Communications Roundtable 041222 800x496-3

nancy

Nancy Kleaver

Executive Director
Dancing Classrooms New York City

For over 25 years, Nancy has worked to make arts learning equitable for all children and has a track record of leading organizations through times of growth and change. Prior to coming to Dancing Classrooms, Nancy was an independent consultant advising clients on partnership, talent recruitment, and program strategy. In her previous role at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Nancy served as Senior Director of Education & Community Engagement, where she helped leverage the institution’s great assets to make free world-class arts programming accessible to thousands of New Yorkers across the five boroughs. As Executive Director of Manhattan New Music Project (MNMP), she led a US Dept. of Education-funded partnership with NYC’s District 75 for the Everyday Arts for Special Education (EASE) program that trained every special education teacher in NYC to embed arts-based practices into their instruction. During her tenure as Director of School Programs for the DreamYard Project, Nancy oversaw partnerships in over 30 Bronx schools and designed the Bronx Arts Learning Community, a network of educators dedicated to providing consistent pathways of arts learning for their kids. Nancy holds a degree in sociology from Binghamton University and Masters in Public Administration and Nonprofit Management from Baruch College, has trained as an actor and singer and performed professionally. As an arts education thought leader, Nancy has facilitated conversations and served as the Arts In Education Network Chair of the National Guild for Community Arts Education and other membership associations.

She is a proud Queens mom and co-founder of PARADE and RECreate Qns, producing large, fun, family friendly public art projects by and for the people in her neighborhood. Taking inspiration from Dancing Classrooms students learning virtually from home this year, Nancy has re-invested in her own dance practice during the pandemic and can’t wait to hit the dance floor to try out her new skills!