Change Agent

Taneshia Nash Laird is an Associate Professor in the Africana Studies department at Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee, where she shares her vast experience with students, fostering the next generation of creative entrepreneurs. A strategic leader at the intersection of arts and community development, Taneshia is the creator of the CultureCore Blueprint, a framework she has applied as the Inaugural President and CEO of the Greater Roxbury Arts & Cultural Center (GRACC) in Boston, Massachusetts. GRACC is envisioned as a vibrant cultural hub showcasing Afrodiasporic theater, dance, cinema, and art, emphasizing social justice and economic development principles.

 

Taneshia began her career in the early 1990s as the Director of Media Relations at Planet Rock Music in the Bronx, NY, a label founded by hip-hop legend Afrika Bambaataa. Before her appointment to GRACC, she served as the President and CEO of Newark Symphony Hall, revitalizing the nearly insolvent historic performing arts center. Her initiatives significantly benefited the city’s predominantly Black and Hispanic residents and raised $15 million for the building's historic preservation, showcasing her financial acumen and dedication to the arts.

 

In 2012, Taneshia co-founded MIST Harlem, an entertainment center in Upper Manhattan created in response to the area’s rapid gentrification. Designed to preserve African American and Latino culture, MIST Harlem aimed to foster economic development while celebrating and maintaining the community's cultural heritage.

 

Taneshia's previous roles also include Executive Director at the Arts Council of Princeton, leading its Paul Robeson Center for the Arts, Regional Director of the US Women's Chamber of Commerce, and Director of Economic Development for Trenton, NJ.

 

In governance roles, Taneshia serves as board treasurer of the National Medal of Arts-winning Billie Holiday Theatre in Brooklyn, NY, and is a National Independent Venue Foundation board member. She has also served as a grants panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, and the Boston Foundation.

 

Taneshia is also co-author of Still I Rise: A Graphic History of African Americans and co-produced films such as Battle Sounds: A Hip Hop DJ Documentary and Black Terror. She is a proud member of the Recording Academy and has served on the advisory board for the Grammy Museum’s Hip-Hop America: The Mixtape Exhibit, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the genre and culture.

 

Taneshia's contributions to the arts have earned her numerous accolades, including recognition from NJBIZ's Power 100 and Top 50 Women in Business, ROI-NJ’s Women in Business Influencers, and People of Color Influencer lists. She has also been featured in The Network Journal magazine as one of the "25 Influential Black Women in Business" in the U.S. and recognized by Wonder Women Tech as one of the "136 Black Innovators in STEM + Arts You Must Know and Support." In February 2023, New England Blacks in Philanthropy named her a Community Sentinel.