In a historic first for the Recording Academy®, acclaimed artist and educator Dr. Chelsey Green has been elected Chair of the Academy’s Board of Trustees. This election by her peers makes Dr. Green the first Black woman and the youngest person ever to hold the position in the institution’s 68-year history. This dual milestone marks a significant shift in leadership for the Recording Academy, an organization long associated with tradition but now actively working to reflect the diversity of the global music community.
Dr. Green, a Billboard-charting violinist, vocalist, and Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music, is known for her genre-defying approach to music. As leader of Chelsey Green and The Green Project, she fuses classical training with contemporary sounds, layering jazz, R&B, soul, and funk into what she calls “a celebration of cultural soundscapes.” With five studio projects and a recent No. 1 Billboard single under her belt (in collaboration with pianist Nathan Mitchell), Dr. Green continues to disrupt the boundaries of genre and expectation.
Throughout the tenure of her career, Dr. Green has shared stages with legends like Stevie Wonder, Kirk Franklin, Lizzo, Samara Joy, The War and Treaty and Wu-Tang Clan. Beyond performance, her commitment to music education and equity has made her a global force in community engagement. Whether leading artist residencies or education workshops, Dr. Green’s work centers the belief that music is a tool for healing, access, and empowerment.
“Music is how culture moves, breathes, and remembers,” Dr. Green shares. “Being elected to this role is a call to lead with integrity, to advocate for access, and to innovate boldly on behalf of the music creators who keep music alive.”
Her election follows her April 2025 induction into Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., aligning her public leadership with a private commitment to sisterhood, service and social action.
Learn more about Dr. Chelsey Green at www.chelseygreen.com or follow @drchelseygreen on Instagram.
