Jessica Whittaker

About Jessica Whittaker

With a passion for accelerating operational excellence, improving financial performance, and establishing sound and scalable infrastructures, I have excelled throughout my journey working with unique public and nonprofit organizations. As Deputy Director of Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, I manage all financial, accounting, facilities, and systems functions. Engaging in extensive long-range and strategic planning, I work diligently to manage our $3.2M budget and $14M endowment, increase revenue and visitors, improve forecasting and reporting, and install the internal controls critical to the growth and sustainability of a lean yet highly impactful organization. Through close collaboration with the Board and Executive Director, I have been championing strategic objectives to build a world-class culture, create an environment focused on employee and guest experiences, and offer the insights to drive continuous improvements. In addition, I serve on the Grand Center Board, partnering with local museums and arts groups to protect our landmark destination for arts and culture organizations. As a result of my efforts, in just 2 years we have increased private event revenue, deployed state-of-the-art technologies, and streamlined finance and accounting workflows to ensure consistency and accuracy. Prior, as the Director of Visitor Services for the Cleveland Museum of Art, I was honored to take the reins of this mission-vital 26-person team; drive the visitor experience; further develop the skills of my team; and deploy the processes, tools, and programs to create a truly world-class visitor experience. Working tirelessly to challenge the status quo, I immediately instituted a management and associate development program to upskill the team, created an internship pathway partnership program to build a strong talent pipeline, and defined the metrics by which we could measure our performance and opportunities for improvement. Concurrently with my career positions, I spent my evenings and weekends with Buffalo Trace Distillery, working in the gift shop, as a Tour Guide, and as a Team Lead. Ultimately, I secured my MBA in Hospitality, Tourism, and Event Management, being asked to join full-time as their Visitor Experience Team Lead of Tours and Tastings. In this role, I increased visitation to record levels, built and led a talented team of 50+ guest experience associates, and developed new and creative programs to drive revenue and profitability during what was arguably one of the most challenging years in the industry.

Experience

1. Vice President of Finance

   Live Arts Toledo

   Jan 2025 — Present · Toledo, OH, US

Education

• Kentucky State University

  Bachelor of Science - BS, Major in Accounting

  2008

• Midway University

  Master of Business Administration - MBA, Hospitality, Tourism, & Event Management

  2018

Skills

• Budget Monitoring
• Personnel Management
• Employee Training
• Account Management
• Budget Management
• Grant Administration
• Policy Analysis
• Federal Grants Management
• Fiscal Policy
• Planning Budgeting & Forecasting