Mosaic Network and Fund Names Dr. Ayoka Wiles as its Inaugural Executive Director
Wiles previously led the Culture and Art Division at the Open Society Foundations, has track record of directing global grantmaking initiatives and transforming organizational capacity across three continents.
Appointment follows $1.25 million in new grants to 161 NYC-based African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, and Native American (ALAANA+) arts and cultural organizations.
The Mosaic Network and Fund, a first-of-its-kind collaborative that aims to provide more equitable funding for African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, and Native American (ALAANA+) arts groups in New York City, has named Dr. Ayoka Wiles as its inaugural Executive Director, effective February 2. Mosaic is an emergent nonprofit membership organization composed of more than 400 ALAANA and immigrant arts and culture practitioners, as well as arts funders. It is Fiscally Sponsored by New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA).
Dr. Wiles is a visionary leader in arts philanthropy and racial equity with a track record of directing over $40 million in global grantmaking across 50+ countries. She previously led the Culture & Arts division at the Open Society Foundations, where she developed and managed innovative grantmaking strategies, including the Soros Arts Fellowship, the world’s largest award for socially engaged artists.
Her leadership spans major cultural organizations in New York City, including the Brooklyn Arts Council, Cool Culture, and Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy, where she advanced community-driven programming, organizational transformation, and fundraising capacity.
“I am excited to bring my proven strategic philanthropy and programming expertise to the Mosaic Network and Fund as its first Executive Director,” said Dr. Ayoka Wiles. “I’m honored to join a community that has so thoughtfully and collectively shaped Mosaic’s vision, and look forward to catalyzing new growth and opportunities for Mosaic, and in turn the ALAANA+ arts organizations that we support.”
“Dr. Wiles has exceptional collaborative instincts and a values-centered approach to partnership and trust-building. This, combined with her proven, high-level fundraising expertise and experience advancing racial equity through the arts, will help Mosaic strategically and thoughtfully deepen its work and impact,” said the Co-Chairs of the Mosaic Transition Committee, Toya Lillard of 651 Arts and Arnaldo J. López of Pregones/PRTT.
“This appointment reflects more than a successful search, it reflects a deeply collaborative process shaped by care, trust, and shared values,” said Niki Reiner, Chair of the Mosaic Search Committee. “Dr. Wiles stood out not only for her vision and experience, but for the way she leads, with openness, generosity, and a clear commitment to building collective power. We are confident in her ability to steward Mosaic’s next chapter with both rigor and heart.”
In 2017, The New York Community Trust and the Doris Duke Foundation co-commissioned a report from Yancy Consulting to understand the health and viability of ALAANA+ arts groups in New York City. Mosaic was established in 2018 as direct outgrowth of this research, to funnel more resources to arts groups that are led by, created for, and accountable to ALAANA+ people. After five years of being a funder and practitioner collaborative at The New York Community Trust, Mosaic is now operating independently under the umbrella of New York Foundation for the Arts’ Fiscal Sponsorship Program.
As Executive Director, Dr. Wiles will lead Mosaic’s strategic direction, oversee grantmaking and community partnerships, and build a sustainable funding model to support ALAANA+ arts and cultural organizations. She will also steward Mosaic’s growing network of cultural leaders and funders, helping to strengthen relationships and build shared capacity across New York City’s arts ecosystem.
Building on this leadership vision, Mosaic is also proud to announce its latest round of grants awarded. These grants reflect Mosaic’s continued commitment to equitable, flexible, and community-centered funding that strengthens the sustainability and creative capacity of ALAANA+ arts groups.
In this funding round, Mosaic awarded a total of $1.25 million in grants to 161 arts and cultural nonprofit organizations across New York City. The grants support general operating needs and reflect Mosaic’s commitment to sustaining ALAANA+ arts organizations through flexible, trust-based funding. Mosaic is planning an additional grantmaking cycle in 2026, which will intentionally include organizations new to the Network.
Mosaic member organizations range widely in mission and programming, and this year’s awards boost sustained and publicly-recognized activity in traditional and contemporary forms of live theater, dance, music, film, media, literary, visual, and applied/design arts. Grants again help sustain a vital and growing ecosystem of practicing artists, culture bearers, researchers, curators, teachers, learners, and creative participants of all ages and in all five boroughs of New York City. The impacts of Mosaic’s philanthropic investments are felt across and beyond the local creative economy, shoring up the vibrancy of dozens of neighborhoods, and encouraging lifelong engagement in the arts and culture.
“Mosaic support ensures that our work, from performances and preservation to education and innovation, continues with strength and stability,” said Michelle Preston, Executive Director of the José Limón Dance Foundation. Home to both the world-renowned Limón Dance Company and the Limón Institute, and especially beloved for its immersive educational offerings including open-level classes, the organization celebrates its once-in-a-generation 80th anniversary in 2026.
Lisa Willis, Executive Director of Cave Canem, said “Mosaic support comes at a pivotal moment and ensures we can continue cultivating the artistic and professional growth of Black poets and develop thoughtful audiences for the many voices of Black poetry.” Famously co-founded by poets Toi Derricotte and Cornelius Eady, the literary organization is best known for its highly selective and tuition-free fellowship program, with seven Pulitzer Prize winners and multiple U.S. Poet Laureates among its alumni.
Grants from the Mosaic Network and Fund are intended to support general operating needs, capacity, and program development that responds directly to community priorities. Mosaic’s grantmaking model emphasizes participatory decision-making, transparency, and relationship-driven support, challenging traditional philanthropic practices while advancing racial justice in the arts.
About Mosaic Network and Fund
The Mosaic Network and Fund is a learning network and collaborative fund led by ALAANA+ arts and cultural organizations in New York City in partnership with arts funders. Through programs, grantmaking, and advocacy, Mosaic works to build resources, relationships, and understanding to address longstanding underinvestment in ALAANA+ arts organizations, transform arts philanthropy, and advance racial justice. It was established in 2018 as a five-year funder and practitioner collaborative at The New York Community Trust. In 2026, as part of NYFA’s Fiscal Sponsorship, Mosaic is evolving independently under the leadership of its first-ever Executive Director Dr. Ayoka Wiles.
MEDIA CONTACT: Amy Aronoff, New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), [email protected]