Biography

Prof. Pat Parks is a Tony Award-nominated Broadway Co-Producer, interdisciplinary scholar-practitioner, cultural architect, strategist, educator, and thought leader working at the intersection of performance, arts management, cultural production, leadership, and the global arts economy. A multi-hyphenate performer, writer, producer, coach, and arts administrator, Parks’ work bridges academia, industry, and creative practice while examining how artists, leaders, brands, and institutions cultivate influence, shape culture, sustain relevance, and move audiences at scale.

Prof. Parks currently serves as Assistant Professor and Area Coordinator of Theatre Arts Administration at the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts at Howard University, where they teach and lead curriculum development focused on producing, general management, marketing, organizational development, arts activism, leadership, entrepreneurship, innovation, and equity-centered arts practice.

A scholar-practitioner trained at Harvard University and the University of Notre Dame, Parks studied under Howard Gardner, creator of the Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Building upon this foundation, they developed the Entertainer Intelligence (EntQ) framework, examining the role of eight articulated intelligences in long-term success across the creative economy. 

Most recently, Parks was tapped to co-produce the 2026 Broadway revival of August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, led by Producer Brian Moreland, directed by Debbie Allen, and starring Taraji P. Henson and Cedric the Entertainer. The production garnered five Tony Award nominations and was additionally recognized by the Drama Desk Awards, Drama League Awards, and Outer Critics Circle Awards, including honors for Outstanding Revival of a Play and Outstanding Direction of a Play. The co-producing team includes Tyler Perry, Kandi Burruss, Tameka “Tiny” Harris, and Mona Scott-Young, alongside Parks, reflecting a uniquely interdisciplinary collective spanning theatre, music, television, film, and media entrepreneurship. Their producing work spans capitalization, audience strategy, and institutional collaboration.

A central dimension of Parks’ work is voice—how it is shaped, disrupted, and reclaimed across artistic, cultural, and professional spaces. Grounded in lived experience as a non-binary artist, their practice engages voice as both embodied expression and actionable practice, especially within systems where identity, authorship, and presence are contested or constrained.

Parks is the co-creator and co-instructor—alongside Dr. Msia Clark (Director, Hip-Hop Studies Minor) and Director Jasmine Young, MBA (Warner Music/Blavatnik Center for Music Business)—of the groundbreaking interdisciplinary course “Cardi B: Am I the Drama? The Art, Production, Marketing, and Cultural Impact of Hip-Hop.” The course is the first of its kind with direct affiliation to an active recording artist and their creative ecosystem, integrating artists, label partners, and members of management, touring, and production teams into an evolving pedagogical structure. Structured across three sections, the course explores Hip-Hop Foundations and scholarship; the music label process, album development, rollout strategy, and marketing systems; and the artist’s activism platform, branded architecture, and the theatrical production and staging of the album in concert. Parks leads the final section, examining topics ranging from Cardi B’s activism platforms and civic engagement campaigns—including her promotion of the “Free 2K” childcare initiative with Mayor Zohran Mamdan during the “Little Miss Drama Tour”—to the creative and production ecosystems behind contemporary live performance. Students gain foundational knowledge of each area responsible for creating the show—from staging, scenic design, lighting, sound, costumes, hair and makeup (glam), props, and spatial storytelling—grounded through a producer’s lens and demonstrated through mini design labs, culminating in the staging of one fully realized performance concept.

In their academic role, Prof. Parks has designed and taught courses including Human Resource Management; Leading in a Changing Society; Intro to Financial Management; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging; and Arts & Innovation, which examines how artificial intelligence and emerging technologies are reshaping the fine arts, creative labor, and arts organizations. They have also overseen Theatre Administration Labs supporting front-of-house operations, box office management, project management, and season production logistics. Prof. Parks has received the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Professor Award for Theatre Arts and has led significant enrollment growth and program expansion within the Theatre Arts Administration area.

Prof. Parks is deeply engaged in arts programming, producing, and industry integration. They created and produced the Beyond the Stage Masterclass Series, centering the business, leadership, and producing structures that bring artistic work to life. Guests have included Jeffrey Seller (Hamilton, Rent, Avenue Q), Jamila Ponton Bragg (Gypsy, The Wiz, Fat Ham, Passover), company management leaders from the original Broadway company of The Lion King, veteran stage manager Beverly Jenkins, and other Broadway producers, general managers, artistic leaders, and executives shaping contemporary theatre and live entertainment.

A cornerstone of Parks’ work is building industry-facing pipelines and creative enterprise ecosystems for students and emerging professionals. They brought the Wasserman (The Team) Music Entertainment Accelerator to Howard University, connecting students with agents, managers, tour managers, promoters, music publishers, label executives, and film and television leaders across Universal Music Group, William Morris Endeavor, United Talent Agency, Warner Music, SoundCloud, Live Nation, Roc Nation, and Atlantic Records.

Prof. Parks currently serves as Success Coach for the Lin-Manuel Miranda Family Fellowship at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, supporting fellows in producing, production management, marketing, and community engagement.

Beyond academia, Prof. Parks has worked across music, theatre, television, and media production, including consulting for BET, NBC, and Paramount. They co-created and hosted a television pilot that aired on The CW Network and was later developed with the Game Show Network, leading concept development through production, promotion, and monetization strategy.

Through industry relationships, Parks worked with the line and story producers of The Battle, an ESPN-U reality competition series inspired by Dallas Austin’s Drumline, developing and pitching unscripted concepts to networks. In producing roles, Parks has assembled capital, secured talent, and aligned sponsorships, demonstrating an integrated approach to creative development and production strategy.

Prof. Parks also advises artists, executives, and organizations on leadership development, audience engagement, brand strategy, and creative enterprise building, supporting talent represented by major agencies and cultural institutions. They contributed to curriculum development for Ulta Beauty’s MUSE Accelerator, supporting diverse beauty founders in scaling within retail environments.

Internationally, Prof. Parks has led projects across North America, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia. Earlier in their career, they held senior consulting roles in London and worked in strategy and change management for IBM as well as serving as a Profiler and Leadership Analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), informing their systems-level approach to leadership, governance, and organizational design in the arts.

Prof. Parks is a member of the Association of Arts Administration Educators, serves on the Harvard Black Alumni Society board, previously served on the Black Alumni of Notre Dame board, and is a co-founder of the Keepers of 306 at the National Civil Rights Museum.