Candace Jackson has worked for over 25 years as an entrepreneur and arts manager guiding numerous theater, dance, film, visual arts and cultural organizations to design new business models, develop sustainable operating systems, and expand institutional capacity.
Candace founded CJAM Consulting in 2006 to create advanced business strategies for arts and cultural institutions, particularly in communities of color. Under Candace’s leadership, CJAM has successfully planned and directed institutional startups and expansions, business model design, managerial and financial capacity building, and capital construction development for projects ranging from $500,000 to $17 million for emerging and high-profile companies and governments.
Before CJAM, Candace held key senior and executive positions within landmark cultural institutions, such as Managing Director of Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC) from 2011 to 2014 and Director of Operations for the Apollo Theater Foundation, Inc from 2002 to 2006. In 2013, she expanded her work internationally to support arts, cultural, and microenterprise development initiatives in Central America.
Candace earned a Master of Fine Arts in Theater Management from the Yale School of Drama and Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater Arts and Business Administration from Howard University and is a former adjunct instructor at New York University’s School of Professional Studies Arts Administration Program.