Porché Hardy
Porché Hardy joined The Wallace Foundation in 2021 as a program officer in arts. She brings deep expertise and experience working with teams in both government and nonprofits to develop programs to help build a stronger arts sector and a more equitable pathway to social change through arts funding and sector leadership. Her work bridges arts organizations and arts education.
Hardy came to Wallace from the largest arts funder in New Jersey, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, where, as the Program Officer for Arts Education and Performing Arts Presenters, she was responsible for leveraging $3 million of state and federal funds statewide to help ensure vibrant and healthy communities through investments in the sustainability and innovation of arts education and performing arts organizations. In that role, Hardy developed the Arts Professional Learning Institute, a statewide arts education professional development plan for New Jersey teachers and teaching artists and successfully advocated for the expansion of the Americans for the Arts Diversity in Arts Leadership Internship into the state.
Prior to joining the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Hardy was responsible for the programmatic management and development of performing arts education initiatives as the Assistant Director of the Institute of Music for Children in Elizabeth, N.J. She began her career at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, completing her tenure there as the Associate Director for Arts Training.
Committed to continuing education and leadership development, Hardy completed fellowships with the Council of Urban Professionals, the Victoria Emerging Leadership Program, and Leadership Newark. She serves on the advisory committee for the New Jersey Arts and Culture Administrators of Color and the Arts Education Partnership.
Hardy holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in economics from Rutgers University. She is an alumna of the William Esper Studio and has studied classical music (voice) at the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Montclair State University, and privately with award-winning singers and coaches.
