Nancy Roucher of Sarasota has received the prestigious Dr. Mary Palmer Trail Blazer Award from the Florida Alliance for Arts Education. This accolade is presented to Roucher for her contributions to the elevation of arts education in both Sarasota and the state of Florida.

In the early 1980s, Roucher worked as the director of Project HEART (Helping Education Through Arts Resources for Teachers), which served 75 school districts in the Midwest. She then became co-director for the Florida Institute for Arts Education, which was one of only six national arts education institutes sponsored by the J. Paul Getty Trust.

When Roucher moved to Sarasota in 1986 she immediately began contributing to the arts community. In response to the cuts to arts education in Sarasota County in 1988, Nancy founded the Arts Education Task Force through the Sarasota Arts Council (now the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County). Roucher had remained at the helm of this group and continues to dedicate her time and expertise to support arts education. In addition to this work, Nancy is also an active member on the Arts and Cultural Alliance Board and serves on the Community/Schools Partnership for the Arts.

Roucher will be presented with her award at the Florida Alliance for Arts Education’s Annual Summit in Fort Lauderdale on June 21.

Florida Alliance for Arts Education