Renae Williams Niles, Part 1, Balancing Acts: Renee’s Journey of Career, Caregiving, and Community

Creative Mamas Unplugged

“Balancing Acts: Renee’s Journey of Career, Caregiving, and Community"

Renee shares her incredible multifaceted career journey and the demands of presenting (3:10) she discusses the importance of demonstrating what giving back to your community looks like for her children (10:43), the reality of caretaking for parents while being a mom to three children (11:50), the surprise of how different children are even though they are raised in the same household (19:00), and how she has been able to prioritize her career because of the amazing support system that she has (24:12).

Hosts: Cherice Barton and Shelly Hutchinson

Guest: Renae Williams Niles

Producer: Jessica O’Keefe, Breatheasy Productions

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Extended Summary:

In this inspiring episode of Creative Mamas Unplugged, we sit down with the incredible Renae, a creative powerhouse who has uniquely balanced a flourishing career in the arts with parenting three children. Renae shares her journey, emphasizing the vital role of her strong support system that has allowed her to prioritize her career while championing diversity and inclusion in her field.

Throughout the conversation, Renae opens up about her commitment to supporting and mentoring women in the arts, especially fellow mothers navigating similar challenges. She discusses her aspirations to further impact her community and industry, all while managing the responsibility of caring for her aging parents.

Additionally, Renae reflects on the importance of sharing her experiences and insights with other women striving to harmonize their personal and professional lives. Cher and Shelly, our podcast hosts, join the discussion to underline their experiences with traveling for work and the impact of guilt on women, particularly mothers. Renae shares how she is an example for her children in seeing how to recognize our individual responsibility to our community and make a positive impact. Through her journey, Renae continues to serve as a role model, not only for her children but for the entire arts community.

Tune in to hear Renae’s remarkable story of resilience, mentorship, and making a difference, all while nurturing her family's values and her passion for the arts.

More about Renae Williams Niles:

For three decades, Renae Williams Niles has worked within the nonprofit sector in many capacities including executive director of an education foundation, chief operating officer/diversity liaison for a university dance school, touring dance company manager, grantmaker for Los Angeles County, vice president of programming/dance presenter, chief content and engagement officer, adjunct professor for a graduate arts management program, and as a consultant/guest curator and moderator. Renae’s career has allowed her to work with/advise/present/commission new work by over 100 different dance companies, choreographers, directors and also moderate conversations with acclaimed dance, music, literary and film trailblazers.

Early in her career, she worked with the Lula Washington Dance Theatre as an apprentice dancer and eventually company manager overseeing national touring of the professional company. Renae worked as the marketing/special projects manager for Grand Performances (formerly California Plaza Presents), a free outdoor presenting organization. She also served as director of grant programs for the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, where she devised the Commission’s first economic impact report and participated in the selection of artists for the Ford Amphitheatre. Renae was the first chief operating officer/associate dean of administration for the University of Southern California Kaufman School of Dance, and also authored their equity plan and co-led diversity and inclusion efforts. She also served as the executive director for the Culver City Education Foundation, funding district-wide essential programs and priorities for one of the most diverse K-12 public school districts in the state of California. For three years, Renae was adjunct faculty for Claremont Graduate University’s Arts Management program. Most recently, she was the chief content and engagement officer, overseeing five departments of the Los Angeles Philharmonic including all programming across all venues, marketing/communications, learning/Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles and government and community engagement. While with the LA Phil, Renae oversaw the collaboration with Live Nation Urban in co-producing the nation’s Juneteenth Celebration at the Hollywood Bowl, aired live on CNN for millions around the world.

For over 11 years, Renae worked for The Music Center eventually becoming vice president of programming. In addition to guiding all facets of the dance series, she curated the presentation of over 50 internationally-acclaimed ballet and contemporary companies, created the highly-regarded programs BalletNOW and Moves After Dark and also commissioned the world debut of the now famed LA Dance Project. While at The Music Center, she collaborated with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, The Apollo Theater, Center Theatre Group, Dance Camera West, LA Opera, LA Phil, Live Nation, REDCAT and others.

Renae guest curates and has worked with the LA Phil, within both Walt Disney Concert Hall and at the Hollywood Bowl and was invited to curate for The Joyce Theater’s American Dance Platform in New York. As a consultant/creative producer, she has guided projects and devised focused plans in several areas including equity and community engagement efforts, programming/artistic strategy, audience and donor cultivation/retention. Clients have included Ballet Hispanico, Jacob’s Pillow, the LA Phil and others. Renae also enjoys moderating conversations with renowned artists including the feature film La La Land’s entire creative team, award-winning choreographers such as Camille A. Brown and Sir Matthew Bourne, legendary artist Yo-Yo Ma, composer Kris Bowers and with artist/author Ben Folds to name a few.

Since 2014, Renae has been a Fellow with the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities. She frequently serves on boards, as an advisor, grant review panelist, and as an anonymous nominator for national foundations. She has served as a panelist for the Entertainment Industry Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, United States Artists, and the W.M. Keck Foundation among many others. Renae served as board president of the Western Arts Alliance (WAA), on the board of trustees for Dance/USA and as a three-year advisor for the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project. Within the Los Angeles area, she has served on the Dance Resource Center board, as a founding member of Emerging Arts Leaders, founding member of the Culver City Cultural Affairs Foundation, founding member of USC Kaufman’s Board of Advisors, Host Committee Co-Chair for the 2018 Dance/USA national conference, and currently serves as an advisor to BODYTRAFFIC and an unofficial advisor for many artists and dance companies. She is the immediate past board chair of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals, a national/international leader in the touring performing arts for the U.S. Renae received the 2017 WAA Service to the Field Award and in 2021, she was recognized as an Unsung Hero by the State of California Legislative Black Caucus.

In addition to being an alum of USC, Renae more recently completed an executive education program with the USC Marshall School of Business. She holds a certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University and participated in the inaugural USC Racial Equity Leadership Academy. She is a proud mother of three and with her husband, resides within greater Los Angeles.