Desi P. Shelton Named 2012 Emerging Leader by Dodge

PHILADELPHIA --- The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation has named Desi P. Shelton (LTA ’08) a 2012 Emerging Leader. She is being acknowledged for her engagement with the community of Camden, NJ in the area of theater arts. Desi is a theater connoisseur, who received her BFA from Northeastern University and her MFA from Sarah Lawrence College. She has directed, starred, and produced plays that have toured nationally and internationally. Desi is also the Founding Artistic Director of the Camden Repertory Theater, that is designed to utilize theater arts to uplift and change the lives of inner-city women.

Desi has a passion for improving the cultural experiences of at-risk children through creative expression. Each December, Desi directs the Camden Repertory Theater in a musical rendition of an African American children’s book. Past plays include Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe and Life, Deal with It by Cullen Knight. In 2008, Desi was awarded a Leeway Transformation Award. She currently resides in Camden with her family.

About the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation

For nearly 40 years, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation has nurtured leaders, ideas, and institutions, which transcend self-interest and promote a sustainable future. We focus on issues critical to our home state of New Jersey, and organizations that have a direct and meaningful impact here.

About the Leeway Foundation

The Leeway Foundation supports women and trans artists and cultural producers working in communities at the intersection of art, culture, and social change. Through our grantmaking and other programs we promote artistic expression that amplifies the voices of those on the margins, promotes sustainable and healthy communities, and works in the service of movements for economic and social justice.

 

Back to list