Lisa Richards Toney

In July 2020, Lisa Richards Toney was appointed President and CEO of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP). Lisa’s arts career spans more than 20 years and includes leading a range of small and large arts and humanities organizations, managing change and building stability. Most recently she served as the Executive Director of the Abramson Scholarship Foundation, and prior to that, as the Interim Executive Director and Deputy Director of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. She was also the first Executive Director of the Debbie Allen Dance Academy and Director of Literature to Life for The American Place Theatre. She currently serves on the boards of Performing Arts Alliance and Mosaic Theatre Company of DC, co-chair of the Jack and Jill DC Chapter Jumoke Black History Festival, and on the Advisory Board of the American University Graduate Program in Arts Administration. She holds an M.A. in educational theater from NYU with a concentration in arts administration and a B.A. in theatre and English as a presidential scholar from Spelman College.