David Rodriguez is the Executive Vice President & Executive Producer of NJPAC (New Jersey Performing Arts Center)—it’s not only one of the largest performing arts centers in the country, it’s also one of the most diverse from its programming to its artists to its staff and its audiences. From its inception, NJPAC ‘s goal was to serve as a cultural anchor and help revitalize downtown Newark through the arts.  It does so in a number of ways from producing world-class events in one of its four theaters to programming free events throughout the city of Newark to offering a robust arts education program which reaches some 100,000 students & families annually. In this podcast, David Rodriguez discusses NJPAC’s place in the city of Newark, its commitment and responsibilities to the community, its programming during the pandemic, its ever-growing arts education programming, and his own background as a Newark-born musician turned producer, including his decade-long stint running the Apollo Theater.