Brian Francoise is social entrepreneur, facilitator, educator, artist and community engagement specialist. Brian is Director Emeritus of a UMBC community-university partnership in South Baltimore called Lakeland Community and STEAM Center. He managed urban ecology programs, adult computer literacy program, and afterschool STEAM programs for youth and families.

He served as an Open Society Institute — Baltimore,  Community Fellow, where he led an intergenerational group of residents to devise a play about his neighborhood called Covenants, A Theatrical Collage about Northwood.  For this project, Brian was awarded the Baltimore Mayor’s Individual Artist Award as well as the Ruby’s Artist Project Grant funded by Robert W. Deutsch Foundation.

He teaches theatre courses to incarcerated individuals in the Goucher Prison Education Partnership. He has taught theatre and peace studies courses at Goucher College, Towson University and Loyola University of Maryland.

He inaugurated the Community Engagement department at Everyman Theatre as its first Director where he connected the themes of mainstage productions to community-based partnerships. He was the Deputy Director for Maryland Citizens for the Arts — the states leading arts advocacy organizing where he innovated ArtsLab, Emerging Arts Advocates and Curate Maryland among many programs.
He is Co-founder of Theatre Action Group, a community performance company whose theatre projects intersect with activism, popular education, and community building.  Brian has led several youth theatre projects in DC, Baltimore and NYC.

He has performed, directed, or taught at The Shakespeare Theatre, Arena Stage, TheatreVirginia (Richmond), Playhouse on the Square (Memphis) and Center Stage (Baltimore).