Andrea Virgin

Creativity at the Crossroads

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part of a series on Crossroads
Apr 4, 2025

20:12

Speaker, Andrea Virgin, explores the professional and personal crossroads that have shaped her journey—demonstrating how curiosity, bold decision-making, and resilience can result in groundbreaking transformations.

In her powerful and deeply personal CreativeMornings talk, Andrea Virgin—Chair & CEO of The Center for Arts & Innovation—shares three pivotal crossroads that transformed her life. From trading a professional ballet career for civil engineering during the 2008 recession, to the devastating loss of her husband in a tragic plane crash, to a recent professional reckoning that led her to walk away from a city partnership to preserve her vision—Andrea’s journey is a testament to resilience, purpose, and creativity. She reflects on how each seemingly impossible moment wasn’t just a roadblock, but an opportunity to forge a new path forward, often one that hadn’t existed before. Her story challenges us to embrace creativity not as a talent, but as a tool for transformation—and to ask not which path to choose, but what path we’re bold enough to creat

About the speaker

Andrea Virgin is the Founding Chair & CEO of The Center for Arts & Innovation, a nonprofit reimagining how curiosity and creativity shape our world. A former professional ballerina turned civil engineer and entrepreneur, Andrea built a successful land development firm before launching a bold vision to combat the creativity crisis. Following the sudden loss of her husband in a plane crash, she transformed personal tragedy into purposeful leadership. Today, she leads a global team working to make creativity essential across arts, education, business, and community. Andrea is also a dedicated wife, proud mom of two and a competitive ballroom dancer.