About Debra
Debra Cash, BDF Scholar in Residence, is Executive Director of Boston Dance Alliance. She has reported, taught, and lectured on dance, performing arts, design, and cultural policy for print, broadcast, and internet media. Her roles in the cultural community have spanned journalism, education, consulting, and advocacy for the rights of creative professionals. A longtime consultant to the National Endowment for the Arts and New England Foundation for the Arts, Debra has served on panels and nominating committees for the Massachusetts Cultural Council, The Boston Foundation, The LEF Foundation, The Yard, Boston Center for the Arts, and the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts and is a member of the Leadership Council of MASSCreative. She regularly presents audience engagement lectures for World Music/CRASHarts and other leading regional presenters. Debra was a dance critic for the Boston Globe for 17 years, followed by a five year stint at NPR station WBUR, and seven as a founding Senior Contributor to The Arts Fuse, for which she now is a Board member. Debra has taught at Emerson College, the Boston Conservatory, and Northeastern. She earned her B.A. at Brandeis University and a Master’s degree in Design Studies at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
