Koya | Diversified Search Group partnered with The Wallace Foundation on the search for a Program Officer.

Based in New York City, The Wallace Foundation is a philanthropy working nationally to fostering equity and improvements in learning and enrichment for young people, and in the arts for everyone.​

Our work resulted in the appointment of Porché Hardy.

Hardy brings deep expertise and experience working with teams in both government and non-profits to develop programs to help build a stronger arts sector and a more equitable pathway to social change through arts funding and sector leadership. Her work bridges arts organizations and arts education.

Porché joins the foundation from the largest arts funder in New Jersey, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, where, as the Program Officer for Arts Education and Performing Arts Presenters, she was responsible for leveraging $3 million of state and federal funds statewide, to help ensure vibrant and healthy communities through investments in the sustainability and innovation of arts education and performing arts organizations. In that role, Porché developed the Arts Professional Learning Institute, a statewide arts education professional development plan for New Jersey teachers and teaching artists and successfully advocated for the expansion of the Americans for the Arts Diversity in Arts Leadership Internship into the state.

Prior to joining the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Porché was responsible for the programmatic management and development of performing arts education initiatives as the Assistant Director of the Institute of Music for Children in Elizabeth, NJ. She began her career at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, completing her tenure there as the Associate Director for Arts Training.

Committed to continuing education and leadership development, Porche completed fellowships with The Council of Urban Professionals, the Victoria Emerging Leadership Program, and Leadership Newark. She serves on the advisory committee for the NJ Arts & Culture Administrators of Color.

Porché holds a BA in Sociology with a minor in Economics from Rutgers University where she is currently pursuing a Masters in Public Administration. She is an alumna of the William Esper Studio and has studied classical music (voice) at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Montclair State University, and privately with award-winning singers and coaches.