Kelly Kuwabara has been MCP’s Development Director since 2019. She is also the Grant Writing Consultant for Ping Chong & Company, an award-winning theater company in NYC. Dedicated to the performing arts as a means of building community and increasing cultural representation, Kelly worked for eight years at the Asian American Arts Alliance as Program Director and Development Director. She was also Arts Education Program Director at the Staten Island Arts Council, where she initiated and helped design residencies to reach underserved communities with relevant programs. Kelly performs and teaches taiko (Japanese drumming), a musical form interwoven with Japanese American history, and is on the board of the national Taiko Community Alliance. She is also Treasurer of Seabrook NJ’s chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL). Kelly holds an MA/English from NYU and an AB/Philosophy from Bryn Mawr College.