Marcela “Xela” Garcia, she/her/ella

Executive Director

Marcela “Xela” Garcia is a Xicana artist, innovator and cultural warrior who currently serves as the Executive Director at Walker’s Point Center for the Arts in Milwaukee, WI and in 2021 was elected to the Milwaukee Public Schools Board of Directors. A double graduate from UW-Madison, she holds an MA in Business: Arts and Creative Enterprise Leadership, and a BA in English Literature and Chicanx/Latinx studies. Xela was awarded Board Sources’ National Emerging Non-Profit Leader Award in 2012, was recognized as one of Wisconsin’s Most Powerful Latinos in 2018, was selected to the 2020 class of the Milwaukee Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Award and the 2020 Arts + Culture Leaders of Color Fellowship with Americans for the Arts. She currently serves as a mayoral appointee to the City of Milwaukee Arts Board, a Gubernatorial Appointee to the Wisconsin Arts Board, and represents Wisconsin on the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies board of directors. With diverse experience in arts administration, education, and philanthropy, Xela embodies transformative, purpose-driven leadership, striving for a more just world.