Traci Lester is a long-time nonprofit executive currently working as a philanthropic and nonprofit consultant.  She currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Board of The New York City Arts in Education Roundtable.  She was most recently the Executive Director of The Center for Fiction, a literary arts organization. Prior to that, she was the Executive Director of National Dance Institute (NDI). She has also held other leadership positions, including serving as the Executive Director for over a decade of Reach Out and Read of Greater New York, an early literacy and school readiness program.

The Manhattan Borough President has recognized Traci as a Cultural Leader in New York City. In addition, she is the recipient of the American Association of University Women’s Selected Professions Fellowship, the National Association of Health Service Executive’s Community Service Award, and was named to TheGrio’s 100 List as an African-American history maker and industry leader in the field of education. She is also a member of the American Society for Public Administrators Pi Alpha Alpha Honor Society, serves on the MPA Program Advisory Board for San Francisco State University’s School of Public Affairs & Civic Engagement, and is on the faculty of the Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs at Baruch College, City University of New York 

She earned a BSFS from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, an MBA from Rutgers University, an MPA from San Francisco State University, along with a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Columbia University’s Institute for Nonprofit Management.  She is currently completing a doctorate in education, with an emphasis on leadership and innovation, at New York University.