Create Birmingham, the Magic City’s leading creative industry development agency, has named Alabama native Meghann Bridgeman as its new President & CEO.

An alum of the Alabama School of Fine Arts and former dancer at the Alabama Ballet, Bridgeman returns to the state after working for more than a decade in Texas.

Her previous position was a four year stint with Per Scholas, a national organization focused on advancing economic equity through training traditionally underrepresented talent for high-growth tech careers.

Palmer retiring

On July 15th, Bridgeman will replace Buddy Palmer, who has served as President and CEO of Create Birmingham for 13 years. Palmer officially retires at the end of July.

Her job will be to grow Birmingham’s creative sector which includes:

Performing arts
Visual arts and crafts
Culture and heritage
Media and film, design
Culinary arts

“I am so pleased to join Create Birmingham as the incoming President and CEO. It is truly an honor to lead the organization in a new phase of growth and expand on the hugely impactful work of Buddy Palmer and the entire Create Birmingham team. Birmingham is a vibrant city with a burgeoning creative economy. I cannot think of an intersection more inspiring or an organization better poised to meet the creative community’s needs,” said Bridgeman.

Create Birmingham CEO Meghann Bridgeman. Photo via Create Birmingham

With over 13 years of nonprofit experience, Bridgeman has excelled in developing community partnerships and managing programs, as well as in operations, fundraising, and strategic planning.

Kathryn Corey, board chair of Create Birmingham said, “After a thorough executive search process, Create Birmingham is delighted to welcome Meghann as our next leader. Her experience in workforce development and her passion for the arts and culture sector is a powerful combination that is directly in line with the mission of our organization and the progress we will continue to make in our community.”