Stephen Manuszak
Program Officer

Stephen Manuszak is the program officer at the George Family Foundation. In this role, he leads several grantmaking focus areas and works closely with the Foundation’s directors and president in setting strategic direction and measuring grantmaking impact.

Before joining the Foundation in 2019, Stephen worked for 15 years in the nonprofit arts sector. Most recently, Stephen was director of international initiatives for Arts Midwest, where he produced cultural exchanges within the United States and abroad, collaborating with artists from 18 different countries. Stephen also worked in foundation and government relations at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City, one of the world’s premiere jazz institutions, and he started his nonprofit career at a jazz and global music center in Chicago called the HotHouse, a 300-seat venue that served as a springboard for national and international artists.

Stephen has served on grants panels for the Minnesota State Arts Board and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and he also served on the board and executive committee of the Twin Cities Sailing Club, where he learned how to sail and how to share sailing with others.

Stephen holds a master’s degree from New York University and a bachelor’s degree with honors from the University of Chicago. He was a Leadership Fellow with the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (2017-2019), a Policy Fellow at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota (2014-2015), and a Whitehead Fellow with the Foreign Policy Association (2010-2013).