Traci Greene

Traci Greene is a former international Broadway dancer, choreographer, theatrical producer, creative director and the Founding President and CEO of Culture Arts Initiative, Inc. (a 501c3 nonprofit arts organization). Traci’s professional credits include: dancer of the international touring company of West Side Story, The Color Purple on Broadway Workshop, and more.

In 2013, Traci founded Culture Arts Initiative, Inc., in an effort to support young dancers who desire to study dance but are unable to due to the lack of monetary funding and resources. Culture Arts Initiative, Inc. has awarded $90,000 in scholarship awards to underrepresented young dancers to date, including the Traci Greene Collegiate Scholarship awards. Through Culture Arts Initiative’s scholarship award programs, many of its scholarship awardees have attended some of the most prestigious dance programs in America, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, the Houston Ballet Academy, the American Musical and Dramatic Academy- Los Angeles; and undergraduate collegiate dance programs at the University of Texas at Austin, Texas State University, University of California-Los Angeles, Fordham University, Point Park University, Howard University, and the Juilliard School, to name a few.

Traci is also the Creative Director and Producer of Houston’s Urban Nutcracker an annual city wide multicultural community outreach production. Houston’s Urban Nutcracker is Culture Arts Initiative’s largest scholarship fundraiser and has been revered by sold-out audiences since its inaugural production in 2018. Houston’s Urban Nutcracker also hosts an annual summer intensive program which welcomes close to 200 eager young dancers. Thirty underserved HISD students receive full tuition scholarships to attend its camp and CAI awards up to $15,000 in summer tuition scholarship awards to select camp attendees to study dance in New York City and on the island of St. Maarten.

Traci now enjoys giving back to her alma mater, Southern University as the appointed Dance Director and Coach of the Southern University Fabulous Dancing Dolls. Traci was recently invited by Coca-Cola to discuss her professional dance career, philanthropic efforts, and the evolution of HBCU dance, as a special guest panelist at the 2023 Essence Festival.

Traci and the work of Culture Arts Initiative, Inc. can be seen on ABC Television’s Localish, KPRC’s Houston Life, the Houston Chronicle, Houston Defender Network, and Good Morning America. Traci is the proud recipient of Houston Health Fest’s 2018 Changemakers “Metamorphosis” award, the 2018 National Black Girl Excellence “Arts and Culture” award, and the 2023 MLK Servant Leaders “Community Impact” award.