Matrice Ellis-Kirk

Matrice Ellis-Kirk’s commitment to public service has been cultivated by a determination for inclusion and making Dallas a better place to work, play, and live for everyone. Her 40-year civic efforts span from the Arts District to Southern Dallas. As board chair of AT&T Performing Arts Center, she helped resolve a debt crisis that threatened the institution’s future and helped establish the Moody Fund for the Arts. Ellis-Kirk’s work in South Dallas includes major capital campaigns for Fair Park, the Women’s Museum and presently, Fair Park First. As chair of the DFW Airport Board of Directors, she provided leadership through a crucial period when travel and tourism were negatively impacted by the pandemic. Currently, Ellis-Kirk is one of the co-chairs of an $85M fundraising campaign that will transform Fair Park and South Dallas and is supporting the nonprofit Forest Forward to revive the historic Forest Theater to transform it into an arts, entertainment, and education hub in South Dallas.

Ellis-Kirk has focused her volunteer work on a variety of arts, education, and community boards because she believes one cannot thrive without the others. Throughout her decades of work, she has continually worked to add women, especially women of color to nonprofit and corporate boards. Some of Ellis-Kirk’s previous awards and recognition include the TACA Silver Cup Award (shared with former Mayor Mike Rawlings) in 2020, Turtle Creek Chorale’s Peacemaker Award in 2018, Dallas Historical Society Jubilee History Award (with husband Ron Kirk) in 2015, and Friends of Fair Park Spirit of the Centennial Award for chairing the Women’s History Museum Capital Campaign in 2001.