Thank You, Matt: A Leadership Transition at the TechArtista Foundation

Dear TechArtista Community,

After almost four years as TechArtista Foundation's inaugural Executive Director, Matt Menietti is stepping down, effective October 8, 2026, to take on a new career opportunity. Chris Holt, TechArtista's Founder and CEO, will step in to serve as interim Executive Director as the organization moves into its next chapter.

Matt shared this reflection with us:

"This community, the founders, creatives, and artists who make it what it is, has meant more to me than I can easily put into words. I'm endlessly proud of what we built together, and grateful to everyone who showed up for it."

A few highlights from Matt's tenure, worth naming specifically:

• Stewarded STL Startup Week (now ESHIP Week) from Cortex in 2022 served as the Lead Organizer of the conference through 2025, engaging hundreds of expert speakers and thousands of attendees.
  

• Built TechArtista's fiscal sponsorship program into a system supporting 8 active projects, with nearly $200,000 in funds raised or processed through the Foundation for the artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs behind them.
  

• Expanded on TechArtista's Community Impact Grants initiative to conceive, design, and facilitate the LaunchPad 725 Small Business Accelerator, which wrapped its first cohort in August 2026.
  

• Helped grow and strengthen TechArtista's board, personally recruiting and onboarding new members to guide the organization's next chapter.

Chris Holt, TechArtista's CEO & Founder, on behalf of the board:

"In his almost four years leading TechArtista, Matt built this organization from just an idea into a legitimate, respected home for this city's founders, creatives, and entrepreneurs, standing up the systems, partnerships, programs, and capacity that will carry us forward. On behalf of the board, we're deeply grateful for that foundation, and I'm honored to build on it as interim Executive Director."

TechArtista's active fiscal sponsorship program continues under Chris's leadership, supporting an active roster of projects: Cicadian Rhythms, Code and Coffee, Department of Futuremaking, H.I Space, Loutopia, Paint Louis, and R.I.C.H. Mama's Club, along with our newest fiscally sponsored project, Mvstercamp.

If you have questions in the meantime, please reach out to Chris at chris@techartista.org. 

Thank you for being part of this community!

The TechArtista Foundation Team