Debra Cash appointed new Executive Director of the Boston Dance Alliance

BOSTON - Jan. 8, 2015 - PRLog -- Boston Dance Alliance (BDA), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting and promoting dance in the Boston area, announced Debra Cash as its new Executive Director, effective February 2, 2015. Cash, a longtime member of Boston’s arts community as a journalist, teacher, lecturer, consultant and more, succeeds Ruth Birnberg, who stepped down at the end of December after serving a decade in this leadership role at BDA.

"We are delighted to welcome Debra to our BDA family," said Essence McGill Arzu, Co-President of the BDA Board of Directors, "and we look forward to the next phase of BDA's great impact on Dance in Greater Boston with Debra at the helm."

Since 1991, Cash has led an international consultancy, New Century Enterprises, working for both the nonprofit and corporate sectors with a focus on understanding customer needs, launching new initiatives, and creating strong evaluation metrics. She has offered insight, solutions, and support to organizations including New England Foundation for the Arts and the Barr Foundation, and supported the publication of Boston Mayor-elect Martin J. Walsh's Transition Committee Reports.

In addition to her consultancy work, Cash has simultaneously served as a respected arts journalist for print, digital, and broadcast outlets, including Boston Globe, National Public Radio, and The Arts Fuse. She has written about notable choreographers for textbooks and taught dance history and world dance at Emerson College, Northeastern University, and Boston Conservatory. She has also offered her expertise as an arts lecturer, panelist, advocate, and expert at organizations, schools, dance festivals, competitions, and forums.

"This is a time of renewed vitality in Boston arts and culture," Cash said. "I'm thrilled to have this opportunity to connect dance and dancers with valuable resources and to increase the visibility of our diverse community."

Cash earned her B.A. at Brandeis University and a Master’s degree in Design Studies at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. She resides in Belmont.

About Boston Dance Alliance
Boston Dance Alliance (BDA) supports the dance community that invigorates Boston through this living and dynamic art form. Toward that end, BDA provides services that raise the profile of dance, nurture artistic excellence, and enhance the effectiveness and vitality of its individual and institutional members.  BDA’s comprehensive matrix of programs focus upon three major areas: networking and communication, education and outreach, and access and advocacy. For more information, visit www.bostondancealliance.org.