Conrhonda E. Baker
Part of the About the 2023 Guest Editors Series
Grantmakers in the Arts
Photo by Bryan Goldberg.
Conrhonda E. Baker is founder & chief copy editor of The Bese Saka. Her passion for the performing arts is grounded in her dance background, sparked by taking after-school classes at a county-wide recreational facility in rural northeast Georgia. Having grown up with limited access to the arts, she understands the importance of exposing children to creative outlets and creating opportunities for artistic expression. She believes in holistic trust-based, regenerative, and restorative approaches to grantmaking.
Her philanthropic, fundraising, government affairs, and program development experience developed through work with South Arts, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, Alabama Dance Council, Vulcan Park and Museum, Birmingham Museum of Art, Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, and the Howard Gilman Foundation. She has sat on grant panels for Dance/NYC, the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts. She has sat on grant panels for Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, Dance/NYC, the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts. In addition to being a Women of Color in the Arts member, she serves on the Board of Directors for SOLE Defined and Arts Business Collaborative. She holds a Master of Arts Management from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor of Arts in African American Studies, with a minor in Dance Education, from The University of Georgia.
