Caron Atlas

Caron Atlas is director of Arts & Democracy, which cross-fertilizes arts and culture, civic participation, and community change. She also directors Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts NY (NOCD-NY), a citywide alliance revitalizing NYC from the neighborhood up. NOCD-NY was a primary partner on NYC’s first cultural plan, CreateNYC. Caron teaches at New York University and Pratt Institute and serves on the Civic Engagement Commission Participatory Budgeting Advisory Committee. 

Previously Caron worked at Appalshop, the Appalachian cultural center and directed the American Festival Project, a national coalition of activist artists.  Caron has consulted with Animating Democracy, Pratt Center for Community Development, Network of Ensemble Theaters, Urban Institute, and several foundations.

Caron is co-editor of Bridge Conversations and Critical Perspectives, and contributor to Toward a 21st City for All. She was a Rockefeller Foundation Warren Weaver Fellow and is a Coro Leadership NY alumnus. She received her BA and MA from the University of Chicago.

Caron Atlas will teach Imagination and Change: Arts, Culture, and Public Policy in spring 2022.