2025 Women Of Live: Michelle Ebanks

Michelle Ebanks
President & CEO | Apollo Theater

THE NEXT STAGE | Oversaw opening of Apollo Stages.
BIG WIN | Apollo Theater first to receive Kennedy Center Honor.

Michelle Ebanks joined the Apollo Theater as President and CEO in June 2023 and since her appointment to the historic and cultural landmark in Harlem, New York, she has focused on enhancing the legacy and expanding programs and physical spaces.

Most notably Ebanks oversaw the opening of the Apollo Stages at the Victoria in early 2024, the first, full-scale renovation of the theater, as well as the ongoing success of the $80 million Apollo Rising 2.0 capital campaign. The two new stages (100 and 200 cap) are 30 steps from the historic 1,500-capacity theater and are programmed and managed by the Apollo.

In December, the Apollo Theater received a Kennedy Center Honor, becoming the first cultural institution to receive the award. The ceremony, attended by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, celebrated the Apollo’s contributions to American culture, particularly its influential role in the Black artistic community.

The theater opened in 1934 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. It has a 27-member Board of Trustees, more than 60 full-time employees as well as a primarily Black-women-led executive team responsible for all financial, production and strategic functions.

The Apollo has served as a testing ground for new artists working across a variety of art forms and has ushered in the emergence of musical genres including jazz, swing, R&B, gospel, blues, soul and hip-hop. In addition, the Apollo has a vibrant education program serving more than 13,000 students a year and an internship program focused on students of color that helps develop the next generation of live event professionals.

Ebanks was born in Dayton, Ohio, and earned a business degree from the University of Florida. She has held a variety of senior positions in media, entertainment and live events including serving as CEO of Essence Communications, overseeing the nation’s leading media and communications company dedicated to African American women, including Essence magazine, Essence.com and the Essence Festival of Culture, which routinely draws 500K to New Orleans. In 2011 she was appointed President of People en Español.