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Renae Williams Niles
For three decades, Renae Williams Niles has worked within the nonprofit sector in many capacities including executive director of an education foundation, chief operating officer/diversity liaison for a university dance school, touring dance company manager, grantmaker for Los Angeles County, vice president of programming/dance presenter, chief content and engagement officer, adjunct professor for a graduate arts management program, and as a consultant/guest curator and moderator.
Renae’s career has allowed her to work with/advise/present/commission new work by over 100 different dance companies, choreographers, and directors and also moderate conversations with acclaimed dance, music, literary and film trailblazers. Early in her career, she worked with the Lula Washington Dance Theatre as an apprentice dancer and eventually company manager, overseeing national touring of the professional company. Renae worked as the marketing/special projects manager for Grand Performances (formerly California Plaza Presents), a free outdoor presenting organization. She also served as director of grant programs for the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, where she devised the Commission’s first economic impact report and participated in the selection of artists for the Ford Amphitheatre. Renae was the first chief operating officer/associate dean of administration for the University of Southern California Kaufman School of Dance, and also authored their equity plan and co-led diversity and inclusion efforts. She also served as the executive director for the Culver City Education Foundation, funding district-wide essential programs and priorities for one of the most diverse K-12 public school districts in the state of California.
For three years, Renae was adjunct faculty for Claremont Graduate University’s Arts Management program. Most recently, she was the chief content and engagement officer of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, overseeing five departments including all programming across all venues, marketing/communications, learning/Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles and government and community engagement. While with the LA Phil, Renae oversaw the collaboration with Live Nation Urban in co-producing the nation’s Juneteenth Celebration at the Hollywood Bowl, aired live on CNN for millions around the world.
For over 11 years, Renae worked for the Music Center eventually becoming vice president of programming. In addition to guiding all facets of the dance series, she curated the presentation of over 50 internationally acclaimed ballet and contemporary companies, created the highly-regarded programs BalletNOW and Moves After Dark and also commissioned the world debut of the now famed LA Dance Project. While at the Music Center, she collaborated with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, the Apollo Theater, Center Theatre Group, Dance Camera West, LA Opera, LA Phil, Live Nation, REDCAT and others. Renae guest curates and has worked with the LA Phil, within both Walt Disney Concert Hall and at the Hollywood Bowl and was invited to curate for the Joyce Theater’s American Dance Platform in New York.
As a consultant/creative producer, she has guided projects and devised focused plans in several areas including equity and community engagement efforts, programming/artistic strategy, audience and donor cultivation/retention. Clients have included Ballet Hispanico, Jacob’s Pillow, the LA Phil, Ventura Music Festival and others. Renae also enjoys moderating conversations with renowned artists including the feature film La La Land’s entire creative team, award-winning choreographers such as Camille A. Brown and Sir Matthew Bourne, legendary artist Yo-Yo Ma, composer Kris Bowers and with artist/author Ben Folds to name a few.
Since 2014, Renae has been a fellow with the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities. She frequently serves on boards, as an advisor, grant review panelist, and as an anonymous nominator for national foundations. She has served as a panelist for the Entertainment Industry Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, United States Artists, and the W.M. Keck Foundation among many others. Renae served as board president of the Western Arts Alliance (WAA), on the board of trustees for Dance/USA and as a three-year advisor for the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project. Within the Los Angeles area, she has served on the Dance Resource Center board, as a founding member of Emerging Arts Leaders, founding member of the Culver City Cultural Affairs Foundation, founding member of USC Kaufman’s Board of Advisors, Host Committee Co-Chair for the 2018 Dance/USA national conference, and currently serves as an advisor to BODYTRAFFIC and an unofficial advisor for many artists and dance companies. She is the immediate past board chair of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals, a national/international leader in the touring performing arts for the U.S. Renae received the 2017 WAA Service to the Field Award and in 2021, she was recognized as an Unsung Hero by the State of California Legislative Black Caucus.
Renae’s career has allowed her to work with/advise/present/commission new work by over 100 different dance companies, choreographers, and directors and also moderate conversations with acclaimed dance, music, literary and film trailblazers. Early in her career, she worked with the Lula Washington Dance Theatre as an apprentice dancer and eventually company manager, overseeing national touring of the professional company. Renae worked as the marketing/special projects manager for Grand Performances (formerly California Plaza Presents), a free outdoor presenting organization. She also served as director of grant programs for the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, where she devised the Commission’s first economic impact report and participated in the selection of artists for the Ford Amphitheatre. Renae was the first chief operating officer/associate dean of administration for the University of Southern California Kaufman School of Dance, and also authored their equity plan and co-led diversity and inclusion efforts. She also served as the executive director for the Culver City Education Foundation, funding district-wide essential programs and priorities for one of the most diverse K-12 public school districts in the state of California.
For three years, Renae was adjunct faculty for Claremont Graduate University’s Arts Management program. Most recently, she was the chief content and engagement officer of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, overseeing five departments including all programming across all venues, marketing/communications, learning/Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles and government and community engagement. While with the LA Phil, Renae oversaw the collaboration with Live Nation Urban in co-producing the nation’s Juneteenth Celebration at the Hollywood Bowl, aired live on CNN for millions around the world.
For over 11 years, Renae worked for the Music Center eventually becoming vice president of programming. In addition to guiding all facets of the dance series, she curated the presentation of over 50 internationally acclaimed ballet and contemporary companies, created the highly-regarded programs BalletNOW and Moves After Dark and also commissioned the world debut of the now famed LA Dance Project. While at the Music Center, she collaborated with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, the Apollo Theater, Center Theatre Group, Dance Camera West, LA Opera, LA Phil, Live Nation, REDCAT and others. Renae guest curates and has worked with the LA Phil, within both Walt Disney Concert Hall and at the Hollywood Bowl and was invited to curate for the Joyce Theater’s American Dance Platform in New York.
As a consultant/creative producer, she has guided projects and devised focused plans in several areas including equity and community engagement efforts, programming/artistic strategy, audience and donor cultivation/retention. Clients have included Ballet Hispanico, Jacob’s Pillow, the LA Phil, Ventura Music Festival and others. Renae also enjoys moderating conversations with renowned artists including the feature film La La Land’s entire creative team, award-winning choreographers such as Camille A. Brown and Sir Matthew Bourne, legendary artist Yo-Yo Ma, composer Kris Bowers and with artist/author Ben Folds to name a few.
Since 2014, Renae has been a fellow with the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities. She frequently serves on boards, as an advisor, grant review panelist, and as an anonymous nominator for national foundations. She has served as a panelist for the Entertainment Industry Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, United States Artists, and the W.M. Keck Foundation among many others. Renae served as board president of the Western Arts Alliance (WAA), on the board of trustees for Dance/USA and as a three-year advisor for the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project. Within the Los Angeles area, she has served on the Dance Resource Center board, as a founding member of Emerging Arts Leaders, founding member of the Culver City Cultural Affairs Foundation, founding member of USC Kaufman’s Board of Advisors, Host Committee Co-Chair for the 2018 Dance/USA national conference, and currently serves as an advisor to BODYTRAFFIC and an unofficial advisor for many artists and dance companies. She is the immediate past board chair of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals, a national/international leader in the touring performing arts for the U.S. Renae received the 2017 WAA Service to the Field Award and in 2021, she was recognized as an Unsung Hero by the State of California Legislative Black Caucus.