SACRAMENTO, CA – On Tuesday, May 20, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the appointment of Rick Stein of San Juan Capistrano to the California Arts Council.
Rick Stein is a nationally respected arts leader whose almost 50 years of service to the arts have significantly advanced cultural life in California. As president and CEO of Arts Orange County for the past 17 years, Stein transformed the organization into a trailblazer among nonprofit arts councils—serving as the region’s leading advocate for the arts and arts education while acting as a trusted consultant to government, education, and nonprofit sectors.
Stein’s leadership has been widely recognized. In 2025, he received the Statewide Arts Advocacy Champion Award from California Arts Advocates. His past honors also include the Entrepreneur in the Arts Lifetime Achievement Award from Pacific Chorale in 2023 and inclusion in the Orange County Register’s OC 100 Most Influential in 2020.
“For nearly five decades, Rick Stein has helped shape California’s arts landscape with unwavering vision and dedication,” said California Arts Council Chair Roxanne Messina-Captor. “His appointment brings a wealth of experience and a collaborative spirit that will greatly benefit our work on behalf of California’s richly diverse creative communities.”
Before his tenure at Arts Orange County, Stein led the Laguna Playhouse for 17 years as executive director, turning it into a premier resident professional theatre. He has also served in leadership or advisory roles with the National Endowment for the Arts, Western States Arts Federation, and numerous local and state arts agencies across the United States.
Stein was born in Sacramento in 1953 and has lived in San Juan Capistrano for the past 34 years with his wife Alison, an artist. His term on the California Arts Council will expire in 2027.
The California Arts Council consists of 11 members that set programmatic policies and allocations for local assistance grants funds in accordance with the agency’s strategic plan and state law.
Media Inquiries Only:
Kimberly Brown
Public Affairs Specialist
kimberly.brown@arts.ca.gov
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The California Arts Council is a state agency with a mission of strengthening arts, culture, and creative expression as the tools to cultivate a better California for all. It supports local arts infrastructure and programming statewide through grants, initiatives, and services. The California Arts Council envisions a California where all people flourish with universal access to and participation in the arts.
Members of the California Arts Council include: Roxanne Messina Captor, Chair; Leah Goodwin, Vice Chair; Gerald Clarke; Caleb Duarte; Vicki Estrada; Roy Hirabayashi; Alex Israel; Dorka Keehn; Phil Mercado; Nicola Miner; Rick Stein. Learn more at www.arts.ca.gov.
The California Arts Council is committed to increasing the accessibility of its online content. For language and accessibility assistance, visit https://arts.ca.gov/about/about-us/language-communications-assistance. To read this announcement in Spanish, please use the website’s Google Translate tool by clicking the “Translate” link in the upper righthand corner of this page.
El Consejo de las Artes de California se compromete a aumentar la accesibilidad de sus contenidos en línea. Para obtener ayuda con el idioma y la accesibilidad, visite https://arts.ca.gov/about/about-us/language-communications-assistance. Para leer este anuncio en español, utilice la herramienta Google Translate del sitio web haciendo clic en el enlace “Traducir” situado en la esquina superior derecha de esta página.
