Tony Shivers, Director of Government Affairs

Tony
represents the interests of Dance/USA and OPERA America before Congress, the
White House, and relevant federal agencies and works on a range of issues,
including budget/appropriations, arts education, tax policy, cultural
exchanges, foreign visas, and raising the overall awareness of the importance
of arts to the global economy. Tony brings years of experience as a government
affairs professional working on various education and health care issues at the
federal, state, and local levels of government. One of Tony’s personal passions
is ensuring that students are prepared for the global economy whatever path
they may choose and believes that arts education is critical towards their
success. Tony previously led government affairs operations for various national
nonprofit organizations in the Washington, DC area, including the National
Association of State Boards of Education and National Association of Federally
Impacted Schools. Tony also held leadership positions at United Way Worldwide
and the Council for a Strong America organizations based in the Washington, DC
area. Tony is passionate about giving back to the community through
volunteerism and is active with the PTA at all levels as well as other
nonprofit organizations. Tony received his B.S. in Political Science from the
Pennsylvania State University and completed his law studies at Purdue
University Global Concord School of Law.