Celebrating Women in Leadership at Mural Arts Philadelphia

This Women’s History Month, we are highlighting the tenacious and creative women that lead some of Mural Arts’ biggest programs. Meet Kali Silverman, Lisa Murch, Nadia Malik, MSW, and Shari Hersh, and learn more about their work!

Kali Silverman

Kali Silverman was recently announced as the new Director of Mural Arts Philadelphia’s Restorative Justice department. Kali has been a Project Manager with Mural Arts Philadelphia for 2.5 years, working in Community Murals, Porch Light, finally finding her home in Restorative Justice. A Temple alumna with an M.A. in International Community Development from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Kali has more than 10 years of experience in community building, including engagement and organizing. She is passionate about urban equity, creative placemaking, community empowerment, and arts and culture. Kali is a dynamic leader, organizer, passionate facilitator and educator.

Lisa Murch

Lisa Murch brings 20 years of experience to her role as Director of Art Education with Mural Arts. Lisa moved to Philadelphia to get her MFA at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and painted her first mural in 2001. She has since acted as a Lead Teaching Artist, Program Manager, and Senior Project Manager — roles that have exposed her to every angle of the mural making process. She is passionate about generating opportunities for young people using creativity to advance their sense of identity and direction. Lisa has presented on behalf of the organization at the Ifetayo Conference in Brazil, as a keynote speaker at the Living Walls Conference in Atlanta and at the National Guild for Arts Education Conference. She has received several fellowships and grants in recognition of her talents as an artist, including the Independence Foundation Fellowship, the Leeway Foundation Window of Opportunity Grant, and the Prince of Wales Foundation Fellowship.

Nadia Malik, MSW

Nadia Malik, MSW is the director of the Porch Light Program at Mural Arts Philadelphia. She completed masters degrees in Social Work and Nonprofit Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. Previously, she worked as a journalist in the suburbs of Chicago and with several national nonprofits. Her nonprofit involvement has been in international and domestic policy for refugees, facilitating community involvement and communication at religious centers, and working with development departments on media and education projects. The Porch Light Program offers Nadia an opportunity to combine her love of art and writing with her passion for community work, particularly in the arena of mental health.

Shari Hersh

Shari Hersh is a community artist, organizer and facilitator. She has worked with Mural Arts Philadelphia for over twenty years where she established the Art Education Department, the Project Management Office, and founded the Restored Spaces Initiative and Trash Academy Program. She is currently the Director of the Environmental Justice Department. Shari’s preoccupations as both artist and producer are oriented around the tenets of environmental justice, organizing horizontal collaborations, and building projects that center relationships and reinforce social fabric. She researches and develops innovative projects in the public sphere that both practice visioning and building A More Just Future and encourage all project participants to move from individualism to collectivism.