Chanel brings more than a decade of experience advancing the public narratives of premier arts and cultural institutions, and a proven track record of building campaigns that expand audience engagement, deepen community trust, and center diverse voices.
Before joining Yale Schwarzman Center, Chanel served as senior publicist at the Metropolitan Opera, where she developed institution-wide communications strategies for flagship initiatives, including the Met Orchestra Asia Tour in 2024, Behind the Seams, the largest costume exhibition in Met Opera history, and sustained national and international media coverage across four seasons of operatic programming.
Prior to the Met, Chanel spent five years at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, serving as senior press representative for Washington National Opera and Social Impact, and as the press representative for Jazz, Hip Hop Culture, and Contemporary Music. There, she helped launch and shape the public narrative around the Kennedy Center's Hip Hop Culture program and contributed to the communications strategy for The REACH expansion project. Earlier, as public affairs assistant at the Smithsonian Institution, she supported media relations and communications efforts across the Institution, including for the historic opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2016.
A native of the Washington, D.C. metro area, Chanel brings firsthand understanding of how cultural institutions—museums, memorials, and performing arts venues alike—shape community identity and civic life. That perspective informs her approach to brand stewardship at Yale Schwarzman Center: building narratives that reflect and uplift the full breadth of the communities the center serves.
Chanel holds a Master of Arts in Engaged and Public Humanities from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Science in Communication from East Carolina University.
Chanel Williams
Director of Marketing and Communications
Yale Schwarzman Center
PO Box 208299
New Haven, CT 06520