency that is in transition after a series of upheavals.

RACC, which for 30 years has been a major funder of and resource for nonprofit arts and cultural groups in Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties, suffered a shock in 2023 when the City of Portland, which had been its major funder, withdrew its support and set up its own City Arts Program. In fiscal year 2022-23 the city had paid $7.4 million of RACC’s $10.6 million budget, with most of that city money flowing back in the form of grants to Portland-based arts groups.

Some of the city money has since come back to RACC in the form of smaller grants which the regional agency in turn uses to disseminate small grants to a variety of arts groups. RACC’s current budget — a little more than half what it had been — is $5.4 million, which includes $1.3 million earmarked for grant awards to other organizations. The agency has 16 full-time and two part-time employees. It also plays a large role in the region’s mural and other public art projects.

In November 2023 RACC’s board fired Executive Director Carol Tatch after putting her on paid leave in October. Days after Tatch’s dismissal, Clackamas County cut off its funding for RACC, throwing the agency more deeply into crisis.

Many arts groups that had had long relationships with RACC have stood by the agency as it’s evolved beyond is upheavals, and Rojas’s appointment is a major next step in that process. In addition to her work with Metro she’s been executive director of El Programa Hispano Católico, where, RACC’s announcement said, “she guided the organization’s transition to independent nonprofit status and successfully tripled its operating budget.”

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“Patricia Rojas emerged from a highly competitive national search as the clear choice to lead RACC into its next chapter,” Kathleen Holt, RACC’s board chair, said in the press statement. “Her demonstrated leadership in public service, commitment to equity, and strength in relationship-building reflect the values that define RACC’s work.”

In the same statement, Rojas said: “RACC is nationally recognized for work in public arts, has been a catalyst for elevating the arts and supported artists in our region. I am thrilled and honored to join the RACC team where we will continue to build upon this strong foundation and innovate new approaches that grow the role of the arts in our community.”