Board Chairperson (They/Them)

Lee Bynum has worked at the intersection of the performing arts and racial equity for more than twenty years. They have collaborated with some of the world’s leading arts organizations, including Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Minnesota Opera, National Black Theatre, National Queer Theater, Theater Mu, San Francisco Ballet, Dance Lab New York, the Museum of Arts and Design, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.

Lee has lectured on racial justice in arts programming at institutions such as Yale University, the Juilliard School, the Cleveland Institute of Music, Indiana University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Zhejiang Conservatory of Music, and The New School. As a dramaturg, composer, and librettist, they have been engaged by Opera North, the Metropolitan Opera, Detroit Opera, American Opera Projects, the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University, and the University of Michigan.

They have served on the boards of The Dream Unfinished Orchestra, TakeRoot Justice, Diaspora Community Services, the American Composers Forum, Luna Composition Lab, Opera-Oriented Project Sponsorships, and the Harmony Theatre Company. Beyond the arts, Lee is deeply involved in advocacy and organizing, particularly around racial and gender equity. They have held consultatory and advisory roles with organizations such as Flint Institute of Music, Association of Registrars and Collections Specialists, Seraphic Fire, and Upstream Education.

Lee holds a BA, MA, MPhil, and PhD from Columbia University, and their research has been published by Oxford University Press, Harvard University Press, and New York University Press. They currently serve as executive director of Maestra Music, which provides advocacy for women and nonbinary musicians in the theatre.