Staff Member
Jeanette McCune
202.797.2145 x100
jeanette@sitarartscenter.org
Jeanette McCune is the executive director of Sitar Arts Center, the Adams Morgan based nonprofit that has provided multidisciplinary arts education to Washington, DC’s children, teens, and young adults since 2000. Sitar serves nearly 900 students each year in the visual, performing, and media arts, with 80 percent of enrollment reserved for students from households with low income, and works to remove the financial and cultural barriers that stand between young people and a full arts education. Jeanette began in the role in October 2026.
Jeanette is a nationally recognized arts education leader whose career has been defined by expanding equitable access to educational opportunities, cultivating strategic partnerships, and strengthening mission driven organizations. She brings three decades of experience spanning arts, education, and community engagement, and has built a reputation for creative collaborations and nationally recognized arts education programming. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated a collaborative, values driven leadership style grounded in equity, relationship building, and service to young people and underserved communities.
She spent nearly 24 years with The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, advancing through a series of positions culminating in senior director of school and community programs. In that role, she provided strategic oversight for a $4 million portfolio of local and national arts education initiatives and established partnerships with District of Columbia Public Schools, public charter schools, community-based organizations, and national networks that expanded access to arts education. Her leadership was integral to the programmatic launch of the Kennedy Center’s new space, The REACH, in 2019. Over the course of her tenure, she balanced long range programmatic planning with strong departmental leadership, overseeing multidisciplinary teams, developing innovative programming, mentoring emerging leaders, and stewarding collaborations that connected students, educators, artists, and civic partners.
Prior to joining Sitar, Jeanette served as executive director of SchoolTalk, a DC nonprofit that supports students with disabilities. Earlier in her career, Jeanette held leadership positions with the Choral Arts Society of Washington and the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works.