About Robyn Murphy

Robyn Murphy is an award-winning cultural strategist leading the transformation in how cities think about arts, culture, and community. As CEO of Create Baltimore — Baltimore City’s designated arts council — she is redefining how cultural investment fuels economic growth, civic engagement, and collective well-being.

Robyn oversees a citywide portfolio that includes cultural institutions, artist studios, and the region's largest farmer's market. Under her leadership, Create Baltimore administers Maryland’s largest direct funding to artists and arts organizations. She also serves as Executive Producer of Artscape, the largest free outdoor arts festival in the United States, where she continues to expand the festival’s impact as a platform for creativity, economic mobility, and community connection.

Before stepping into civic leadership, Robyn founded JRM Consultancy, a Maryland-based strategic communications firm supporting organizations committed to diverse partnerships, community-centered growth, and inclusive engagement. She also co-owns Murphy Enterprise with her husband, retired NFL offensive lineman Jason Murphy. In 2023, the
Baltimore Office of Equity and Civil Rights honored the couple for embedding economic equity and second-chance hiring into their company’s values and operations.

Robyn’s career began in journalism, reporting and hosting for NBC network affiliates. She became the first female sports reporter at two outlets, the first woman sports columnist for the Afro-American Newspaper, and later served as an on-air host for BET’s election coverage and moderator for nationally televised political and social justice panels. Her award-winning features and essays have appeared in Vibe, Newsweek, and other national publications.

A dynamic public speaker, Robyn is featured nationally on topics of cultural importance, including:

• Cultural Structures in Cities
• Building Creative Ecosystems
• The Economics of Creativity
• Art as Infrastructure
• Baltimore as a Blueprint City, harnessing arts and culture to shape a shared and equitable future.

Robyn is the co-host of the annual Women’s Economic Empowerment Brunch with Maryland First Lady Dawn Moore. She serves on the Board of Trustees for Baltimore Center Stage, the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women, the Mayor’s Arts & Culture Advisory Committee, the Governor’s Jobs and Workforce Advisory Committee, and is a founding member of the Black Leadership Circle. She also served on the 2025 Preakness Festival Steering Committee. Robyn has been a proud member of the Greater Baltimore Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. for 19 years.