Executive Background
A Career Across Sectors
Taneshia's career spans commercial real estate, arts and cultural institutions, municipal economic development, and entertainment — a portfolio built on the conviction that sustainable change requires fluency across capital, culture, and community.
As CEO of Newark Symphony Hall, she led a nationally recognized turnaround, raising over $15 million and launching workforce initiatives in one of the most diverse cities in the Northeast. She co-founded MIST Harlem, a groundbreaking entertainment venue combining live performance, cinema, and culinary arts. Earlier in her career, as Director of Economic Development for the City of Trenton, she managed a development portfolio of more than $250 million and designed community investment and affordable housing strategies.
She relocated to Boston in 2022 as the inaugural President & CEO of the Greater Roxbury Arts & Cultural Center, helping lay the foundation for a new anchor cultural institution in Roxbury. She has served on grant review panels for the National Endowment for the Arts and The Boston Foundation.
Her institutional service includes Treasurer of The Billie Holiday Theatre, Co-Chair of CREW Boston's Housing & Community Development Committee, and Community Advancement Chair of ICSC New England, alongside gubernatorial appointments in Massachusetts and New Jersey. She previously served as President of Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation (2019–2022).
She holds a BBA from Baruch College and a Master's degree in Live Entertainment Management from the University of Miami's Frost School of Music. She is the co-author of Still I Rise: A Graphic History of African Americans (Sterling, 2009), an updated edition of Still I Rise: A Cartoon History of African Americans (W.W. Norton, 1997).
Architect of Access
The Framework
Taneshia teaches that relational capital — not just competence — determines who gets to lead. Her approach is grounded in a multigenerational understanding of how cultural wealth translates into economic access.
I'm the great-great-great-granddaughter of Monroe Graham, born in Africa around 1800, brought to Charleston, South Carolina, and sold as an enslaved child. His descendants, my grandparents, became sharecroppers in North Carolina. My mother escaped picking cotton — her older siblings did not. I am my ancestors' wildest dreams.
The Architect of Access framework identifies four moves that build durable access across generations:
- Inheritance — What you start with: cultural wealth, community ties, inherited knowledge.
- Conversion — How visibility becomes access: advocacy, strategic positioning, showing up.
- Accumulation — Building bridges across sectors: government, nonprofit, corporate, real estate.
- Transfer — Institutionalizing individual success so others can follow: what Project REAP does at scale.
Testimonials
"Taneshia Nash Laird is an absolute rockstar. Her dynamic leadership and genuine passion for community impact are truly remarkable. I was paired with Taneshia as my mentor through a Women In Music program, and she was integral in my decision to launch RAMPD—a global network for Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities. Today, RAMPD is an award-winning, Ford Foundation-funded, U.N.-recognized organization partnering with everyone from the Grammys to Netflix. Taneshia's ability to inspire is unparalleled. She was—and is—a true game-changer."
— Recording Artist Lachi, Founder of RAMPD
“They say ‘Success leaves clues…’ and if you follow Taneshia close enough—even from afar—you’ll receive a masterclass in execution. She’s a visionary leader who knows no bounds. Everything she touches is made better by her ability to strategize and see things through. Taneshia has spoken to our group of nonprofit professionals a few times, and each time we left full of gems. She’s transparent about her journey as a Black woman CEO and generous in offering tools others can use to reach the C-suite. A dynamic speaker and true servant leader in our sector—highly recommend.”
— Tyneisha Gibbs, Co-Founder & Executive Director, Nonprofit Professionals of Color Collective
