Executive Director
CurrentCathy Leff, Executive Director, and Director Emerita of the Wolfsonian-FIU, is a seasoned cultural professional and creative entrepreneur with more than four decades experience working at the intersection of culture and community-building. In 2018, she assumed the leadership of the 35-year-old Bakehouse, its community of 100 working artists, Board of Directors, and other stakeholders on a 5-year strategic plan, which prioritized the renovation of the organization’s former Art Deco-era bakery as a model center of contemporary cultural production and the addition of affordable housing for artists to its underutilized 2.3-acre campus. Leff also focused on diversifying the artist community, building subsidy funding to ensure affordability for artists, while also building a team and expanding the organization’s programmatic offerings.Prior to arriving at Bakehouse, Leff worked with Harvard Graduate School of Design from 2017 to 2019 on its Future of the American City | Miami initiative, an experience that impacted her thinking about Bakehouse’s greater role in the community, including its ability to address affordability, mobility, and resiliency/sustainability. In 2021, following a community-driven vision plan with Bakehouse’s participation, the City of Miami approved the Wynwood Norte Neighborhood Revitalization District, paving the way for Bakehouse to achieve its vision to become a community-embedded, live-work, cultural anchor.
