After Luis Cancel's disastrous tenure—which, among other things, included telecommuting from Brazil, reports of horrid behavior to underlings, and "questionable granting practices"—the city made a spot-on decision by hiring Tom DeCaigny as cultural affairs director of the San Francisco Arts Commission.
Among other notable talents, DeCaigny is the founder of Canopy Consulting, a group that assists "nonprofit arts groups, corporate grant-makers and government agencies." He also spent nine years as executive director of the Performing Arts Workshop, a "46-year-old theater group for low-income youth and families." While in charge of the latter, DeCaigny skyrocketed the group's annual budget from $529,000 to $1.4 million.
"What jumped out at me is how smart, eloquent, energetic and fearless he is," P.J. Johnston, president of the Arts Commission, told The Chronicle "after the commission voted unanimously to name DeCaigny as the city's new director of cultural affairs."
For his part? DeCaigny described himself as "honored and humbled" by the new appointment.
