Ann Smith, executive director of Featherstone Center for the Arts, has joined the board of directors of the New England Foundation for the Arts.

Ms. Smith is one of five new board members for NEFA, which is a nonprofit organization that works with the National Endowment for the Arts and New England state arts agencies to build connections among artists, art organizations and funders and to power the arts in New England and beyond.

“I am especially pleased to join the NEFA Board to further the cause of public art funding as well as advocating and supporting the arts in underserved and rural communities,” Ms. Smith said in a press release.

Ms. Smith has been the executive director of Featherstone, the year-round arts center in Oak Bluffs, since 2010. She is also chairman of the steering committee for Arts Martha’s Vineyard. In 2015, she received the Massachusetts Tourism Award in honor of her work to promote tourism and hospitality on the Island.