Nationality American Awards AIGA Medalist Alma mater Pomona College | Known for Arts Executive Website Aiga.org | |
Born February 22, 1935 (age 82) ( 1935-02-22 ) Cambridge, Massachusetts Notable work AIGA Journal, AIGA Library, AIGA Educational Committee Spouse(s) John Brantley Hightower | ||
Caroline Warner Hightower (born 1935) is an American arts executive, consultant, and former executive director of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA).
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Early life and education
Caroline Warner Hightower was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts where her father, Lloyd Warner, had a joint appointment at Harvard in the Department of Anthropology and the Harvard Business School. Her family moved to the Chicago area when her father became an anthropologist at the University of Chicago. She attended Northwestern University and Cambridge University (England), and in 1958 graduated from Pomona College.
Career
From 1958-1976, Hightower worked at the University of California Press as a graphic designer, then moved to New York where she worked as an editor for McGraw Hill and The Saturday Review, and as a grant officer at Carnegie Corporation, where she was involved with the development of Sesame Street as a consultant. During this period she was also an editorial consultant to the Rockefeller Foundation, the Ford Foundation, The State University of New York and the United Nations.
Hightower was hired as executive director of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) in 1997. Under her leadership, the organization became a nationally recognized organization for the design community. Caroline is credited for initiating AIGA in 38 cities, increasing income to $2.3 Millon from $215,000. She initiated programming that grew membership from 1,200 to 11,300 by introducing the AIGA journal, the annual, a national biennial design conference, the AIGA library, and the AIGA Education Committee.
She left AIGA in 1995, working as a program development and fundraising consultant in New York. Hightower worked for institutions such as American Society of Media Photographers (1996-2000); New York University Arts Administration Program; United Way (1996-2000); The Clio Awards; The American Institute of Architects; and American Numismatic Society (2000-2002).
Hightower received the AIGA Medal in 2004.
Personal life
Hightower married John Brantley Hightower in November 1963, who was the former of the Museum of Modern Art, president of the South Street Seaport Museum and director of the Mariners' Museum. She has a daughter named Amanda Brantley Hightower Redling, married to Carl Edward Redling, and a son Matthew Hightower.