Eddie Torres is a social change servant leader in the nonprofit, philanthropic and public sectors - currently serving as president and CEO of Grantmakers in the Arts. Torres served as deputy commissioner of cultural affairs for New York City, where they played a leadership role in the city’s long-term sustainability plan, the city's first cultural plan and a study of and support of the diversity of the city’s cultural organizations. Torres is featured in The Routledge Handbook of Urban Cultural Planning, discussing their work for the City of New York. Prior to joining the New York City government, Torres was a program officer with The Rockefeller Foundation, supporting arts and culture, employment access, and resilience. Torres has also served at The Ford Foundation and Bronx Council on the Arts. Torres serves on the board of directors of United Philanthropy Forum, as well as serving on its Public Policy Committee. Torres holds a Master of Arts in Art History from Hunter College and a Master of Science in Management from The New School.

http://www.giarts.org

Elissa shares her insights on the intersection of law, business, and creativity, and how to approach legal matters with a focus on long-term success and genuine collaboration. As General Counsel to small businesses, solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, and those in the creative industries in their legal and business affairs across the U.S., Elissa guides clients through strategic thought processes, how to negotiate from a position of strength, protects their brands and intellectual property, sets up their businesses and legal infrastructures so that they are protected (including contracts, licensing, digital issues, trademarks, and copyrights), and works on independent contractor/employee issues, among other areas. Elissa also practices in the fields of entertainment, arts, and book publishing and is a repeat Super Lawyer, Top Lawyers, and Best Lawyers in America.

Photo by Loraine T. Hecker

eheckeresq.com

Jina Paik is Vice President of Nonprofit Finance Fund’s Learning & Impact team, which leads the adoption of learning practices and impact measurement across the organization. She oversees the application of NFF's theory of change, advances impact measurement to support the strategic plan, implements best practices around learning, and supports an organization-wide culture of learning. Prior to this role, Jina was a senior consultant and headed knowledge management within NFF's Consulting team, where she worked directly with philanthropies, nonprofits, and boards on strategic financial management and building financial capacity. Jina is a committed partner with New York City advocacy and capacity-building groups to support reforms within the social sector and serves on nonprofit finance committees and boards, such as DanceNYC and the Association of Nonprofit Specialists. She is the recipient of the NYC Human Services Council's Next Generation Leader award and has contributed to publications such The Nonprofit Quarterly, Crain’s New York, New York Nonprofit Press, and Nonprofit Finance Fund’s Social Currency blog. Prior to joining NFF, Jina worked at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Helene Fuld Health Trust, and the TCC Group. Jina holds a Master of Science in urban policy analysis and management from the Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy at The New School, and a Bachelor in Fine Arts from Carnegie Mellon University. She lives in Long Island with her family, two dogs, and eight guitars.

Photo by Jo Chiang

Kellee Edusei (she/her) is the former Executive Director of Dance/USA with over 15 years of leadership in in stewarding collaborative visions, mobilizing resources and advancing belonging within the dance ecosystem. Described as creative, a pollinator and builder, Edusei operates with gratitude - always - at her core. 

During her tenure as Executive Director of Dance/USA, Edusei advanced core values of creativity, connectivity, equity and integrity by activating a shared leadership model for Dance/USA’s eighteen peer (member) networks - dismantling a singular leadership structure; decolonizing Dance/USA’s Bylaws - ensuring all Trustees experience a singular, equitable pathway to Trusteeship; shifting its National Conference to a biennial cycle while offering virtual programming throughout the year and launching Impact Groups - creating a more inclusive framework for collaboration within Dance/USA’s member community and the broader dance ecosystem. In honor of Dance/USA’s 40th anniversary (in 2022) Edusei conceived, designed and implemented Dance/USA’s inaugural Day of Giving campaign. Additionally, she successfully negotiated Dance/USA’s early release from a 10 year lease agreement, fully transitioning the organization to a virtual office and unlocking six figures in financial resources to be strategically leveraged for operational use.

In early 2024, Edusei launched the Strategic Reframing Process to cultivate an environment that embodies equity, centers inclusion and cultivates belonging for all parts of the dance ecosystem. This bold vision for the organization and sector, with Edusei’s stewardship, facilitated a $1 Million investment in Dance/USA from the Mellon Foundation.

Edusei is an experienced grants panelist, having served on panels for the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County (MD), Alternate Roots (GA) and the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) (IL), and has been a featured speaker for DCASE, Ensemble Español and the University of South Carolina at Columbia. 

Edusei is a former Board member of Dance/USA (national), the Performing Arts Alliance (national), See Chicago Dance (IL) and Dance Exchange (MD). Additionally, Edusei is a former member of Women of Color in the Arts (WOCA)’s Advisory Council. 

As a lifelong learner and innately curious, Edusei is always seeking opportunities to challenge her assumptions through new learning opportunities and experiences. She is an alumna of the 2025 Creative Disruptors Learning Collaborative; Acumen’s 2022 Leadership Accelerator cohort; the New Strategies Forum at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business (supported by American Express); artEquity’s BIPOC Leadership Circle and American Express’ 2014 Leadership Academy. 

Edusei lives as a guest on the lands of the Council of the Three Fires with her husband and their children.

Photo by Maria Ponce

Marissa Lewis (she/her) believes deeply in the power of amplifying community voice through the arts, recognizing storytelling and creative expression as powerful tools for social change. She brings extensive nonprofit leadership experience spanning philanthropy, strategy and organizational development, training and facilitation, and Board development. She excels at building organizational culture and designing systems that translate vision into action while advancing equity and inclusive leadership practices. Marissa is a proud product of NYC public school and public housing systems, and a graduate of Binghamton University in New York.

http://www.penncreativestrategy.com

Niya Nicholson is an accomplished justice-driven leader with expertise in developing impactful businesses and advancing artistic and creative careers. Her expertise spans fundraising, strategy, finance, operations, board leadership, staff development, and implementing equitable practices. A Harlem native and former dance student at LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts, Niya earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Vassar College in 2014, receiving the inaugural ALANA Exemplary Commitment to the Arts Award. As a dedicated advocate and mentor, Niya actively contributes to the creative sector as a strategist, grantmaker, grant writer, speaker/moderator, adjudicator, and board member.

Niya's career in arts administration began in leadership roles with premier dance organizations. She served as Development Manager at Gibney Dance and as the Director of Development at the José Limón Dance Foundation. Before the launch of MOVE|NYC| in 2015, Niya was the organization’s sole volunteer administrator and was promoted to founding Executive Director in 2023, expanding its operating budget from $25K to $1.6M and its programmatic reach to D.C. and Scotland.

Niya’s leadership has been recognized by Dance/NYC, Dance/USA, the International Association of Blacks in Dance, American Express, OneCause, New York State Council on the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, and Vassar College.

Photo by Nir Arieli

https://www.movenyc.nyc/niya-nicholson

Peter Alfred Elizalde (they/them/theirs) is a nonbinary, Filipino/a/x/? interdisciplinary performance artist, dancer, choreographer, arts administrator, DJ, and nightlife aficionado and professional currently residing in unceded Lenape-Canarsie territory known as Brooklyn, NY. They have performed under the direction of choreographers Ljuba Castot, Julia Ehrstrand and John Alix and have appeared on stage and on camera with artists such as Kay Day, Honey Davenport, Pixie Aventura, Madam Vivien V, and Mila Jam. They look forward to being able to serve the cultural sector in this capacity and to bringing the many intersections of their work, life, and identity to New Yorkers for Culture and Arts.

Photo by Michelle Mor @kosher_butch

Reshma serves on the board of Dance/NYC. She is a public finance expert with 20 years of experience working on infrastructure financings for state and local governments across the United States. She has structured over $40 billion of municipal bond issues. Reshma has additional work experience in micro-finance, private equity, data analytics and e-commerce.

Reshma's professional expertise is complemented by her extensive community leadership. She serves as Chair of the Manhattan Community Board 6 (CB6) budget committee and is a member of CB6 Environment and Parks Committee. Reshma is board co-chair of Chhaya Community Development Corporation which serves the Queen's neighborhoods of Jackson Heights and Richmond Hill.

Reshma is an elected District Leader serving New York's 74th Assembly District Part D. In this capacity she works with local elected officials to address community issues and leads voter outreach efforts.

For nearly 20 years, Reshma has been a volunteer with Sakhi for South Asian Women spearheading the creation of a scholarship program for survivors of domestic violence and Sakhi's economic empowerment program. Reshma is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Reshma Patel is a New Yorker for Dance.

Photo by Ed Collier

Virginia Johnson is a founding member and former principal dancer and artistic director of Dance Theatre of Harlem. Her 28-year performance career with DTH took her around the world, gaining acclaim in a broad range of works by George Balanchine, Garth Fagan, Bronislava Nijinska and others. Her performances in Giselle, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Fall River Legend were recorded for broadcast on network and cable television. After retiring as a dancer  in 1997, she resumed work on an undergraduate degree in journalism, a step that led to the creation of POINTE magazine. She is the founding editor of that publication and served as editor-in-chief from 2000-2009. At the request of DTH co-founder Arthur Mitchell, she returned to DTH as artistic director in 2010, a post she held until 2023. She has received numerous honors and awards as well as honorary doctorates from Cornish College of the Arts, Swarthmore and Juilliard.  She serves on the advisory board of Dance NYC and is on the Board of Works & Process.

Photo by Theik Smith