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Young Audiences Partners with International Community School to Raise Funds for Arts Programming
Thursday, July 07, 2011
 ATLANTA, July 7, 2011 –
Young Audiences, Woodruff Arts Center
(YA), Georgia’s leading provider of in-school arts-in-education programming, today announced that Charisse M. Williams has been selected as its President.
Williams, who takes office on August 22, joins YA after serving as a Director of
The Posse Foundation
, a national youth leadership development and college access program established in New York in 1989. Williams became the founding Director of Posse Atlanta in 2007.
“I am excited and inspired by the work that Young Audiences, Woodruff Arts Center is doing to bring quality arts learning experiences into schools that increase creativity, foster cultural understanding, and enhance the development of students’ learning and life skills,” said Williams. “I look forward to working with my colleagues at The Woodruff Arts Center as we continue to have a positive impact on education throughout Georgia and become a model arts education organization nationally.”
“Charisse will be a tremendous asset to Young Audiences, the Woodruff Arts Center, and the arts and education communities,” commented Anne Game, Board of Directors Chairwoman of Young Audiences, Woodruff Arts Center. “YA has been a trusted resource and partner for school and community venues, bringing the arts directly to them for almost 30 years. Having someone with a background focused on young people, education and a natural love and appreciation for the arts, will enable us to continue to create and deliver programs that increase literacy and inspire education through the arts. With her strong relationship building and fundraising skills, Charisse will definitely help us take our organization to the next level.”
After earning her Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University, Williams went on to graduate from Northwestern University School of Law where she received her Juris Doctor. She is a member of the Maryland Bar, Young Professionals for Educational Equity and was a member of The Atlanta Education
Fund’s original Advisory Group. Before moving to Atlanta, Williams was a reviewer for the Maryland State Arts Council and continued that work for the Georgia Council on the Arts Dance Panel.
Prior to her work at The Posse Foundation, Williams was a Program Officer at the Public Welfare Foundation in Washington, D.C. She also worked for Amnesty International, developing and teaching international human rights education curricula in Washington, D.C. and Chicago public high schools. Williams has been a performer and instructor with several dance organizations and enjoys teaching workshops in Atlanta.
“As a division of The Woodruff Arts Center, Young Audiences helps form a collaborative, inspirational, and supportive environment for the arts and education by bringing the arts out into our community,” said
Joseph R. Bankoff, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Woodruff Arts Center
. “Charisse’s passion for the arts and education, along with her success in program development position us well to fulfill our mission to be a leader in education in and through the arts.”
The nationwide search was led by
BoardWalk Consulting
and supported by a Search Committee comprised of YA Board Members, The Woodruff Arts Center’s President and CEO Joe Bankoff, and YA’s Interim Executive Director Virginia A. Hepner.
About Young Audiences, Woodruff Arts Center
Young Audiences, Woodruff Arts Center (YA) is an affiliate of the nation’s largest arts-in-education organization, Young Audiences, Inc. and Georgia’s leading provider of educational arts programming. Since 1983, YA has pursued its mission – to transform the lives and learning of young people through the arts – by bringing the power of live arts experiences in music, dance, theatre, literary, and visual arts to young people from preschool through high school. Each year YA’s curriculum-based programs reach more than 500,000 students in schools, recreation centers, libraries, museums, and other community venues throughout the state of Georgia.
About Woodruff Arts Center
Over the past 40 years, The Woodruff Arts Center has distinguished itself as one of the premier cultural centers in the nation, a unique institutional model where individual arts institutions unite to form a collaborative, inspirational, and supportive environment for the arts and education. The Woodruff Arts Center campus, located in the heart of Midtown Atlanta houses four renowned arts organizations - Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, High Museum of Art, and Young Audiences.
Since 1968, The Woodruff Arts Center has served more than 30 million patrons and annually offers more than 3,300 performances and exhibitions. In addition to its role as a cultural beacon and hub of the Southeast, The Woodruff serves as a critical economic, educational, and social catalyst for Atlanta and the region. For more, visit
www.woodruffcenter.org
.
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CONTACT:
Emily Genetelli
404.733.4574
emily.genetelli@woodruffcenter.org
Kathleen Covington
404.733.4997
kathleen.covington@woodruffcenter.org
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