CEO Announcement

November 27, 2023

Sangre de Cristo Announces CEO

[Pueblo, Colorado, May 5th, 2023] – The Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center has announced Andy Sanchez will be hired as the official CEO as decided by the board on May 5th, 2023.

Sanchez is a Pueblo native, and a business, development, arts, and education professional who has been acting Interim CEO since February 28th, 2022. He holds a bachelor’s in art, a master’s in fine arts, post graduate business study at CSU-Pueblo, and business scaling certification from LBAN at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In his role as interim CEO , Sanchez focused on renewing and strengthening relationships across the region , including with Pueblo County and many of Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center’s (SDC) donors and stakeholders.

SDC Board Chair Tommy Farrell said, “The Board of Trustees is excited to announce Andy Sanchez as our CEO. He has served us as interim over the last year and had many great accomplishments and we're looking forward to continuing with Andy at the head of our organization.”

Some of the accomplishments of Sanchez over the past year include aiding in the acquisition of the lot adjacent to the Arts Center, meeting major fundraising goals, helping secure ARPA funds for the School of Dance, and helping to form the Creative Consortium of Pueblo. The Creative Consortium is a group of business and arts leaders unified to promote and market the creative endeavors of Pueblo.

Sanchez expressed that he is honored to serve. Upon hearing the decision, he focused on the strength of the southern Colorado community, that of Pueblo County, and the dedication that has remained for the Arts Center. He relayed the Arts Center’s continued role of bolstering gains for all ages toward excellence in education and the arts into the next half century and beyond.

“I have had the honor of being a former student, employee with the Arts Center under Maggie Divelbiss, and past board member here. This history excites, informs, and inspires me in my job daily,” Sanchez said.

He discussed his focus of delivering the same excitement along with the team to the greater community based on the service aspect of, “…the diligent work and stewardship of Arts Center founders, stakeholders, staff, and the board of trustees. All in this group, together, have continually built our offerings and foundational mission that creates artistic, cultural, and educational experiences for everyone.”

Through Sanchez’ leadership, the Arts Center will continue to see a renewed focus on education, programming, and cultural impact that reflects the Arts Center’s mission in the region.