Melissa Green

Melissa Green is the former Executive Director of ArtReach and the Community Gallery at Town Hall Education, Arts, and Recreation Campus (THEARC) in Washington, D.C. For over ten years—first as Director of Community Partnerships at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and later as Executive Director of ArtReach at the THEARC—Green managed the ArtReach program, which provides free afterschool arts education and community arts engagement projects for youth (ages 8-18) from underserved communities in Washington, DC. She has a passion for forging cross-cultural connections in art and transforming communities through creative and accessible placemaking initiatives. During her time at ArtReach, the program developed into one of the most respected youth arts programs in the District and worked with such organizations as The Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery, the National Park Service, Eleventh Street Bridge Park Project, District Department of the Environment, Art in Embassies, and the Office of the State Superintendent of Education. Green also spearheaded the development of the ArtReach Master Class and Visiting Artist Program, which led to students participating in projects with renowned artists: Nina Chanel Abney, Nick Cave, Mia Feuer, and David Levinthal. In 2010, ArtReach was selected for the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities first lady’s annual service project and worked with Michelle Obama on a youth mural project. In 2013, ArtReach was awarded the Mayor’s Arts Award for Innovation in the Arts.

In addition to her work with ArtReach, Green taught community and museum arts engagement at George Washington University and the Corcoran College of Art + Design and served as Director of Youth Programming and Continuing Education at the Corcoran.  Prior to moving to Washington, DC, Green taught art and design courses in Chicago’s inner-city schools. She received her Master of Arts in Teaching from the Corcoran College of Art + Design.