Bill Nigut

Bill Nigut is Executive Director of the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts and Culture Coalition, a public/private partnership dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of a vibrant arts and culture environment in metropolitan Atlanta. MAACC is unique partnership between heads of local governments, key corporate and arts leaders and the foundation community. MAACC is dedicated to creating new excitement about, increasing patronage of, and instilling community pride in the artists and arts institutions of the metro region.

Before joining MAACC, Nigut spent 20 years as the Political Reporter for WSB-TV. During that time he:

Covered five presidential campaigns, traveling the country from Iowa and New Hampshire to other primary states.

Reported from every national political convention from 1984 to 2000.

Frequently reported news from the White House and Capitol Hill.

Bill also covered 19 sessions of the Georgia general assembly, as well as gubernatorial, congressional and statewide election campaigns.

Bill's background is a mixture of arts, journalism and politics. He studied English and journalism at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He was a student at the Art Institute of Chicago, where he studied acting at the Goodman School of Drama of the Art Institute. He worked as an actor in New York and Chicago, and founded a Chicago theater company - The New Chicago City Players - in 1970.

In March, 2004, Nigut returned to the stage, appearing in the world premiere production of "Leap," at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. Nigut was a co-author of "Leap" as well as a member of the "Leap" acting ensemble.

Nigut is a member of the Board of Directors of the William Bremen Jewish Heritage Museum, a member of the Board of Trustees of the American Jewish Committee, and a graduate of Leadership Atlanta, Class of 2002.

He is married to Atlanta native Janece Shaffer. Janece is a playwright whose new works have been produced by the Alliance Theatre Company, Horizon Theatre and Aurora Theatre in Duluth. Her most recent play, Hoola Hoopin' Hannah and her Hannukah Adventure made its world premier at the Jewish Theatre of the South in December, 2003. Janece is now writing a new play under a commission from the prestigious Alabama Shakespeare Festival.

Bill has two children: a son, Bill, who is 14, and a daughter, Emma, who is 7. He and his family live in the Oak Grove neighborhood of DeKalb County. .