2025 Innovation for Impact Leader
Patrick Fisher (he/him/his), CEO of the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council is an innovative leader. His identity and perspective have been shaped by unconventional life experiences, including formative years in DIY venues and the counterculture music scene, couchsurfing while traveling abroad, living in a dry cabin in Alaska, and traveling across North America in a van with his three-legged dog while paying off student loan debt. Since beginning his career in nonprofit arts in 2016, he has spent nearly a decade breaking down barriers, fostering inclusivity, and empowering communities—championing the arts as a catalyst for connection and transformation.
The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council builds a more resourced, connected, and informed arts sector, empowering artists and arts organizations throughout Southwestern PA.
By sharing resources, fostering significant relationships, leading advocacy initiatives, and increasing public awareness of arts and culture, the Arts Council cultivates a thriving, vibrant arts community for the Greater Pittsburgh region.
Patrick’s work as part of the Innovation for Impact Leadership Intensive
Artists deserve fair, transparent, and equitable pay for their creative labor — and arts institutions have a key a role in making this happen. However, freelancers face inconsistent pay and opaque contracting that undervalue their work and push people out of the field. To overcome this problem, Patrick and the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council are launching their Building Fair Futures for Freelancers campaign. Through this campaign, they are leading the way to ensure nonprofit arts organizations in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania adopt and uphold fair pay standards. Informed by freelance artists and arts organizations, they’re also developing the Equity in Freelance and Contracted Work Checklist to make fair compensation accessible and actionable, while experimenting with creative engagement tactics that highlight freelancers’ real experiences and make it easy, fun, and rewarding for arts institutions to sign on. Building Fair Futures for Freelancers is shifting the culture of contracting in the arts toward fairness and transparency.
“The methodology I learned through the Intensive has become a lasting tool in my toolbox that I can apply to all of my work moving forward, which is incredibly valuable and will continue to shape my approach for years to come.”
– Patrick Fisher, CEO, Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council