Rodriguez and Eassa Named Co-Executive Directors of Baltimore Youth Arts

Baltimore Youth Arts, a paid creative apprenticeship program for young people ages 14 to 25, has appointed Gianna Rodriguez and Dave Eassa as Co-Executive Directors. The leadership change took effect on October 22, 2026, as the organization marks its 12th year of operation in Baltimore.

Rodriguez founded the program in 2015 and served as its sole Executive Director for the preceding decade. Under her direction, BYA expanded from a single classroom in the Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center to a year-round studio in the Station North Arts and Entertainment District. The organization has engaged more than 2,700 Baltimore young people and employed over 270 of them as paid Apprentices. Rodriguez, a Baltimore Business Journal 40 Under 40 honoree, built the program around a practice-as-research model that pairs paid work with public art and community partnerships.

Eassa joined BYA as Deputy Director in June 2026. Before that, he served as Director of Public Engagement at the Baltimore Museum of Art and Director of Philanthropy and Engagement at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library in San Diego, California. His professional work has focused on building support for sustainable creative spaces, including the BMA Lexington Market and the JJC Artist in Residence. The two have collaborated as artists under the name The Blank Page Project since 2015.

Both leaders hold multiple shared honors, including the Mayor’s Individual Artist Award from the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts, which they have received twice. They are also Open Society Institute-Baltimore Community Fellows, Salzburg Global Fellows, Rubys Artist Project Grant recipients, Grit Fund awardees, and MSAC Public Art Grantees. Their combined experience in artistic production and community initiatives spans more than 15 years nationally and abroad.

Rodriguez said the decision to share leadership is deliberate and mirrors the organization's youth pathway, where participants move from Apprentice to Senior Apprentice and often into paid staff roles. “We ask young people to take on real responsibility and lead alongside one another, and our structure should model that, not just teach it,” Rodriguez stated. She added that naming Eassa Co-Executive Director is a way to build an organization meant to outlast either leader.

Eassa described BYA as a program that young people return to as Apprentices, peer mentors, and staff. “Gianna envisioned, gave shape, and built with exceptional leadership a program that young people in Baltimore keep coming back to,” Eassa said. He expressed enthusiasm for working with Rodriguez to envision the next decade of the organization.

BYA is currently raising $15,000 to support its 12th year, a goal that will be matched dollar for dollar by an anonymous donor. The campaign includes a 12th anniversary celebration and art auction on December 3 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the BYA Community Studio. The event features work by 12 Baltimore artists, and donations can be made directly to the organization.