Palacio Podcast
Tasha Hunter Has a Long Checklist and is Working Hard on It.
Tasha Hunter wears many hats in Long Beach. She is the Executive Director of the Uptown Business Improvement District and founder of Wiggins Hunter Consulting Group, President of the Arts Council for Long Beach, and community engagement consultant on an exciting new project developing an African-American Cultural Center in Long Beach. Wait, there’s more. Tasha Hunter is also a mother of three and a lover of Thai and Indian food. That is a long checklist of tasks to do and she is determined to check them all off. It’s a determination that she’s had from an early age beginning with her taking care of some important business before pursuing her dreams.
“I’ve been a mother my entire adulthood. I had a daughter, my daughter, my babies, straight out of high school…four acceptance letters from different colleges and universities and I chose to be a mother.”
However, Tasha Hunter would not stop there. There were other goals to pursue. It may have taken a few years to get a two-year degree at Long Beach City College but once she got it, she was off and running as she describes it. Then, came UCLA and an MFA from Chapman University. That determination was fostered by parents and mentors.
“Oh, my goodness, I’ve had some great mentors. I still keep mentors in my life. They just help guide me and let me know when “I don’t know if that’s the right way.”
Tasha Hunter sat down with PalacioMagazine.com to go over her very long checklist of life accomplishments and struggles to get to this moment in her life. It is an inspiring story of determination, grit, and the support of family, friends, and those mentors.
Tasha Hunter Biography
Hunter is the Executive Director of the Uptown Business Improvement District and founder of Wiggins Hunter Consulting Group, specializing in public speaking, community engagement, creative business development, and cultural planning. She has worked with communities at home and abroad, colleges and universities, city and elected officials to create events and experiences for the community, focused on arts, culture, empowerment, education and civic engagement. Prior to this work, Tasha was an Outreach Specialist at both the Liberal Arts and Pacific Coast Campus at Long Beach City College.
As lead community engagement consultant for the City of Long Beach’s African American Cultural Center six-month visioning process, Tasha and her team sought input from a wide range of community members on their expectations for this future cultural center. You can find out more information HERE.
Hunter is the Board President for the Arts Council for Long Beach and has been influential in Long Beach’s creative community through event planning, as co-creator the monthly Community Conversations with the Arts Council, and conducting outreach bringing diverse communities to the table to discuss a range of topics. She’s also Cultural Heritage Commissioner and was chair of Long Beach Opera’s community advisory council for their 2019 season entitled “Justice.”
In 2018, as the UPLAN Committee chair, locals created new visions, economic strategies, active transportation improvements, cultural planning and zoning to guide future development and consolidate past planning efforts for Uptown (North) Long Beach.
Tasha Hunter has helped launch many successful programs and events in the Greater Los Angeles area. She serves as the project manager for the monthly Leimert Park ArtWalk and the annual LA Commons “Day of the Ancestor Mask Festival, and Procession,” bringing together communities from all parts of the globe. Her public speaking has taken her to Cuba, Africa, and Brazil to engage in topics including Black Culture, the arts, cross-cultural exchanges; and locally talks on diversity, equity and inclusion, and other subjects.
Tasha recently received the Innovation Award from Senator Ricardo Lara, the Award of Magnificence from the City Council, and a Certificate of Excellence from Congressman Alan Lowenthal for her work with the 2019 Young Women’s Empowerment Conference. She earned her Associates of Arts Degree in Journalism from Long Beach City College, a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles, in Documentary Film Production, and a Master of Fine Arts in Film and Television Producing from Chapman University’s Conservatory of Film and Television.
