SAINT LOUIS - Sue Greenberg didn’t necessarily set out to transform the art scene in St. Louis, but she has had quite the impact.
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As she wraps up her 39-year career with St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts, Greenberg reflected on the years she spent as the executive director of St. Louis VLAA. She has helped countless Greater St. Louis artists connect with legal and accounting aid, and she is excited to see what comes next for the nonprofit.
“Everything I have done has been a total accident, including this job,” she joked, adding, “Overall, it has been just really gratifying.”
Greenberg “fell into theater” and entered the local arts scene as an assistant stage manager for the St. Louis Muny. She worked her way up the Muny’s ranks.
St. Louis VLAA was founded 41 years ago and soon announced their need for an executive director. Greenberg was looking for a part-time job. She decided to give St. Louis VLAA a shot, with no idea that it would become a cornerstone of her career.
As a nonprofit, St. Louis VLAA connects volunteer attorneys and accountants with artists from across the St. Louis and Southern Illinois regions, particularly Madison and St. Clair Counties. The free legal and accounting help allows artists to focus on their projects and resolve any disputes that arise.
St. Louis VLAA also hosts many workshops. They regularly send working artists to college classrooms, where artists teach students about copyright law, contracts, financial matters and more.
“We want to try to connect folks who otherwise would maybe never need a lawyer or an accountant with someone who’s excited to help them,” explained Nathaniel Carroll, the organization’s new executive director. “We have over 300 volunteers on our roster across the region, and we usually help between 175–200 cases a year. We estimate that’s about $350,000 worth of free legal and accounting each year that we are able to connect artists with.”
Greenberg noted that St. Louis VLAA is “a happy place,” with people eager to help one another in the name of advancing local art. She is proud of the work they’ve accomplished and the organization they have built over the years.
“It’s pretty upbeat because everybody is feeling good about the work,” she said. “The clients are very grateful for the assistance that they could never afford to pay for. And when they come to a workshop, they learn something, and everybody likes to learn. And then the part that still surprises us after all these years is that the volunteers thank us for the opportunity to volunteer, and that’s because it’s different than their day-to-day jobs. They want to support the arts, and this is a great way to do that.”
Greenberg has always been at the center of this work, collaborating with artists, lawyers, accountants and groups like the Illinois Arts Council to keep the organization functional and thriving. She even started a mini newsletter during the COVID-19 pandemic to keep up with the local art scene. She is known for going above and beyond.
Carroll expressed his admiration for Greenberg both as a director and a person. While he is excited for the St. Louis VLAA executive director position, he will miss her expertise. His mission is to continue the work she spearheaded.
“Sue is just a really important character in the story of St. Louis arts,” he said. “Everyone I’ve met in the short period of time that I’ve been onboarding at the organization, they just think the world of her. She’s good at connecting with people and then connecting people together. I think that’s special, especially in these days when it’s so easy to feel isolated…It was a dream job for me, and I’m excited to take it to the next chapter. I have big shoes to fill.”
For more information about St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts, visit their official website at VLAA.org.
