Taneshia Nash Laird
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Taneshia Nash Laird is a strategic leader at the intersection of arts and community development. As the creator of the CultureCore Blueprint, she has applied this framework as the inaugural president and CEO of the Greater Roxbury Arts & Cultural Center (GRACC) in Boston, envisioned as a vibrant hub showcasing Afrodiasporic arts and emphasizing social justice.
Laird began her career as the director of media relations at Planet Rock Music, founded by hip-hop legend Afrika Bambaataa. She revitalized Newark Symphony Hall in Newark, as its CEO, raising $15 million for its preservation and introducing programs that benefited Newark’s predominantly Black and Hispanic communities.
In 2012, Laird cofounded MIST Harlem, an entertainment center designed to preserve African American and Latino culture amid rapid gentrification. Her leadership roles have also included executive director at the Arts Council of Princeton and director of economic development for Trenton, New Jersey.
Laird serves as board treasurer of the National Medal of Arts-winning Billie Holiday Theatre and is a National Independent Venue Foundation board member. She co-authored Still I Rise: A Graphic History of African Americans and co-produced the film Battle Sounds: A Hip-Hop DJ Documentary. She has served on the advisory board for the Grammy Museum’s Hip-Hop America: The Mixtape Exhibit, which celebrates the genre's 50th anniversary.
- Inaugural President & CEO, Greater Roxbury Arts & Cultural Center (Boston, MA)
- President & CEO, Newark Symphony Hall (Newark, NJ)
- Co-Founder & Chief Marketing Officer, MIST Harlem (New York City)
- Executive Director, Paul Robeson Center for the Arts (Princeton, NJ)
- Advisor, Hip-Hop America: The Mixtape Exhibit, Grammy Museum (Los Angeles, CA)
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School NameUniversity of MiamiState or ProvinceFloridaDegreeMaster of Arts (MA)
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School NameCUNY Bernard M Baruch CollegeState or ProvinceNew YorkDegreeBachelor of Business Administration