Elana Denise Anderson, Ph. D. is an artist, educator, life-long student, and scholar. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in African American Studies with minors in both English Literature and French from Chicago State University (2007), an MA (2009) and PhD (2013) in African Studies concentrating in Language, Literature, and the Arts, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies (2013) from Howard University in Washington, D.C.

She is currently the Founder/Director of Artists/Architects of Kheperu, Inc. (A/AOK), the Co-Director of the Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press in Washington, D.C. (2012), a member of the American Guild for Musical Artists (AGMA), the African Studies Association (ASA), the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO), International Association for Blacks in Dance (IABD) and a lifetime member of the National Council for Negro Women (NCNW).

Dr. Anderson has served as an adjunct professor on the faculty of the Department of Theater and Dance at the University of New Mexico (UNM) since 2023 and as Assistant Artistic Director (2023-2025) and Part-time Teaching Artist (currently) at the National Dance Institute of New Mexico in both Albuquerque and Santa Fe. She is most recently published in The Handbook of Dance Education Research, by Intellect (2025).