Lora Bottinelli is the owner and principal of Bottinelli.co, offering specialized consulting and advising services. Previously, Lora served as the Executive Director of the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA) for five years, including celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2023.
Prior to joining NCTA, Lora served as the Executive Director of the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art from 2006-2018. As folklorist there, she established the Lower Shore Traditions Folklife Program, co-directed the American Folklife Center Field School in Crisfield, Maryland, supported the 2004 Smithsonian Folklife Festival Mid Atlantic Water Ways program, and designed the Pass It On: Cultural Traditions of the Eastern Shore K-12 Curriculum and Activity Guide. She was responsible for major capital upgrades to the museum, including the planning and opening of the John A. Luetkemeyer Sr and Thomas F. Mullan Jr, Legacy Center.
Lora served two terms on the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) in leadership roles including the Executive Committee and Treasurer, and partnered in developing Imagine Maryland: A Renewed Strategic Plan for the Arts 2014-2019. As chair of the Advocacy Committee, she worked in coordination with the Maryland Citizens for the Arts to secure the Special Fund for Preservation of Cultural Arts. She served on the MSAC’s Diversity Committee, working to engage people of diverse backgrounds throughout the state. A common thread in her success has been the building of partnerships at the local, regional, state and national levels.
Lora played a key role in creating the coalition that culminated in the City of Salisbury’s successful application to host the National Folk Festival, and later guided that event and other major traditional arts events through the pandemic in her role at NCTA. In 2022, under her leadership at NCTA, National Treasures was launched – bringing NEA National Heritage Fellows to National Parks throughout the country. Lora is a passionate folk arts advocate and a founding member of the Living Traditions Network. She serves as a board member for Mid Atlantic Arts.