Taneshia Nash Laird is a nonprofit leader, business consultant and adjunct professor of strategic management and a former appointed local and state official for economic development. She is currently the President & CEO of Newark Symphony Hall, a vintage 1925 historic performing arts center in Newark, NJ. She was previously the executive director of the Arts Council of Princeton, notably the first person of color in that role. Taneshia is also founder of Legacy Business Advisors, a consultancy serving government agencies and social entrepreneurs. As a consultant she specializes in culturally-driven, equitable community economic development. As a thought leader she is committed to using her platform for diversity, equity and inclusion; equitable economic development; and fostering wellness, especially in marginalized communities. Taneshia is an adjunct professor at Drexel University in the B.S. in Interactive Digital Media and B.S. in Entertainment and Arts Management degree programs and a visiting professor in Bloomfield College’s MFA in Creative Arts & Technology. In 2019 she was elected to a three-year term as President of the Board of Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, the 25-year-old nonprofit founded by siblings Danny, Russell, and Joseph “Rev. Run” Simmons.