[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 140 (Monday, November 17, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1605]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


   CONGRATULATING PATRICE WALKER POWELL UPON HER RETIREMENT FROM THE 
                     NATIONAL ENDOWMENT OF THE ARTS

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, November 17, 2014

  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the career of a 
dedicated public servant, Patrice Walker Powell of the National 
Endowment of the Arts (NEA). Over her 23 years of service at the NEA, 
Ms. Powell has worked to broaden and deepen the NEA's reach with 
diverse and underserved communities across the nation.
  At the outset of Ms. Powell's career at the NEA, she was charged with 
leading their Education and Access Department at the same time that the 
institution experienced significant cuts to its operational budget, 
forcing the agency to run with reduced resources. Ms. Powell 
successfully engaged the philanthropic community to develop bridge 
funding and protect multidisciplinary art centers that were cultural 
anchors in communities across the nation.
  Ms. Powell developed the Arts REACH program, designed to work with 
each state arts agency to hold staff-led public seminars on NEA funding 
opportunities and work with state partners to determine potential 
applicants for grants. Over a three-year commitment to this program, 
Ms. Powell's efforts resulted in an overall 350% increase in NEA-
supported projects in states that previously received direct NEA 
grants.
  During her tenure at the NEA, Ms. Powell has been the point person 
for the agency's response to natural disasters across the country. 
Appointed to the National Coalition on Disaster Planning and 
Preparedness, an association of public and private funders and national 
cultural services organizations, Ms. Powell led agency efforts to work 
with state, regional, and local arts agencies decimated by natural 
disasters--most notably Hurricane Katrina. Ms. Powell worked to get 
necessary funding to areas stricken by disaster, and to ensure that 
Federal grant funding was properly utilized to preserve cultural 
treasures.
  Ms. Powell's leadership at the NEA demonstrates her commitment to 
public service and dedication to advancing the arts to people and 
communities across the country. I ask my colleagues to join me in 
recognizing and thanking Ms. Powell for her service and wishing her a 
happy, healthy retirement.

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