Alumni Patriot Voices Ringing
MICHAEL STICKA '00: PRESIDENT OF THE GRAMMY MUSEUM
GRAMMY Museum® Promotes Michael Sticka (2000 Carroll High School Graduate) to President as the Museum Continues to See Strong Growth in Attendance, Membership, and Donations
Published at Business Wire Website, July 30, 2019
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Recording Academy™ and The Latin Recording Academy® Invest Significant Funds to Support Museum Renovation, Technology, and Music Education Initiatives
The GRAMMY Museum® announced today the promotion of Michael Sticka to President of the GRAMMY Museum, with a contract that extends through 2022. As President, Sticka will continue to lead the Museum’s growth and sustainability strategy as an independent nonprofit arts organization and oversee all aspects of Museum operations, including curatorial, development, marketing, grants and awards, public and education programs, and more.
The GRAMMY Museum also announced that both the Recording Academy™ and The Latin Recording Academy® have invested significant funds in the GRAMMY Museum. The contributions are the largest in history that either organization has made to the Museum. The Latin Academy has committed more than half a million dollars over a three-year period to expand Latin music-focused exhibits, Latin music-focused education programs, and hiring a Latin music curator. The Recording Academy contributed $5 million for renovations and technology updates throughout the Museum.
Sticka first joined the Recording Academy in March 2014 and this executive announcement comes after a year of significant growth for the GRAMMY Museum under his leadership.
Under Michael’s leadership and guidance, the GRAMMY Museum has not only secured substantial new investments from the Recording Academy and The Latin Recording Academy, but has also seen a tremendous increase in visitors, revenue from attendance, merchandise and event sales, and more.
“Under Michael’s leadership and guidance, the GRAMMY Museum has not only secured substantial new investments from the Recording Academy and The Latin Recording Academy, but has also seen a tremendous increase in visitors, revenue from attendance, merchandise and event sales, and more,” said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of the Recording Academy and Chair of the Board of Directors of the GRAMMY Museum. “The Museum’s growth and path towards cementing its status as ‘the’ steward and place where Music Has A Home, as well as its future financial and business well-being is reflective of and a testament to Michael’s strategic vision, impressive operational skills, and exceptional leadership.”
Sticka was critical in overseeing the Museum’s integration with the GRAMMY Foundation in 2017, where he successfully designed and oversaw a strategic planning process to evaluate and strategize for the future of the GRAMMY Foundation and GRAMMY Museum as a combined entity. After becoming Executive Director, Sticka also created the Museum’s Community Engagement Department. The department, in turn, strengthened the impact the Museum has within the community through family-friendly music education programming, ensured Museum representation within community groups, and continued to build the Museum’s university affiliate program. The department has also seen great success with programs such as “Sensory Saturdays,” LGBTQ panels, and women in music panels.
“We are thrilled to expand our relationship with the GRAMMY Museum,” said The Latin Recording Academy President/CEO Gabriel Abaroa Jr. “The Latin Recording Academy and the GRAMMY Museum share the commitment of educating the public about the significant contributions Latin music has made in the world. I look forward to expanding our presence inside the GRAMMY Museum in an impactful way that guides the narrative and preserves the stories of Latin music and its creators.”
“The Museum had significant positive transformations and upgrades as soon as Michael began his leadership as Executive Director last year,” said eight-year GRAMMY Museum Board member and philanthropist Carolyn Powers. “Under Michael's new role as President, I'm excited to see this continue and for the future of the Museum.”
“As Executive Director, I’ve witnessed our team’s incredible passion, hard work, and dedication, which has strengthened our impact and presence in the Los Angeles music and education communities,” said Sticka. “I’m honored that the Board has entrusted me in the role as President, allowing me to continue leading this extraordinary team with the purpose of driving our social good within the community and uphold the Museum's mission to educate, inspire, cultivate creativity, and share the significance of music. Over the course of the next several years, we will continue our investment in our curatorial mission and in our community engagement and education programs with the goal of reaching 100,000 students over the next five years.”
In addition to its music education initiatives, the GRAMMY Museum is investing nearly $5 million in state-of-the-art curatorial and interactive guest experiences, including renovations to all four floors of the Museum, as well as new technology that will be available to visitors.
The GRAMMY Museum has had a packed season of blockbuster exhibits, including, 25 Years Of Jermaine Dupri And So So Def, Backstreet Boys: The Experience, and Diamond In A Rhinestone World: The Costumes of Dolly Parton.
In February and March, the Museum hit two of its highest months of attendance in history due to the success of its Dolly Parton exhibit. For tickets and more information, please visit www.grammymuseum.org.
ABOUT THE GRAMMY MUSEUM
Established in 2008, the GRAMMY Museum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to cultivating a greater understanding of the history and significance of music. Paying tribute to our collective musical heritage, the Museum explores and celebrates all aspects of the art form—from the technology of the recording process to the legends who've made lasting marks on our cultural identity. In 2017, the Museum integrated with its sister organization, the GRAMMY Foundation, to broaden the reach of its music education and preservation initiatives. As a unified organization, today, the GRAMMY Museum fulfills its mission of making music a valued and indelible part of our society through exhibits, education, grants, and public programming.
For more information, visit www.grammymuseum.org, “like” the GRAMMY Museum on Facebook, and follow @GRAMMYMuseum on Twitter and Instagram.
Meet the Carroll High School and University of Dayton graduate who is in charge of the Grammy Museum
Dec 17, 2018, Posted on Dayton.com
By Russell Florence Jr., Contributing Writer
Michael Sticka’s love of the arts and dedication to community, two significant attributes instilled in him while growing up in Xenia and memorably co-founding imaginatively whimsical Zoot Theatre Company, is serving him well in his duties as Executive Director of the Recording Academy’s Grammy Museum, one of the most prestigious cultural institutions in the world which celebrated its 10th anniversary Dec. 8.
Previously serving as the Museum’s Director of Finance and Administration, Sticka, 37, is fundamentally shaping the Museum’s future, specifically creating and executing its strategy of growth and sustainability as an independent nonprofit arts organization. Chief among his favorite administrative roles since his appointment last summer is championing music education, a cause near and dear to his heart having been inspired by Ms. Anne Shoup, his music teacher at St. Brigid School in Xenia. He’s particularly proud of the Museum’s Music Educator Award and overall recognition of teachers.
“We’re proud to host tens of thousands of students from all over Los Angeles and Southern California every year,” said Sticka, a Carroll High School graduate who holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Dayton. “We particularly have Grammy Camp, featuring 80 to 90 of some of the most talented musicians in the country who gather once a year at the University of Southern California. The camp covers everything from music composition to careers in music, teaching kids who will most likely become professional musicians in this business. We also have Grammy Camp weekends, which are nine-hour camps for any student who wants to attend throughout the country. At the other end of the spectrum are our school tours, after-school sessions and workshops. We also have a songwriting course called Music Revolution Project. What I’m most proud about is the fact that our education programs are not confined to the walls of the Museum.”
In addition to enhancing and preserving the history of recorded music, he’s excited to establish a Department of Community Engagement considering how naturally the idea of giving back has influenced him from childhood through college.
“A major tenet of UD is community, so it’s been ingrained in me that community is very important,” Sticka said. “We’re already seeing the fruits of our labor at the Museum. We’re particularly creating programs for children with autism, working with an occupational therapist who informed us how to make the sound and lighting levels more accommodating to people on the autism spectrum. Collaboration only makes us stronger.”
Getting to know the Grammy Museum
Located in downtown Los Angeles near the Staples Center in a bustling area known as the L.A. Live district, the Grammy Museum is a sprawling site beckoning music lovers with stellar exhibits ranging from interactive experiences and terrific wardrobe displays to fascinating overviews of historical archives including rarely seen footage of past Grammy ceremonies. Current exhibits include special salutes to John Coltrane, Cheech and Chong, Jermaine Dupri, and music photographer Jim Marshall’s legendary photos of Johnny Cash’s historic prison concerts at Folsom and San Quentin.
Also, some of the biggest acts in the music industry routinely perform inside the intimate 200-seat Clive Davis Theater, named in 2011 for the Grammy-winning veteran producer behind such icons as Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Santana, Bruce Springsteen, and Whitney Houston.
“The Museum is one of the hottest tickets in town,” Sticka said. “We present over 80 concerts every year. We had (Grammy-winning R&B vocalist/songwriter) Estelle here the other night. We’ve also had performances by Shawn Mendes, Lady Gaga, Barbra Streisand, and John Prine. The music industry is still going strong. Music has the amazing power to make us celebrate, relax and even mourn. We love and celebrate all of these aspects at the Museum.”
In anticipation of the 61st annual Grammy Awards, to be held Feb. 10 at the Staples Center, Sticka is pleased with the Recording Academy’s diverse slate of nominees spanning multiple genres. This year marked the first in which the top four general fields (Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist) were expanded from five nominees to eight. “I’m thrilled for all the incredible artists that were nominated,” he said. “We’re so grateful to have had so many of them play the Clive Davis Theater as part of our Public Programs this past year.”
Bringing hometown concepts to Hollywood
Before joining the Recording Academy in March 2014, Sticka spent five years at Blackbaud, Inc., serving as a financial and fundraising consultant for more than 200 nonprofits throughout North America. After leaving Blackbaud, he served as Vice President of the leadership and management consulting firm, Strategic Leadership Associates, in Dayton.
On reflection, he particularly remains grateful for a conversation he had in 2006 with remarkable local visual artist/craftsman, D. Tristan Cupp. As discussions evolved, the duo ultimately laid the creative foundation for their forward-thinking, puppet-centric Zoot Theatre Company, an engaging, quirky, thought-provoking, and delightfully outside-the-box troupe continuing to broaden the local arts landscape. While serving as Zoot’s Executive Director, Sticka notably implemented the organization’s 2012 move to the Dayton Art Institute, where they served as its resident theater company for two years. Noteworthy productions included “The Hobbit,” “A Christmas Carol,” “The Rocky Horror Show,” and “Animal Farm,” among the shows directed by J. Gary Thompson, John Faas and Zoot founding artist Aaron Vega.
“Tristan reignited a sense of artistic inspiration for me and working with Zoot was two of the most fun years of my life,” said Sticka, who produced in-school performances for more than 100 schools throughout the Miami Valley working with such groups as Dayton Philharmonic, Human Race Theatre Company and Victoria Theatre Association. “One thing I believe Dayton does very well is its collaborations between the various arts organizations, which always amazed me when I lived there. A major part of my vision at the Grammy Museum is applying Dayton’s community-collaboration model in L.A. I learned so much from Dayton, which is a cradle of innovation. I miss Dayton, but I’m always so happy to go back and visit. It sounds cliché, but I’m reminded that anything really is possible. I drive into work every day thinking I’m just this guy from Xenia, Ohio running one of the most well-known, branded museums in the world and it’s very humbling.”