Denise Roberts Hurlin
Founding Director

Denise Roberts Hurlin’s career has taken her down several diverse paths after graduating in 1984 with a BFA in Dance from the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College. As a dancer, she was a founding member of Parsons Dance in 1987 and has set David Parson’s work on the Purchase Dance Corps and Netherlands Dans Theater. She performed for six years with the Paul Taylor Dance Company, where she danced the leads in such Taylor classics as Aureole, Big Bertha, Sunset and Company B, and was featured in the PBS/WNET Dance in America special Speaking in Tongues. In 1991, Denise and fellow Paul Taylor dancer Hernando Cortez co-founded Dancers Responding to AIDS as a vehicle to help so many of their friends and fellow dancers who had become ill. Denise remains in her role as founding director, leading the program’s efforts to continue providing a safety net for the dance community. Denise also is an inaugural member of the advisory council for The Dancers’ Resource, a program of The Actors Fund founded by Bebe Neuwirth. She is married to Broadway Cares Production Manager Nathan Hurlin. They are the proud parents of Catherine and Henry Hurlin.
Photo by David Liddell

 
Abigail Richards
Development Officer

Abigail Richards is development officer for Dancers Responding to AIDS. She joined the DRA team in 2022 after working at amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research. She graduated from New York University in 2018 with a degree in neural science where her research focused on neurodegeneration. Abigail has always been passionate about public health and community support, pursuing a master’s degree in the field. After briefly exploring a career in science, Abigail switched gears to explore engaging with donors and supporters, ultimately falling in love with development. She also grew up with dance, taking classes since she could walk, making DRA the perfect combination of her interests. She is the proud dog mom to Rosie