BAVC Media Hires Paula Smith Arrigoni as Executive Director

BAVC Media Board President Jason Kipnis is delighted to announce the 42-year old San Francisco legacy nonprofit media arts center has hired Paula Smith Arrigoni as the organization’s newest Executive Director.

Smith Arrigoni brings to BAVC Media a passion for supporting emerging storytellers, and two decades of experience investing in, consulting and managing nonprofit organizations. Most recently, Smith Arrigoni co-founded a grantmaking and mentorship program for emerging, diverse narrative filmmakers in the Bay Area, and served as executive producer on a slate of narrative films, including two premiering at Sundance in 2019. Previously, she was COO at Youth Speaks, a national leader in arts education and youth development, where she helped triple its annual operating budget and directed a national field-building initiative called the Brave New Voices Network Initiative. Smith Arrigoni developed her management expertise advising and investing in nonprofits for Nonprofit Finance Fund and the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund at the US Treasury Department. She’s also been an independent consultant to many Bay Area social impact organizations, and a Board member/Treasurer at Camp Reel Stories and Women’s Community Clinic, among others throughout her career. A returning graduate of UCLA, Smith Arrigoni studied sociology, urban planning and film and television producing.

“It’s an honor to become BAVC Media’s next Executive Director. BAVC Media has been at the forefront of creating accessible, impact-driven film and media programs. When you ask around, many film and media makers took their first class or received early mentorship at BAVC Media. That’s remarkable,” states Smith Arrigoni.

“BAVC Media continues to provide a wealth of public programming from public access television, digital media training, youth leadership development, tech apprenticeship, the preservation of historic media, and through fostering impactful storytellers,” Kipnis stated. “Paula will help lead BAVC Media into the future with an entrepreneurial spirit rooted in community service.”