Becky Bell Ballard
With over two decades of non-profit arts experience, Ballard believes passionately in providing opportunities in the arts, as well as the role of the arts in advancing society. Ballard’s non-profit experience includes capital campaigns, managing teams of artists and administrators, overseeing fund development and facilitating strategic planning within the arts and culture sector.
Raised in Chicago, Becky grew up immersed in music—her father, a scientist, played clarinet for fun in a community band. She was inspired at a young age by hearing the French horn at a Chicago Symphony concert, and eventually, she studied French horn under Dr. Thomas Bacon at Arizona State University’s Herberger School of Music
Ballard’s current role as Chief Executive Officer at Rosie’s House is focused on providing music education to youth from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Providing three creative youth development programs, including one of the largest free music afterschool programs nationwide, Ballard is working to develop methods and solutions to address the disparity in access to music education.
Prior to joining Rosie’s House, Ballard oversaw the Phoenix Symphony’s Community Engagement Department. In this capacity, she managed initiatives that impacted 80,000 children and adults annually. In addition to developing educational concerts, she managed two programs that provided youth in South Phoenix and on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community with free music instruction.
Ballard completed the Piper Fellowship, a program administered by the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, in 2022. She participated in the National Arts Strategies Chief Executive Training Program in 2017, a leadership program that brought together an international cohort of 50 CEOs who want to more effectively lead change in their organizations, communities and in the cultural field. Both opportunities included executive education at institutions such as Stanford Graduate School of Business, Harvard Executive Education, and University of Michigan.
As a musician, Ballard enjoys playing piano, horn, and supporting local musical performances. She is a founding Board member for the Downtown Chamber Series, served on the Arizona Musicfest Scholarship Committee, and is involved with Valley Leadership, a leadership cohort in Maricopa County.
Ballard was honored as a Sun Devil 100 in 2023, by the Society of Chairs in 2022, and was in the 2018 Class of 40 under 40 presented by the Phoenix Business Journal. She lives with her husband Brian and son Jacob in central Phoenix and enjoys the beauty and poetry of the desert through active adventuring and hiking.
