Will Penrose was born and raised in the Southwest. With over 18 years of experience in New York City, he is an advocate for providing direct support to artists together with arts workers and the communities in which they engage.

Prior to his current role, Will was a public servant at the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, serving as a Program Officer for the Cultural Development Fund. He has additionally held leadership roles at the neighborhood-based nonprofit NURTUREart as well as the family charity Rema Hort Mann Foundation. He’s worked with LMCC historically as a research consultant, a Creative Producer during its inaugural expansion at Governors Island in 2019, and as a manager of its artist residency programs under the leadership of Sam Miller. Will has also worked at Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Scottsdale Public Art, and Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.

Will is a contributing author to the Research Center for Arts and Culture’s papers Still Kicking: Aging Performing Artists in NYC and LA Metro Areas as well as Art Cart: A Feasibility Study for a National Model. He has lectured at NYU, Parsons, Drew University, and Columbia. He holds an M.A. in Arts Administration from Columbia University, as well as a B.S. in Economics, B.F.A. in Drawing, and Minor in Philosophy from Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University. Will loves to play the trumpet, and you can see him marching in parades with NYC’s Queer Big Apple Corps.