About The Director

David Lescht, Founder and Executive Director of Outside In, oversees and directs all aspects of planning, scheduling, development and daily operations. David had also managed daily operations at three homeless shelters from 1974 to 1982. An offshoot of this community service evolved into the formation of theBrotherhood Band. As a member and manager of the band, he organized concerts in the U.S. and Spain at hospitals and correctional facilities.

It was during this time in 1982 when touring through California that he encountered Mimi Fariña and her organization, Bread and Roses, who were providing free live performances to institutions throughout the Bay Area. He decided to return to New Mexico to develop a similar program here and has accumulated valuable experience in his eight years of running Outside In.

From 1990 to 1992, David managed the Peter Webber/Ritz Studios in London and arranged rehearsal spaces for touring musicians and bands. Upon returning to New Mexico in 1992, David became a programmer at KUNM 89.9 FM in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he is presently involved as a host for Freeform and Folkroutes shows.

David attends and oversees most of Outside In events spending at least half of his time directing and administrating the Youth With Promise program.

On behalf of Outside In, he accepted The Santa Fe Community Foundation’s 2001 annual Pinon Award for the Arts and Humanities. In 2001, he was presented with the Volunteer of the Year Award at Cornell Corrections Santa Fe County Youth Development Program in recognition of the beneficial impact that the workshops and performances have had on the youth in their facility. In July of 2002 he was appointed to the LANL Foundation’s Grant Review Committee, and conducted a workshop at the Foundation’s annual conference in September under the category of Exemplary Nonprofit Programs—Model Programs for High Risk Youth. David again accepted for Outside In theOutstanding Arts Organization of the 2002 Mayor’s Recognition Award for Excellence in the Arts in Santa Fe. He has recently served on the 2003-2004 Grant Review Panel of Community Arts Development projects for New Mexico Arts.