Tess Plotkin

Tess Plotkin is a development and communications professional passionate about building collaborative and artful communities. Tess has worked in Fund Development at the Nonprofit Leadership Center of Tampa Bay and as Director of El Sistema at Conservatory Lab in Boston, MA, where she oversaw the artistic excellence of the music program. In 2019, Tess developed a consortium of thought partners with the Center for Artistry and Scholarship, Esperanza Spalding, Turnaround Arts, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health to convene school leaders, public health  practitioners, and artists to begin to answer the question: How do music and the creative arts impact and improve children’s development, health, and learning?

Tess holds a BS from Boston University and an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from The University of Massachusetts Boston. She is also a graduate of the Perrone-Sizer  Institute for Creative Leadership. As an educator and musician, Tess is an advocate for  the power of the arts - their capacity to heal, build community, and activate agency. 

She and her partner share a golden retriever named Jaco and a love for weekend road trips to discover good hikes, restaurants, and cultural spaces. Tess is a percussionist and finds joy in making music with her friends, family, and community.