Long Beach, CA — After ten years with the organization, Griselda Suarez will step down as Executive Director of the Arts Council for Long Beach (ArtsLB) following the announcement that she will be joining the City of Long Beach as its first Cultural Affairs Officer.
Since joining ArtsLB in 2015, Suarez has helped guide the organization through a period of growth and change — expanding grant support for artists and cultural organizations, strengthening neighborhood-based public art, and centering equity as a core practice rather than a talking point. Her tenure included navigating the disruption of the pandemic and helping position ArtsLB for long-term stability and growth.
“ArtsLB has always been about people — artists, organizers, educators, and neighbors who believe culture belongs everywhere in this city,” said Griselda Suarez. “I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built together over the past decade. This organization is strong, grounded, and ready for what’s next, and I’m grateful to continue serving Long Beach’s creative community in a new way through the City of Long Beach.”
ArtsLB’s Board of Directors emphasized that Suarez’s departure reflects continuity in public service and confidence in the organization’s future.
“Griselda led ArtsLB with care, clarity, and deep respect for the communities we serve,” said Anne Lattime, President of the ArtsLB Board of Directors. “Her leadership strengthened the organization from the inside out, and we are thankful for the foundation she leaves behind.”
Suarez’s final day as Executive Director will be Friday, February 6, 2026. ArtsLB has put plans in place to ensure continuity of operations.
Additional leadership announcements will be shared in the coming days.
Griselda Suárez
Cultural Affairs Officer, City of Long Beach
Griselda Suárez is the City of Long Beach’s first Cultural Affairs Officer, leading the City’s efforts to strengthen the creative economy, expand access to the arts, and integrate cultural strategy into Long Beach’s civic and economic planning. In this role, she works across City departments and with community partners to advance equitable cultural investment and support artists, organizations, and neighborhoods citywide.
Griselda brings nearly two decades of experience in arts leadership, cultural policy, and public service. She was selected for this role following ten years as Executive Director of the Arts Council for Long Beach, where she led a period of significant growth and impact. Under her leadership, the Arts Council distributed more than $10 million in grants to artists and arts organizations, supported the creation of over 200 public art projects, and expanded arts education programs serving thousands of Long Beach students annually. She also played a key role in advocating for increased public investment in the arts and strengthening partnerships between the City and the cultural sector.
Her work has helped position the arts as a core contributor to community development, neighborhood vitality, and economic recovery. As Cultural Affairs Officer, Griselda builds on this foundation by aligning cultural programming and policy with broader City goals related to equity, economic opportunity, placemaking, and quality of life.
In addition to her executive leadership experience, Griselda has served on the City of Long Beach Planning Commission and advised the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on cultural equity and inclusion initiatives. She has also served on the Executive Committee of the United States Urban Arts Federation, contributing to national conversations on arts funding and cultural policy.
Griselda is a published poet and writer, a Lambda Literary Fellow, and a longtime educator who has taught Chicano and Latino Studies at California State University, Long Beach since 2006. Her creative practice and teaching inform her approach to public service, grounding policy and planning in lived experience and community voice.
She holds a BA in Studio Art and Latin American Literature from Pitzer College and both an MA and MFA in Creative Writing. As Long Beach’s Cultural Affairs Officer, Griselda is committed to ensuring the City’s cultural investments reflect the diversity, creativity, and history of the communities they serve.