Brae Blackley
Managing Director
A proven entrepreneur and strategic leader for mission-based organizations, Brae works with the Advisory Board for the Arts as Managing Director of the global dance and ballet segment. Prior to joining ABA, Brae served as Managing Director of External Affairs for The Washington Ballet, a 75-year old ballet school and professional ballet company in Washington, DC.
Before transitioning to a career in the arts, Brae was Founder and CEO of Premier Sports Productions and Zooma Women's Race Series, a national series of women's half marathon race experiences with over 30,000 finishers. Brae and her team elevated Zooma's prominence and impact as they sought to increase women's participation in the sport by making running more accessible. Women now compose over 60% of U.S. race finishers, as compared to less than 40% at Zooma's founding.
Brae has a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a J.D. from the George Washington University Law School. She is also an avid community volunteer and arts enthusiast, inspired to lift up the Washington, DC metro community through fitness, education and the arts.