On Leadership


My understanding of leadership has been shaped by the people I've had the privilege to learn alongside. Through leadership fellowships, board service, philanthropy, and years of working with founders, executives, artists, and social impact leaders, I've had a front-row seat to how people navigate growth and change. Those experiences have taught me that leadership is not a fixed set of traits or skills. It is an ongoing practice of learning and adaptation.

Over time, I've become less interested in leadership as a matter of vision, though that certainly matters, and more interested in the conditions that allow leadership to succeed. I've seen extraordinary leaders thrive with the right support and equally talented leaders struggle when the systems around them weren't built to sustain them.

Serving on leadership fellowship and arts funding panels has further shaped that perspective. Reviewing hundreds of applications has made me less interested in polished narratives and more interested in how people navigate complexity and create opportunities for others to grow.

What I keep coming back to is this: leadership is about what you make possible for others. The leaders I admire most are building communities that enable people and ideas to thrive long after they're gone.

 

Leadership Development & Coaching

  • 92nd Street Y, Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact
    January 2025 - January 2026
    New York City, New York

    Announcing: 2025 Women inPower Fellows

    As a recent Women inPower Fellow at the Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact at 92nd Street Y, a cross-sector leadership initiative supporting women advancing toward senior leadership across philanthropy, government, business, media, healthcare, technology, and the arts, I thought of how leadership can contribute to a more equitable and connected society.

    What stayed with me the most during the fellowship was the introduction to leadership as a core infrastructure pillar that creates the conditions for individuals, ideas, and organizations to thrive over time. Read more here.

  • Wyoming University, Wyoming Innovation Partnership
    April 2024 - July 2024
    Laramie, WY

    Strengthening the Creative Economy Through Infrastructure, Not Just Capital

    In my role as a mentor and topic advisor for the Wyoming Innovation Partnership’s Investing in Wyoming’s Creative Economy program, I worked with a cohort of artists and creative entrepreneurs developing ventures in film, literature, design, and community-based creative practices. This experience reinforced a broader pattern I continue to see across my work in philanthropy and fiscal sponsorship: strengthening the creative economy requires more than capital deployment. It requires aligned support systems, accessible strategic expertise, and intentional design of the intermediaries that sit between creative practice and sustainable organizational infrastructure. Read more here.

  • Nexus Community Partners
    October 2020 - April 2021
    Saint Paul, MN

    Leadership as Public Practice

    Participating in the Boards and Commissions Leadership Institute shifted the way I think about public leadership and civic power. The program was grounded in a simple but transformative idea: many of the decisions that shape daily life—housing, transit, economic development, public investment—are influenced by boards and commissions that most people never hear about.

    What struck me most was the question of who gets prepared, encouraged, and positioned to participate in decision-making spaces in the first place.

    Unlike other leadership programs I’ve joined that focus on visibility, this program asked me to think of leadership as a tool for navigating institutions while remaining accountable to the community and collective outcomes. The experience reinforced my belief that leadership is not only about occupying positions of influence but also about expanding access to that influence. Read more here.

  • Association of Performing Arts Professionals
    June 2017 - January 2019
    New York City, New York

    Leadership as Infrastructure in the Arts Ecosystem

    Being selected as a Leadership Fellow with the Association of Performing Arts Professionals broadened my understanding of the potential of arts leadership beyond mere institutional management. The fellowship allowed me to view the cultural sector as an interconnected ecosystem influenced by access, relationships, economics, and public trust.

    The program was particularly impactful for me as it prompted a reevaluation of long-held assumptions within the field. This included discussions on how funding is distributed, who receives resources, how presenting and touring networks are structured, and where decision-making authority resides among institutions, funders, and intermediaries.

    Today's leaders are navigating a more fragmented landscape characterized by shifting audience behaviors, limited resources, changing labor expectations, and increased pressure to demonstrate relevance.

    The fellowship refined my interest in leadership that acts like connective tissue, linking artists to opportunities, institutions to their communities, and vision to sustainable infrastructure. Read more here.

 

Nonprofit Boards

  • Board Member
    January 2022 - July 2023

    Served as a board member of Pollen Midwest, contributing to governance and strategic direction, including support for leadership transition and organizational continuity efforts.

  • Board Member
    August 2021 - January 2023

    Served on the advisory board of the Minnesota Humanities Center, contributing to committee-level governance, strategic engagement, and institutional initiatives advancing civic understanding, cultural connection, and public impact through the humanities.

  • Board Member
    May 2018 - May 2019

    Nominated to serve on the board of Burnaway, where I led the development of the organization’s strategic plan and supported the executive transition process, including the successful appointment of Executive Director Erin Jane Nelson.

 

Selection Committee

  • 2021 American Rescue Plan
    Theater Review Panel
    Washington, District of Columbia

    Served on federal review panels assessing applications for cultural contribution and national impact within publicly funded arts initiatives.

  • 2020 Community Leaders Selection Committee
    Minneapolis, Minnesota

    Nominated to serve on the Capella University Fellows Community Leaders Selection Committee, contributing to the evaluation and selection of scholarship recipients for the Capella University Fellows Program.

  • 2020 Grant Application Reviewer
    Saint Paul, Minnesota

    Served on state-level grant review panels evaluating applications for cultural impact, community relevance, and alignment with public funding priorities across arts and cultural programming.

  • 2019 MAP Fund Reviewer
    New York City, New York

    Served on MAP Fund’s national review panel evaluating artist-led projects for artistic excellence, cultural impact, and contributions to the evolving field of contemporary performance and interdisciplinary practice.

  • 2017 Cultural Content Expert
    Anchorage, Alaska

    Nominated to serve on a national review panel for the Individual Artist Awards program, contributing to the evaluation of artist submissions for cultural significance, creative impact, and contributions to the field within a peer-informed selection process convened by arts leaders, practitioners, and scholars.