Lisa Nelson-Haynes

Executive Director

Having spent 15 years at the Painted Bride Art Center, Nelson-Haynes brings to PYP a deep knowledge of the Philadelphia arts-education community, coupled with hands-on experience with nonprofit management and educational programming.  In her role there as associate director, Nelson-Haynes ran the Center’s educational outreach and residency programs, marketing and communications departments and managed contractual relationships with artists.  Most recently, she has worked with the Bride’s executive director Laurel Raczka and University of the Arts dance director Donna Faye Burchfield to shepherd the ambitious project, Re-PLACE-ing Philadelphia -- an 18-month initiative to expand the archive of the city’s cultural memory through multiple histories that “re-place” established narratives with new perspectives.  She is also a nationally recognized expert in digital storytelling through her work as a facilitator with Storycenter, which uses the art of first-person narrative as a tool for education, advocacy and community-building.

Nelson-Haynes is a graduate of Hampton University and a candidate for a M.F.A. in film-making at Temple University.