Image

Gov. Maura Healey has appointed Mark Melnik, director of the Economic & Public Policy Research group at the UMass Donahue Institute, to the Cultural Policy Development Advisory Council. The 27-member council is charged with exploring policies that support artists, cultural workers and arts organizations while promoting cultural equity in the arts, examining ways to create economic opportunities in the arts and culture sector, and recommending a cultural development and jobs plan for Massachusetts to the governor.

Fellow members of the council include Yvonne Hao, secretary of the Executive Office of Economic Development, state Sen. Paul Mark and state Rep. Mindy Domb.

In his role with the Donahue Institute, Melnik has served as the principal-in-charge on projects with such clients as the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, the Boston Foundation, the City of Boston, the City of Cambridge, MassDOT, MassDevelopment, the Executive Offices of Housing and Livable Communities, Economic Development, and Labor and Workforce Development, the North Central Chamber of Commerce, the South Shore Chamber of Commerce, the JP Morgan Chase Foundation, and many others. He also serves as the senior managing editor of MassBenchmarks, the journal of the Massachusetts economy, published by the institute in cooperation with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

He previously served on Gov. Charlie Baker’s Future of Transportation Commission in 2018, and in 2023 he was invited to support the state’s economic development plan.

More information about the Cultural Policy Development Advisory Council can be found on the Mass.gov website.