The Queens Culture & Arts Network (QCAN) is dedicated to enhancing the cultural landscape of Queens by curating accessible, distinctive, and relevant artistic experiences for diverse communities. Our network fosters creativity, inclusivity, and collaboration, serving as a platform for artists and art enthusiasts to connect and thrive.

To that end, Executive Director Susan Agin and Costa ConstantinidesChief Executive Officer of the Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens are in the process of gathering a board of influencial and dedicated professionals to create and grow cultural events and opportuities in Queens and throughout the tristate area.

Arts professional Jay Michaels, a graduate of Queens College and whose family was part of the Variety Boys & Girls Club, as well as a member of numerous arts organizations in Queens, has joined the QCAN board. “I welcome the chance to help foster the artistic growth of the residents of Queens,” says Michaels, a producer and professor of arts and communication.

“Looking forward to making a difference,” Michaels concluded. 

QCAN is a full-service arts organization that designs artistic programs catering to the unique needs and characteristics of each community it serves. The organization provides a wide range of programs and services for individuals of all ages, aimed at educating, uplifting, and celebrating the borough’s rich diversity and multi-ethnic heritage. 

Jay Michaels — a multi-university visiting professor — is a 30-year veteran of Broadway/Off-Broadway, film/TV as a producer and promotional executive. Credits include special events assistant for the Daily News and Joyce Theater’s American Theater series (Drama Desk Award-winner); national tour manager for Cats, Edwin Drood, and Les Miserables; a TV-Media buying associate; senior marketing executive for international events; speechwriter for the Weissler, Nederlander, and Shubert organizations, James Earl Jones, Jon Stewart, Vera Wang, Mayors Lindsay and Dinkins; and Hillary Clinton to name a few. Michaels managed promotional events for Broadway’s Guys & Dolls (1992), Damn Yankees (1994), Vagina Monologues (2005), Beginnings (2018) as well as Audra McDonald at Broadway’s Town Hall (2019) as well as some of the most visible and acclaimed Off-Broadway productions, festivals, and companies. Michaels is a multi-award recipient and honorary board member of Pace University and directing Fellow with the Pearl Theater.

His PR firm, Jay Michaels Global Communications, represents a vast array of independent international talent and their projects. JMGC, through a diverse internal multi-media platform, is able to supply guaranteed coverage to hundreds of emerging artists and their productions while growing its external network of promotional sites and groups as well as producing events for the purpose of promotion and marketing to industry and generalized audiences.

Michaels is a professor of communications at Larry L. Luing School of Business at Berkeley and the Keller Business School at DeVry.