An Interview With Incoming Woodruff Arts Center CEO Doug Shipman

Alison Guillory / WABE

Doug Shipman is the new CEO of the Woodruff Arts Center, effective July 18.

He’s taking over for Virginia Hepner, who’s been the Center’s CEO since 2012. The WAC houses three flagship institutions of the visual and performing arts in the South: the High Museum of Art, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Alliance Theatre.



The structure of the Woodruff is unusual. More than just a campus, the Woodruff has its own board overseeing the operations of the entire institution, as well as the boards of its member organizations.

In the interview audio posted above, “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes spoke with Doug Shipman about the governance structure of The Woodruff Arts Center, as well as his thoughts on educational initiatives, his experience as a patron and the proposed arts sales tax.