Emily L. Waters

Emily L. Waters serves as a senior program associate in the Arts and Culture program at The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.  Ms. Waters was a professional ballet dancer for ten years, dancing with Philadelphia Ballet (formerly Pennsylvania Ballet) and the Royal Danish Ballet.  After transitioning from a career as a performing artist to arts administration, she was awarded a BAM Professional Development Program Fellowship through the DeVos Institute.  Prior to the Foundation, Ms. Waters worked at American Ballet Theatre. She holds a BA in performing arts through the Liberal Education for Arts Professionals (LEAP) Program at St. Mary's College of California and received an MS degree in nonprofit management from Columbia University.  She is a trustee of Collage Dance Collective and was also the recipient of the 2022 Bessie Angel Award for her dedicated service to the dance field.