Special Section – Influential Women Leading the Way in Charlotte 7

Krista Terrell

President of the Arts & Science Council

Photo courtesy of Krista Terrell

            Advancing cultural equity is the focus of Krista Terrell’s work as President of the Arts & Science Council (ASC), Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s lead advocate for and connector to the arts and culture community. Terrell, a public relations practitioner, has been with ASC for nearly 20 years and became its leader in 2021.

“I am excited to lead an amazing and thoughtful team as we transform ASC by investing in the people, organizations, programs, and ideas that move us toward a more equitable, sustainable and innovative creative ecosystem,” she said.

Terrell served as the lead editor of ASC’s inaugural Cultural Equity Report that shared the organization’s inequitable funding history and its journey on the path to cultural equity. The report details how investment decisions by ASC resulted in inequitable funding of Black-led cultural organizations and cultural organizations of color in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. It also outlines measures ASC has implemented over the past eight years to better support those organizations and their communities. It also outlines ASC’s intentional efforts to better support creative individuals and communities.

Terrell and her team are committed to cultural equity and the equitable distribution of resources, which means they practice equity in all aspects of grant-making from eliminating barriers to funding opportunities and ensuring there is a broad diversity of community perspectives in decision-making. They hold themselves accountable by tracking who they fund and mitigating existing inequities in funding.

Terrell earned her bachelor’s degree in communication arts from Johnson C. Smith University. She is a member of the Public Relations Society of America’s Board of Ethics and Professional Standards and the Charlotte Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

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