TIA POWELL HARRIS is a career arts educator and administrator whose unwavering belief in the power of the arts to transform lives has landed her at a variety of educational and cultural institutions. Her career began at Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, and spans over thirty years. Following her initial classroom work at Ellington, she served first as Manager of Community Partnerships at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and then as Associate Director of Education Programs at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. She returned to Duke Ellington School of the Arts in 2006 where she held the position of Dean of Arts and was then pleased to become the school’s first Director of Artistic Affairs. After serving as Executive Director and President of Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn, New York, she once again returned to Ellington as Chief Executive Officer. Tia now serves as VP of Education and Community Engagement at the New York City Center. She holds a BS in Speech and Drama Education and an MA in Communication Arts and Theatre from the University of Maryland, College Park.