Analysis: As Lauren Nikkel moves into the executive director role at the embattled Fresno Arts Council, our reporter asks if she has the right kind of experience

I tried to find out. But Olga Gutierrez De Nuñez, president of the board of directors, did not reply to my email. (She also was crickets when I had some questions after news of the embezzlement broke in February.)

These musings are not mind exercises. The Fresno Arts Council remains relevant even though the embezzlement caused the City of Fresno to boot the Council from running the Measure P arts grants program. ArtHop and the Arts Alive in Agriculture celebration remain signature events for the Arts Council, which also is the designated arts agency for both the city and county.

For help on this, I talked to Don Simmons, an expert on community benefit organizations like the nonprofit Arts Council. Simmons has taught in Fresno State’s Humanics Program and works with nonprofits through his company, Creative Potential Consulting and Training.

In February, Simmons told me (and I wrote) that the board of directors needed to address what it knew, when it knew it and how things would be different going forward. There’s no record of that happening, Simmons said.

He said the core issue remains: What has the board done since then that would create a stronger organization for Nikkel? “Has anyone, particularly the treasurer, received additional training or taken additional steps to make sure that an embezzlement can never happen again?”

Communicating reforms to the public is important, Simmons said. “Board members are the caretakers and communicators with the community – with the people who are donating money and helping the organization maintain its tax-exempt status. So boards have a responsibility to maintain community loyalty and trust, and to tell the community what’s going on.”

Related story: Lilia Gonzáles Chávez, longtime executive director, is out at the Fresno Arts Council
And: Analysis: As Measure P scandal unfolds, Fresno’s arts community has lots of unanswered questions

In terms of the board’s obligation to Nikkel, Simmons said, “They’ve not made it easy for her. There doesn’t seem to be any evidence that they’ve done all they can do to make sure they have fiduciary responsibility.” Absent that, Nikkel will “have a lot to clean up,” Simmons said, adding: “Apparently they’re hoping that somewhere she’ll find the skill set to do that.”

Meanwhile, a couple of things about Nikkel in the Arts Council’s press release seemed odd to me. The first was her professional experience – or lack thereof – in the arts.

In the release, Nikkel said she “brings to the table my experience as both a nonprofit executive and a social dancer.” I also checked her LinkedIn profile for details.

Two of the nonprofits that Nikkel previously worked for are not arts-oriented. She was at one of those organizations for one year and 10 months and at the other for one year and six months, according to her LinkedIn profile. A third one, the Kingsburg Chamber, sponsors some cultural events related to Kingsburg’s historical ties to Sweden. But Nikkel only started at the Chamber in October 2025.

Simmons raised this question: “I wonder how work with the chamber of commerce translates to an arts council and its connection to individual artists and arts organizations. There’s some transfer of skills, but they’re definitely different types of organizations.”

Not surprisingly – given that $1.8 million disappeared at the Arts Council before anyone noticed – the press release plays up Nikkel’s purported administrative bonafides in tough situations. The press release provided one example: Nikkel helped the Kingsburg chamber through “a period of instability to rebuild for long-term sustainability.”

Meanwhile, there’s a lot in the press release about Nikkel as a social dancer. There’s no question that dance is art, and Nikkel has taken leadership roles in two groups: Fresno Swing Dance and Back Room Balboa. (I had to look up that last one. Balboa is close-contact swing dancing that originated in Southern California in the 1920s.)

Nikkel offered in the press release this statement about the connection between her new job and social dancing: “The work of supporting a regional arts ecosystem has much in common with social dancing. Connection, conversation, authentic expression and nimble improvisation make for the best social dances – and for the best partnerships. I look forward to stepping onto the floor with our region’s incredible creators and partners to shape Fresno County’s cultural arts future.”

In light of the thinness of her resume, the extended dancing metaphor sounds like someone who is trying too hard. First impressions matter.

Here’s hoping Nikkel gets past the wobbles – and the board of directors takes seriously its responsibilities both to her and the public. Together they can lead an important organization to a new beginning.