Work of Art: Jessica Galbo Takes Over at the Helm for Telluride Arts
By Erin Spillane
Jessica Galbo has a new gig.
After many years hard at work within the local arts community, Galbo is Telluride Arts’ new executive director.
It’s a significant development.
Galbo’s roots in the area’s arts scene run deep, thanks to a lengthy arts-centric resume. Her work includes 10 years at the Telluride AIDS Benefit (TAB), where she rose from choreographer to assistant director and, ultimately, to become its highly regarded executive director. There have also been roles at Mountainfilm and Palm Arts Dance.
Galbo is one of those rare creatures in Telluride’s arts scene. Trusted and respected by creatives, she also speaks the language of nonprofit leadership, with its necessary focus on budgets, donor development and other unglamorous but vital aspects of the job.
Says Galbo, “I think I bring to the table strong relationships with artists, arts organizations and the wider community, including the local nonprofits. The strength of those partnerships is really going to help guide the next iteration, the next era of Telluride Arts.”
As for Telluride Arts, the organization was founded more than 50 years ago as the Telluride Council for the Arts and Humanities and is responsible for nurturing the arts in the area. Galbo’s arrival comes at a pivotal moment for the organization. It was led by an interim executive director for 15 months before Galbo took over in August 2025, and its signature project — the restoration of the Transfer Warehouse at Pacific Avenue and Fir Street — has lost momentum.
“Look,” Galbo says candidly, “the truth is that Telluride Arts has been operating successfully for 50 years, but like any good nonprofit it stays healthy by responding to changes, by staying loose and evaluating and reevaluating its impact and mission.”
To get the ball rolling, Galbo says she plans to “listen, listen, listen.”
“We need conversations to develop a collective voice and vision,” she explains. “I am not saying that I am the answer to that. There are a lot of really smart, incredible humans in this town. Telluride Arts can and should have a role in working with them to build something that is inclusive and accessible. Arts and culture are the most powerful tools we have for creating unity and for honoring diverse voices in our community.”
Galbo’s career shift follows a decade of accomplishments at TAB, including a few of which she is most proud: pulling off a summer fashion show on the Telluride Regional Airport runway when the pandemic had scuppered the winter gala; launching the highly successful Student HIV Awareness Project, a student service-learning initiative; and nailing down funds so that TAB finally has its own bricks-and-mortar home, a sunny office off Main Street.
Says Galbo, “TAB is in a position now where I can hand it off to someone with vision and excitement. I love TAB. I could have stayed there for the rest of my life, but I also love a growth edge. I am excited about this new role, this new challenge and to work to serve the community in a new and different way.”