All of us at Slover Linett are full of mixed emotions today, as we share the news that the firm’s president, Jen Benoit-Bryan, PhD, will be moving on to another position. We’re deeply sad to be losing a beloved and admired leader and colleague, but we’re also happy and excited for Jen about the wonderful new role she has accepted.

As our friends at SMU DataArts are also announcing today, Jen has been named director of research at that organization and a professor at SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts.

The new position is a natural next step for Jen, who has led Slover Linett’s expansion into national, policy-level research during the pandemic era, and has become an important voice in field-wide conversations around the arts, culture, and community sector. At SMU DataArts, she will direct the center’s many national research initiatives to advance the impact, equity, and influence of the arts, culture, and humanities, and will lead the center’s academic research agenda.

“It has been an incredible gift to work so closely with Jen over these past nine years,” says Peter Linett, the firm’s co-founder. “Her ability to bring rigor, curiosity, and ethical drive to social research, while also making real, human relationships along the way, is unmatched. Jen’s time here, and especially her last year as president, has been transformative for our practice, and lastingly valuable to our clients and the field.”

Jen adds, “It’s truly been a wrenching decision to leave Slover Linett because of the incredible people on this team who have such passion for research that supports equity and change in arts & culture. I’m deeply grateful to my colleagues for their generosity in sharing knowledge and giving me such fertile grounds for growth, and to my clients who have provided such rich collaborations on meaningful questions across the field. I hope to partner in new ways with the Slover Linett team while I’m at SMU DataArts, and I can’t wait to see the future of this firm.”

As we at Slover Linett have learned from previous transitions, departures make room for growth and creativity. We’re so pleased to share that Madeline Smith, one of the firm’s project directors, has been promoted to vice president. Madeline joins Tanya Treptow, PhD, vice president & director of research, and Cory Garfin, vice president, in the firm’s management circle, which works closely with Peter to set vision and policy, develop and oversee projects, and mentor the team.

Please join us in congratulating Jen on her new role and the national recognition that it represents. We are all deeply grateful to her for the opportunity to have learned from and alongside her, and we can’t wait to see what she brings to the arts and culture community in the coming years at SMU DataArts!

Jen will continue at Slover Linett through April 14 and begins her new role in June. Stay tuned for further reflections from both Jen and Peter in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, if you have questions or thoughts to share, we’d love to hear from you.