As Senior Grants and Programs Manager for the Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture (MOAC), Julia Ryan (pronouns she/they) supports and manages the development of MOAC-led grants and programs that support local artists and arts organizations. Julia works directly with artists, arts organizations, and stakeholders during program and grant development, community engagement, and implementation as well as with inter-agency project teams of contractors, technical assistants, and operations staff. Julia also oversees our office’s professional and workforce development services for local creative workers. Some of the grants Julia focuses on are the Boston Cultural Council grant and the Opportunity Fund.

Previously Julia served as the Artist Resource Manager for MOAC, focusing on assisting artists and arts-focused organizations as they navigate municipal government and seek information on a wide range of issues, and managing programs that support local artists.

Julia is a lifelong resident of Jamaica Plain and a graduate of Boston Public Schools. She earned her bachelor’s degree in History of Art at Bryn Mawr College before pursuing her master’s at Harvard Graduate School of Education, focusing on the arts in education. She has spent the past 10 years working at arts and education-focused organizations, including museums, universities, after-school arts educational organizations, foundations, and schools. She credits her access to a wide variety of arts learning experiences as a child to shaping her professional goals of focusing on equitable arts experiences, learning, and support systems. She joined the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture in 2017 and hopes to meet every artist in Boston while serving as Artist Resource Manager.

Julia is an artist herself, too. While most of her training is in printmaking, classical viola, and singing, she currently finds herself most actively drawing and writing songs. She also loves to cook, especially trying new recipes and making things from scratch.