Josh Phillipson is the principal for Arts, Culture and Creative Placemaking at the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC). In this role, he manages the Arts Leaders of Metro Atlanta leadership development program, the ARC’s cultural forums, and leads the implementation of the ARC’s Arts, Culture, and Creative Placemaking strategic plan. Through the plan, the ARC seeks to encourage a metro Atlanta that values arts and culture as essential for building a thriving, inclusive, and economically healthy region, and recognizes the transformative role of art in addressing broader civic issues. Prior to the ARC, Josh worked at the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta on the Foundation’s Metro Atlanta Arts Fund, which provided grants and capacity-building assistance to metro Atlanta’s small and midsized arts organizations. In addition, he managed the Foundation’s Grants to Green program providing grants to improve the water and energy efficiency of nonprofit’s buildings and served as a liaison for philanthropic work throughout the 23-county region. Josh has a theater degree from Emory University and has since served as the board chair for the Theater Emory board. He was a Southeastern Council of Foundations Hull Fellow and is an Arts Leaders of Metro Atlanta graduate. He is currently on the board of Dad’s Garage Theatre Company and is the chair of MARTA’s Artbound advisory committee