April Williamson

April Williamson joined the Cultural Alliance’s staff in 2001.  As Government Relations Manager, she monitors local, state, and federal legislation and policy issues related to arts and culture; cultivates relationships with legislators, political staff, and advocacy representatives of member organizations; coordinates direct lobbying efforts; and provides policy content for the Alliance's publications.  She also manages the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts Program and Project Stream re-grant initiatives, which distributes more than $500,000 annually to artists and arts organizations in Southeastern Pennsylvania.  In addition, she was responsible, together with the Alliance’s Operations Manager, for designing and implementing the Alliance’s Online Advocacy Center, a customized e-advocacy tool that was one of the first to combine district matching at the local government level with state and federal district matching.  Williamson serves as Board Secretary of the Mary Louise Curtis branch of Settlement Music School and is also Chair of its education committee.  She was a member of the 2006 class of the Urban League Leadership Forum, a program of the Urban League of Philadelphia.  She received an MS in arts administration from Drexel University and a BM in jazz voice performance from Temple University.