The Board of Directors at the Center for Arts at the Armory is pleased to announce that effective April 1, Jess White has been promoted to the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO). White joined Arts at the Armory in August 2021 as Operations Manager, and quickly demonstrated her capacity to join CEO and now Co-Director Stephanie Scherpf, and the Board of Directors in the leadership of the non-profit organization, which serves as a vital hub for arts, culture and community for Somerville and Greater Boston. 

Jess White brings over twenty-five years of experience in Arts Management ranging from Venue Management to Concert Production and Touring. Most recently, she has been the Department Chair for the Entertainment Management program at Bay State College where she built a college radio station and a student run events space, “The Spot,” and created an industry-acclaimed educational curriculum preparing hundreds of students for careers in entertainment management.  

White has enjoyed a long and successful career in the live music industry, most prominently as Tour Manager for artists including Harry Connick, Jr., Branford Marsalis, Joshua Redman, Ani DiFranco, Maxwell, Bob Dylan, and the Indigo Girls. In 1999, White was involved in the multi-million dollar stage and sound renovation project for New York’s famed Central Park SummerStage in her role as Director of Concerts for Central Park SummerStage, City Parks Concerts, and the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival.

In addition, White has been active in producing benefit concerts and raising awareness to many social justice causes. She has produced successful sold out benefit concerts for Operation Truth (IAVA), Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, Tsunami relief efforts, Not in Our Name (Artists against the Death Penalty), The Woody Guthrie Tribute at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and over 100 other corporate and private events.

“The moment I walked into the Armory – about 3 years ago – I immediately knew that this is where I wanted to be, ” states White. “I am beyond excited to be joining Stephanie Scherpf in this new role and am grateful to the Board of Directors for recognizing the importance of this collaboration.  As we continue on this journey of rebirth for the Center for Arts at the Armory with the passion and respect for this historic space and the communities it serves, I am entirely committed to growing this space and our programs with limitless possibilities.”

“I am thrilled and grateful to be able to work in partnership with Jess to take Arts at the Armory to its next stage of development, ” says Co-Director Stephanie Scherpf. “Too often art nonprofits fail because they do not fully embrace and develop a business model at their center. Jess is leveraging her experience in music and entertainment management so that we can enhance our ability to serve our community and audiences with inspiring events while maintaining our accessibility for our local arts and cultural community. What is so unique about Jess is the combination of her business acumen and her passion for the community and social justice.” 

“From day one, Ms. White has provided invaluable insight and direction to the goals and challenges being navigated to move The Center For Arts at The Armory forward. Her background, depth of experience, and desire to build and serve the diverse communities of Somerville & beyond motivates all of us at Arts at the Armory to grasp the opportunity before us. We celebrate with her this promotion for what has been accomplished and for what will be accomplished, and look forward to the transition to co-leaders becoming greater than the sum of their parts,” states Robert Smyth, Board President.

The Center for Arts at the Armory is located at 191 Highland Avenue, Somerville, MA 02143. To learn more please visit our website, https://artsatthearmory.org/, our Facebook page, and follow us on Instagram at @ArtsattheArmory