Lamar Lovelace

Lamar Lovelace (executive director) is responsible for the Step Africa!’s strategy and operations, leading its staff and programs, and the execution of its mission. Working closely with the board of directors, he spearheads fundraising, marketing, operations, and long-range planning for the organization. Lovelace brings deep expertise from academia and has managed the Step Africa!’s humanities-based partnerships.

In July 2017, Lovelace joined Step Afrika! as Deputy Executive Director, where he oversaw the dance company’s communications and marketing strategy, fundraising efforts, and financial operations. Previously, he spent eight years at Columbia University as Assistant Director in the Office of Community Outreach and Education and Director of Public Programs and Events. At the New York City-based campus, Lovelace managed community-based partnerships and special events and produced large-scale, humanities-based programming opportunities to engage students, faculty, and staff.

At Broward College in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Lovelace was Director of Cultural Affairs and Student Engagement, where he created arts-based social justice programs and exhibitions. He holds master’s degrees in arts management and oral history from Carnegie Mellon and Columbia, respectively, and a BA in speech and hearing science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Lovelace is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.