Cathryn Williams is responsible for the management, growth, and development of Ailey’s Arts In Education & Community Programs. During her tenure at Ailey, participation by schools in Ailey’s residencies has more than doubled; a new curriculum, Night Creature: An Imaginative Journey Through Dance, was developed for elementary schools and two new programs have been launched: AileyDance Kids SOAR: Success. Opportunity. Artistry. Respect., and AileyDance for Active Aging. Most recently in 2020, Ms. Williams has led the pivot to Ailey Arts In Education’s online Remote Learning Activities, making residencies, workshops and the newly designed virtual Revelations residency more accessible to schools and organizations across the country.

Ms. Williams has over 20 years of experience in program design, implementation, and staff development. Prior to joining the Ailey organization in 2012, Ms. Williams created and managed international and cross-cultural education ventures with institutions for Lincoln Center Institute (LCI) and supervised LCI’s teaching artists. Ms. Williams has also worked as a consultant in arts and education, conducted artist residencies for the National Endowment for the Arts and other organizations, and has served as Director of the 92Y Harkness Center for Dance. She performed internationally with modern dance companies and on Broadway and taught on the faculties of prestigious dance institutions.