Ruby Lopez Harper
Ruby Lopez Harper, a knowledge expert on the full scope of the local-level arts ecosystem, began her career at Americans for the Arts as the Director of Local Arts Services in 2016, becoming the Senior Director for Local Arts Advancement in 2020 and Vice President, Equity and Local Arts Engagement in 2021. At Americans for the Arts, Ruby was responsible for supporting 4,500 local arts agencies with tools, training and resources.
Currently, Ruby is the Executive Director of the Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF+) and an Adjunct Professor for George Mason University teaching courses in Arts and Community Engagement and Crisis Management.
Ruby’s work has focused on operationalizing diversity, equity, inclusion and access, disaster management and relief funding, grantmaking, supporting individual artists, community development, economic development, cultural tourism, marketing, and public art. She draws on a varied background that includes corporate affairs, community relations, volunteerism, employee engagement, marketing and communications, and business administration.
She is Chair for the Maryland State Arts Council board, serves on the board of the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, the National Coalition on Arts Preparedness and Emergency Response steering committee, volunteers as a special consultant to the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums and serves on the WETA/PBS Community Advisory Council, the board of Crafting the Future and the board of the James Renwick Alliance for Craft. She serves as Chair of the Robert E. Gard Foundation. She was a 2019 Arizona State University “Practices for Change” Fellow, a 2017 National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures Advocacy Leadership Institute Fellow and Class of 2017 American Express Leadership Academy Alum.