Ahava Silkey-Jones is an accomplished community leader with an extensive national portfolio in arts administration, school administration, and nonprofit leadership. She has a passion for civic engagement and building equitable access to high-quality arts experiences. Ahava is currently serving as Vice Provost for the School of Creative Arts, Entertainment and Design at Dallas College serving over 20,000 students annually. Ahava is a member of the 2022 Business Council for the Arts Leadership Arts Institute Cohort serving the city of Dallas and
is a Co-Founder and Board President of the Professional Theatre and Dance Youth Academy and serves as a Board Member for the ROHO Collective, supporting artists of color in Minneapolis. Ahava served as a Commissioner with the Minneapolis Arts Commission from 2020-2023 and was a 2021 Policy Fellow with the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Ahava holds an Ed.M. in Arts in Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education, an M.A. in Educational Leadership from Roosevelt University, and a B.A. from DePaul University.