My people are from Philly  - parents, grands, and great grands! Following in the footsteps of those before me, I got the theatre bug early and eventually turned my passion for the arts and artists into a career.  I have been working as a consultant since 2020 and I love it!   Prior to consulting, I was a Creative Communities program officer for the William Penn Foundation where my portfolio focused on operating support for arts organizations across Philadelphia and was the Interim President and CEO for DataArts, bringing big data to the arts and culture sector. During the Obama Administration, I served as Deputy and Chief of Staff to the Senior Deputy Chair and the Senior Policy Advisor to the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.

​​

My path has also allowed me to work with an array of organizations and sectors throughout my career including Blue Star Families, Disney Theatrical Productions, National Endowment for the Humanities, Fleisher Art Memorial, Jordan Roth Productions, the Kennedy Center, National Intrepid Center of Excellence at Walter Reed, the National Science Foundation, Nickelodeon Productions,  Playbill Inc., Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), State Education of Directors of Art Education, Theatreworks/USA, U.S. Department of Defense, and U.S. Department of Education, among others.

​​

I serve on the board of three powerhouse arts organizations: Fresh Artists,  CultureWorks Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Cultural Fund.

​​

I received my B.A. from Barnard College ;M.A. in Creative Leadership at the Minneapolis College of Art & Design with MACL Director, Diane Ragsdale. I also have a Certificate in Executive Leadership from National Arts Strategies (NAS) Executive Program in Arts and Culture Strategy at the School of Social Policy, University of Pennsylvania, and an HR Certificate in Diversity & Inclusion from Cornell University. 

​​

I grew up in Elkins Park, PA and then lived in NYC for almost 20 years. We moved to DC when I took the NEA position and then moved back to the Philly area with my amazing husband and author, Al Kalman, and our two spicy girls, Eva and Sadie.