Romi Crawford, Ph.D. (President)

Romi Crawford is an professor of visual and critical and Africana studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She was previously the curator and director of Education and Public Programs at the Studio Museum in Harlem. Her research revolves primarily around ideas of race and ethnicity and their relation to American visual, aesthetic, and popular culture. She has published in Art Journal; Cinema Remixed and Reloaded: Black Women Film and Video Artists (University of Washington, 2008); Black Light/White Noise: Sound and Light in Contemporary Art (Contemporary Art Museum Houston, 2007); Frequency (Studio Museum in Harlem, 2006); Art and Social Justice Education: Culture as Commons (Routledge, 2011); and Service Media (Green Lantern, 2013). She is presently working on a book Congregation Time, which maps out various ways that American racial and ethnic constituents have historically sought safe, racially supportive, social space in order to orient their relation to art, film, and literary production. She received her MA and PhD in English literature, theory, and criticism from the University of Chicago.

The President of TWPF (along with the Executive team) serves as a primary creative force and public representative of TWP Foundation and work with the board, staff, and other stakeholders to set the vision for the Press’ future. The President’s responsibilities include:

STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP

  • working with the Board and Staff to revise and modify the existing strategic plan to meet the needs of a changing publishing environment.
  • communicating the goals of the strategic plan both internally and externally so that all stakeholders understand their role and responsibility in making the plan a reality.  

STAFF LEADERSHIP

  • providing strong, effective, clear leadership for a group of committed staff members.
  • setting high standards for professionalism, work product, and collegiality. 

 FUNDRAISING AND SUSTAINABILITY

  • working closely with a committed board and staff, create and grow sources of contributed and earned income to support an operating budget and to build the long-term financial sustainability of the organization.