ArtsGreensboro is pleased to announce the addition of three new and integral staff members to the arts council’s team. Darlene McClinton will serve as the new Grants Manager, previously served by Chip Berry. Devon Currie is taking on the new role of Administrative and Database Coordinator. And Chaunte Rankin is also taking on a new role as the Finance and Office Manager.
“We’re pleased to welcome new members to the team who bring new energy and enthusiasm towards our mission,” said Laura Way, President and CEO of ArtsGreensboro.
Darlene J. McClinton is the C.E.O of arts venue, The Artist Bloc, “Where Creative Minds Meet”; an adjunct professor at North Carolina A&T State University; Lead Arts Integration Facilitator for Guilford County Schools; and a professional muralist with nine public art pieces throughout the city of Greensboro. Through public art, she develops collaborations and community engagement that fosters research and strategic partnerships between communities and students. “I look forward to engaging with talented artists of all backgrounds to identify their needs in ways in which we can continue to make Greensboro the city of arts. I eat, live, and breathe the arts,” says Darlene McClinton when asked what she looks forward to most in working with ArtsGreensboro. As a creative community leader, McClinton is continually providing creative economic opportunities to various visual and performing artists by providing platforms for artists to demonstrate their talents. She also serves on various boards and committees that support her community service-oriented values. These include Downtown Greensboro Inc., Downtown Cornerstone Art Committee, Downtown Greenway Public Arts Committee, board member of African American Atelier, and North Carolina A&T Alumni & Friends Visual Art Organization.
Chaunte Rankin joins ArtsGreensboro with nearly 20 years of office management and bookkeeping experience. She is a Greensboro native and graduated from North Carolina A&T State University with a professional background in the automotive and digital marketing fields, and has managed budgets and offices for both large and small companies. She managed multiple car dealerships under the same umbrella company and remained with that company for 17 years until its dissolution. Since that time, Rankin has ventured into the digital marketing industry, overseeing a team of web developers at a small digital marketing agency in Greensboro. In addition to finance and office management, she has a passion for the arts and taught choral music in the Guilford County School System. “I am so excited that my love for the arts and my financial background get to co-exist in such a wonderful environment with so many amazing people promoting and advocating for the arts,” expressed Chaunte Rankin.
Devon Currie was born and raised in Greensboro and has an abiding passion for the city and the artists that live and work here. She has been involved in the arts since a young age and studied theatre at Catawba College and received her BA in Sociology from University of North Carolina Greensboro as well as a Certificate in Nonprofit Management. For the last 11 years Currie has worked as a professional Stage Manager with theatres and organizations all over the state, including Triad Stage and Paperhand Puppet Intervention. She uses her skills as a visual artist to work on independent projects with her husband, Cameron, and creates design work for theatre productions. Additionally, she spent five years performing with the local street band, Cakalak Thunder. Most recently, Currie worked with the development team at UNCG’s School of Education while teaching and mentoring Stage Management students at Guilford College. “I was thrilled to see an opportunity to work with ArtsGreensboro and for the chance to apply my years of learning and mentorship in the arts and nonprofits to support ArtsGreensboro and their mission,” expressed Currie when asked what brought her to ArtsGreensboro. “I’m most looking forward to being part of an organization that truly values the arts, nurtures and invests in artists, and understands how impactful and necessary the arts are to every community.”
