Olga Garay

Olga Garay is the Executive Director of the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA),
a position she assumed on August 1, 2007.  Olga reports directly to the Mayor of Los Angeles and manages an
FY 10-11 budget of $34-million.  Since her appointment, DCA has received more than $14 Million in funding support from private and public entities.  In 2008 she created the Cultural Exchange International (CEI) Fellowship Program, which provides support for LA-based artists to conduct extended residencies around the world, as well as for artists from around the world to conduct residencies in Los Angeles.  Prior to joining the City, Olga was an independent producer and performing arts consultant who worked with organizations such as the Lincoln Center Festival, the National Performance Network, and El Museo del Barrio. Other clients included the Surdna Foundation, Leveraging Investments in Creativity and the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone.

As the founding Program Director for the Arts for the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (1998-2005), Olga was responsible for the planning, design, management, and evaluation of the Arts Program, one of the largest national arts funders in the United States.  She developed several major programs, including the Leadership Presenting Institutions and the College and University Presenters Programs as well as a Theatre Initiative collaborating with the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, which awarded more than $34.5 million and resulted in the creation of the acclaimed Under the Radar Festival in NYC.  During Olga’s seven year tenure, a total of $145 million was awarded.

In 2006 she received a “Bessie,” the New York Dance and Performance Award and was named the Cuban Artists’ Fund Distinguished Honoree.  She received the 2003 “Fan Taylor Distinguished Service Award” from the Association of Performing Arts Presenters. Olga was born in Santa Clara, Cuba.  She is bilingual: English/Spanish.