The Ladies Who Lunch
Laurie Angela Cumbo
Candidate for the NYC Council, 35th District
@LaurieCumbo2013
Laurie Angela Cumbo was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and graduated from the Berkeley Carroll Day School in Park Slope and Brooklyn Technical High School in Fort Greene before going on to attend Spelman College in Atlanta, GA, where she graduated with a degree in Fine Art. She returned to Brooklyn and received her Master’s Degree in Visual Arts Administration from New York University in 1999. As a cultural leader, entrepreneur, activist, college professor, educator, lecturer and small business owner working in the not-for-profit sector, Ms. Cumbo has dedicated her life to community development and preserving the dynamic elements of diversity that have made Brooklyn, New York what it is today.
Laurie Angela Cumbo was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and graduated from the Berkeley Carroll Day School in Park Slope and Brooklyn Technical High School in Fort Greene before going on to attend Spelman College in Atlanta, GA, where she graduated with a degree in Fine Art. She returned to Brooklyn and received her Master’s Degree in Visual Arts Administration from New York University in 1999. As a cultural leader, entrepreneur, activist, college professor, educator, lecturer and small business owner working in the not-for-profit sector, Ms. Cumbo has dedicated her life to community development and preserving the dynamic elements of diversity that have made Brooklyn, New York what it is today.
During her graduate studies at New York University, Ms. Cumbo utilized her course work and thesis to develop a business plan to develop Brooklyn’s first Museum of Contemporary African Diaspora Arts (MoCADA). At the age of twenty-two, she incorporated the institution and with the support of the Brooklyn community, she opened the Museum in a building owned by Bridge Street AWME Church on the forth floor of a brownstone walk-up.
Ms. Cumbo recognized the power of art to revitalize communities and began organizing exhibitions, outdoor film festivals, afterschool programs, mural projects, walking tours, and Braggin’ About Brooklyn Bus Tours bringing locals and tourists alike to Bedford Stuyvesant. Ms. Cumbo’s efforts along with many other dedicated individuals contributed to the economic revitalization of Bedford Stuyvesant. Ms. Cumbo has always been dedicated to ensuring that underserved communities receive the type of programming and educational opportunities that all of New York City’s thriving neighborhoods have come to expect.
Ms. Cumbo has seen and experienced first hand how inequity, corruption, nepotism and bureaucracy continue to plague City government and penalizes those who are working towards solution to create vibrant, safe communities where all people are respected and included in the development of their neighborhood. She has advocated and fought for equitable funding for the arts and education on the City, State and Federal levels.
Ms. Cumbo served as a graduate professor in the School of Art & Design at Pratt Institute from 2001 – 2011 in the Arts and Cultural Management Program. She is also a member of ARTTABLE, the American Association of Museums, the National Alliance of African and African American Art Support Groups, the Cultural Equity Group and the Downtown Brooklyn Arts Alliance and the Spelman College Alumni Association. She is an alumna of Achieving Leaderships Purpose (ALP), Jack and Jill of America Brooklyn Chapter and Delta Sigma Theta Brooklyn Chapter Teen Lift.
