Russell Willis Taylor served as interim Vice President for arts and leadership at The Banff Centre in Canada from 2016 to 2018. Prior to that, she served as President and CEO of National Arts Strategies from January 2001 to December 2014. Russell has extensive senior experience in strategic business planning, financial analysis and planning, and all areas of operational management. Educated in England and America, she served as director of development for the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art before returning to England in 1984 at the invitation of the English National Opera (ENO) to establish the Company’s first fund-raising department. During this time, she also lectured extensively at graduate programs of arts and business management throughout Britain. From 1997 to 2001, she rejoined the ENO as executive director.

Mrs. Taylor has held a wide range of managerial and Board posts in the commercial and nonprofit sectors including the advertising agency DMBB; head of corporate relations at Stoll Moss; director of The Arts Foundation; special advisor to the Heritage Board, Singapore; chief executive of Year of Opera and Music Theatre (1997); judge for Creative Britons; and lecturer on business issues and arts administration.

She received the Garrett Award for an outstanding contribution to the arts in Britain, the only American to be recognized in this way, and served on the boards of A&B (Arts and Business), Cambridge Arts Theatre, Arts Research Digest, and the Society of London Theatre. She currently serves on the advisory boards of The University Musical Society of the University of Michigan, Salzburg Global Seminar, and the Arts Management program at American University, on the British Council’s Arts & Creative Economy Advisory Group and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. In 2013, Russell was honored with the International Citation of Merit by the International Society for the Performing Arts, presented in recognition of her lifetime achievement and her distinguished service to the performing arts.

Russell and her husband Steve live in Scotland.

Since March 1995, Laurie has worked as an independent grant writer for non-profits in the Metro Richmond area. From that position, she has assisted in all aspects of fund raising such as starting or increasing annual funds, formulating strategies for capital campaigns, developing case statements, assisting with board training and development, performing foundation and corporate research, writing grant proposals, creating development plans, assisting with budget development and teaching good stewardship of the relationships with funders.

Since 1999 she has developed and taught fund raising-related courses at UVA’s Institute of Government and in the School of Continuing and Professional Studies, VCU’s Nonprofit Learning Point, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College’s Workforce Development Program, and conducted dozens of workshops and training sessions for smaller groups. In addition to teaching, Laurie continually participates in webinars and workshops to ensure her skills are current and honed. She is a member of the Grant Writers Professional Association.

She began her fundraising career in Richmond as the Annual Fund Director at the Valentine Museum and then became the Director of Development and Director of the Capital Campaign, a $30 million effort to renovate and restore the Wickham House and create Valentine Riverside.

Laurie has been a devoted community volunteer. For more than 25 years, she has volunteered with the annual fund, capital campaign and other fund raising activities for Sewanee: The University of the South. She has served on the boards of Richmond Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), Free Clinic of Goochland, Boy Scouts Heart of Virginia Council, the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU and the Roslyn Episcopal Retreat Center. Laurie is a sustaining member of the Junior League of Richmond where she served as a committee chair of several committees and VP of Community Relations. She is also a past member of the Junior Board of the Children’s Museum of Richmond where she chaired the Peanut Butter ‘N Jam children’s concert series for three years.

She has been active in her church where she chaired a $3 million capital campaign, chaired the annual stewardship effort for two years, created and served as chair of the Stewardship Committee and served on the vestry as Junior and Senior Warden. She is currently on the vestry and serving as the Junior Warden at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. She is also a member of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia’s Stewardship Committee and helped develop a stewardship curriculum.

Before moving to Richmond in 1992, Laurie worked for two years in the Office of the Secretary at the US Department of Transportation as a Presidential Fellow. She also worked for two years at the US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Telecommunications & Finance.

Laurie has a BA in Political Science (with Honors) and Third World Studies from Sewanee and a Master’s in Public Policy from Duke University’s Terry Sanford School of Public Policy. She is also a graduate of the Leadership Metro Richmond program.

Andrew brings over ten years of classroom experience at the college level. During his time as a graduate student he fell in love with teaching and sought out opportunities to connect with other practitioners and better understand how learning happens. In his role at CNE Andrew works with CNE staff and trainers to develop workshops, advanced trainings, and academies that help build capacity within nonprofit organizations.  Andrew brings his background in academic philosophy to offer workshops on values and ethics. He’s also interested in how teaching skills can inform approaches to management and leadership.