Senior Director of Programs, Thew Wayfarer Foundation, Aug 2024 - Present
Director of Programs, The Wayfarer Foundation Sept 2023 - Aug 2024
Operational responsibility for grantmaking activity across several portfolios within the Program department while driving progress toward department grantmaking goals using values and data-driven approach, oversight of existing priorities, and leading new strategic initiatives aligned with The Wayfarer Foundation’s strategic plan.
Ensures that program department operations are strong, including budget, project, and relationship management, that grantmaking practice remains relevant and responsive, and that it centers on spirituality and racial justice. Responsible for managing a responsive and proactive grantmaking portfolio that enhances the nonprofit sector’s ability to identify and address in a culturally responsive and comprehensive manner the needs of community members. Facilitates collaboration with other departments and, thus, be acquainted with other areas of the Foundation’s work and operations and engage in cross-organizational strategic discussions.
Program Officer for Arts, The Wayfarer Foundation June 2023 - September 2023
Competency: Grantmaking, Arts & Culture, Racial Justice, and Proactive Grantmaking
Facilitates the grantmaking and other philanthropic goals for the Foundation with a focus on using art to transform communities in a spiritual and positive way, centering humanity and respect for the resilience of grassroots nonprofits.
Senior Program Officer for Arts and Culture, The Pittsburgh Foundation 2021 - 2023
Program Officer for Arts and Culture, The Pittsburgh Foundation 2018 - 2020
Competency: Grantmaking, Arts & Culture, Racial Justice, and Proactive Grantmaking
Leads and develops an iterative, yet cohesive portfolio of proactive and responsive grants that increase the capacity of the cultural sector to meet the needs of individual artists, arts organizations, arts educators and students and audiences
Brings forward for board review each quarter, a slate of arts and culture, arts education, and racial justice grants that reflect rigorous research on the needs of the sector.
Assures that racial justice and values of first voice experience are represented and advocated for in the Foundation’s grantmaking, convening, and research work.
Manages the arts and culture grants portfolio at each phase of the grantmaking cycle from the letter of inquiry through payment and interim and final reporting.
Creates and administers individual artist programming, residency opportunities, and supplementary support for artists
Works with colleagues to develop impact measures and the periodic assessment, implementation, continuous improvement, and analysis of progress toward the goals and outcomes arts and culture program.
Reports to the Program and Policy Committee and other board committees as assigned on the arts and culture grants portfolio and other arts and culture initiatives.
Keeps grant applicants informed of the status of their proposals during the review and development process.
Works closely with administrative staff to assure that data regarding grantmaking is accurate and timely.
Works with potential applicants and grantees to introduce them to philanthropic processes at The Pittsburgh Foundation.
Curates diverse panels to assist in grantmaking initiatives
Works alongside donors to provide connections and opportunities that support grantees
Leads with a customer service mindset that calls for prompt response to inquiries from donors, grantees, board members, internal and external colleagues, and others in the community in a manner that is informative, patient, respectful, and culturally competent.
Leads arts and culture staff of five that includes Program Officers, Program Associates and administrative staff members
Competency: Fiscal Management and Fundraising
Manages multiple budgets in the arts and culture department totaling over $5,000,000
Assist in fundraising cross philanthropically to seed collaborative efforts
Writes all grants and final reports, while managing relationships with foundations and private donors.
Recent recipient of Mackenzie Scott donation of $2,000,000 for Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh special initiative
Competency: Research to Assess and Respond to Community Needs
Works with the Vice President of Program and Community Engagement, Program Officers, and members of the arts and culture community to identify consistently, timely and reliable sources of research to identify key cultural sector issues.
Develops, interrogates, and implements strategies to fully engage the individuals served by the Foundation’s grantmaking to assure that their voices and their lived experiences inform all aspects of the Foundation’s work.
Participates in efforts to aggregate, and commission where necessary, research that effectively captures and describes the context and causality of factors that impact the quality of life for vulnerable populations in Allegheny County.
Represents The Pittsburgh Foundation in cross-philanthropic initiatives and research projects that serve the interest of the field of arts and culture.
Competency: Convening
Work with nonprofit cultural organizations and individual artists, foundations, and the public sector to create short- and long-term learning communities that gather information, unites the field and designs new responses to system inequities that perpetuate vulnerability among regional populations.
Represents The Pittsburgh Foundation in local, regional and national initiatives where inter-sector partnerships are developed to address critical community needs.
Competency: Collaboration
Serve as a resource to the Foundation’s public policy and advocacy initiatives and work closely with the Director of Policy and Advocacy to develop and advance those initiatives to serve the cultural sector.
Utilizing the most up-to-date and reliable data on community needs, work with Program Department colleagues to design and implement high impact special initiatives that respond to those needs.
Work to strengthen current special initiatives with other philanthropic institutions including but not limited to The Carol R. Brown Awards, Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh, Arts Equity Reimaged, and other endeavors.
Engage Communications Department to manage and partner in the development of external arts and culture and arts education messaging, including changes and updates to the Foundation’s website.
Competency: Donor Engagement
Secured $2 million in additional support from Mackenzie Scott for Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh.
Established artists residency working in tandem with donors.
Works closely with donors and grantees to identify potential opportunities to partner to meet shared goals and objectives.
Collaborate proactively and responsively with Development and Donor Services staff to serve donors in meeting their philanthropic goals.
Respond to donor queries that involve the field of arts and culture in a timely manner, as appropriate and/or direct them to the Center for Philanthropy for further assistance.
Connect donors with artists to innovative artist residency opportunities and funding opportunities
Chief Executive Officer/Cofounder, 1Hood Media 2013 - 2018/present Director of Strategic Initiatives, 1Hood Media 2018 - 2024
Competency: Strong Content Expertise in Arts & Culture
Assisted in curating careers of notable Pittsburgh based artists Jasiri X, Blak Rapp Madusa, Jacquea Mae, Idasa Tariq and LiveFromTheCity.
Artists regularly perform or present at conferences and festivals such as the Three Rivers Arts Festival, Via Pgh, Ladyfest, Summit Against Racism, Open Engagement, and the Allied Media Conference.
Produced, filmed, directed, and/or edited 1Hood Media films, short and videos. Film #WarOnUs co-stars Emmy and Grammy award winning artist, Che “Rhymefest” Smith, who co-wrote Glory and Jesus Walks and internationally acclaimed artist and activist, Jasiri X.
Successfully organized Pittsburgh’s only two day Hip Hop festival which boasts between 600 - 1000 participants annually.
Organized and established two collaborative artists in residence programs at North Mountain in West Virginia for 1Hood and Nefertiti Alliance artists to begin in 2017.
Curates cultural experiences, such as The Black Joy party and several NA Brunch and Bond events, that allow Black women to protect, celebrate, define, and benefit from their cultural capital.
Facilitated performance opportunities that included 1Hood artists opening for national Hip Hop artists Rakim, Talib Kweli, X Clan, Saroc, Jean Gray and more.
Competency: Management/Programming
Supervised interns, volunteers, teaching artists and administrative staff
Provides career guidance, mentorship and booking for thirty performance artists.
Serves as a teaching artist, booking agent, and rehearsal director.
Competency: Fiscal Management
Responsible for current annual budget of $1,700,000
Accrued a $600,000 cash reserve and developed an extensive donor engagement.
Writes all grants and final reports, while managing relationships with foundations and private donors.
Competency: Community Ambassador
Served thousands of Pittsburgh youth with mentoring and media based programming
Serves on numerous panels surrounding arts and activism, social justice initiatives, and successful innovative after school programming. Most notably, served on a panel at the Grantmakers in the Arts conference in 2015 on transformative philanthropic practices.
Competency: Working at the Intersectionality of Arts & Culture & Activism
Actively engaged in shifting Pittsburgh’s arts entrepreneur community by raising awareness via rallies and practice of paying all artist who create a between $15 and $150 an hour
Co-organized rallies such as the National Day of Action honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Pittsburgh which hosted over 300 people and Reimagine Justice, alongside AFL-CIO to raise voter awareness.
Negotiated performances and panel discussions with academic entities such as Chatham University, The University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University on behalf of 1Hood Media artist.
Competency: Marketing & Community Engagement
Created marketing and media campaigns for 1Hood which grew into a verified twitter account with 10,000 followers, established 17,000 Facebook followers and 18,000 Instagram followers to date.
Designed website that attracts hundreds of thousands of hits monthly
Arranged various media interviews and covers, including a newspaper cover in Pittsburgh City Paper for artist Blak Rapp Madusa
Competency: Artist Development
Manager, Jasiri X 2013 - Present
Advised a career trajectory that has resulted in Jasiri X being the first independent Hip Hop artist to be awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Chicago Theological Seminary, millions of social media imprints and the Key to the City of Saint Louis.
Secured over $1,000,000 in Jasiri X specific funding via local grants and national opportunities from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, United States Artist, Open Society Foundations and the Nathan Cummings Foundation.
Increased the artist’s revenue dramatically from $200 to an average of $7000 per engagement and $10000 for an original creative piece.
Booked and negotiated fees on behalf of the artist at institutions of higher learning, such as Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and Duquesne University.
Diversified artist portfolio to include paid speaking engagements at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (Smithsonian) and The Andy Warhol Museum where the artist recently opened up for international artist/activist Ai Wei Wei.
Booked appearances for artists on major media outlets such as BET, CNN, MSNBC, KDKA, multiple podcasts, newspaper articles, magazines, and blogs.
Negotiated Jasiri X performances on the first Women’s March on Washington, Sankofa’s Many Rivers to Cross Festival, and the Pittsburgh Steelers Style and Steel Fashion Show
Facilitated booking Jasiri X for original pieces created for SEIU, Popular Democracy and the P4 Convention hosted by The Heinz Endowments.
Arranged several Artist in Residence and summit experiences with School of the Art Institute Chicago, The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, Rauschenberg Seed Summit (2), Creative Change Summit, North Mountain Artist Residency and more
Filmed, co-edited, and co-directed several of Jasiri X music videos which have garnered millions of views, critical acclaim and appreciate from families impacted by social justice issues
Community, Communication and Collaborations
Chair, Co-Founder, Nefertiti Alliance 2015 - Present
Collaboratively organizes an intergenerational alliance of thirty artists vested in the cultural capital of Black women in the arts and promotion and maintenance of self care.
Raised multiple streams of funding within the first six month of operation to assist in programming and development of the Nefertiti Alliance.
Independent Arts and Community Engagement Consultant, Self Employed 2008 - present
Served on the Strategic Planning team of the August Wilson Center Renewal, which resulted in stabilizing the center. Duties included community convenings, discussion facilitation, documentation and social media.
Consulted as a Community Liaison, connecting a national team of arts professionals to various communities and local history while assisting with the cultural development of the AWC rooted in artists, community, and active vision.
Documented several convenings for The Heinz Endowments that included capturing participant thoughts, photography and storytelling.
Co-presented at Grantmakers In the Arts conference regarding transformative arts processes and grantee inclusion
Co-authored What Are Some Whys and Hows of Grantee Inclusion? for Grantmakers for Effective Organizations.
Notable Artistry, Community Involvement, Honors, and Service
Catalyst Initiative Funder Cohort - 2024
Commissioner - City of Pittsburgh's Public Art and Civic Design Commission - 2023
Bridging Fellow - Independent Sector - 2023, 2022
Americans for the Arts - Arts Education Advisory Board - 2021
Grantmakers in the Arts, Independent Artists Support Committee, co-chair - 2020 to present
COVID Artist Working Group Philanthropic Member - 2020
CYD Youth Funders Forum - 2020
Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Award, 31st Annual Robert L. Vann Media Awards - 2019
Published author - Tender Anthology 2019
SXSW Community Service Individual Award honoree - 2018
TAP Board, Heinz Endowments 2016 - 2020
Association of Performing Arts Presenters Fellow - 2016 to 2018
Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council Equity in Arts Funding Research Committee - 2017
Artist Residency - Art Institute of Chicago 2016
Walker’s Legacy Power 50 - 2016
Education
Bachelor of Arts degree in Arts Management 3.8 G.P.A., cum laude