Meet Grace Cho | Pianist and Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Grace Cho and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Grace, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
The question “Where are you from?” has always had two answers for me. I was born in Seoul, South Korea, and I grew up playing the piano from the age of six. Even though I no longer live there or spend my days at the piano, both of these identities continue to shape who I am in profound ways.

Being a Korean woman living and working in America is its own journey. My career path hasn’t followed the traditional script of obedience or fitting in—instead, I’ve carved out my own spaces, roles, and opportunities. Twelve years ago, I founded a nonprofit cultural organization, and this year, I launched a consulting company. Straddling two cultures, I never quite “paired” society’s expectations with my own ambitions. I simply pursued what I wanted to do, without fully realizing how my appearance, accent, or background might influence the road ahead. Had I known the challenges I would face, I might have hesitated—but in a way, I’m grateful for that ignorance. It allowed me to step forward boldly, without fear.

At my core, I’m still the pianist who started at six years old, who trained rigorously from high school through a doctorate in the instrument. Though I no longer perform, that same passion and discipline fuel everything I do. I don’t just want to love my work—I have to. It’s embedded in my DNA.

Even though my life now looks very different from where I started, I can see just how deeply my origins continue to shape my path. The past and present aren’t separate—they are the foundation of everything I build.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
As a conservatory-trained pianist, I had no idea how to run a business when I founded a cultural nonprofit twelve years ago. But armed with a nothing-can-stop-me attitude, I figured it out—learning marketing, fundraising, organizational development, and everything in between. Problem-solving became second nature, and over time, I became more efficient and effective in nearly every area.

But there was one challenge I could never quite conquer: the ever-evolving world of digital marketing.

I’ve always considered myself tech-savvy—a bit of a nerd at heart—but no matter how much I learned, the digital marketing landscape kept moving faster than I could keep up. The moment I got the hang of it, a newer, smarter, more complex version would emerge. And I wasn’t alone. At some point, I realized that many nonprofit leaders had simply stopped trying to understand it. They outsourced it to staff or independent contractors, often without the strategic foundation needed to make those efforts successful.

But here’s the hard truth: without a strong digital marketing infrastructure, we have nothing.

Imagine a pyramid representing an audience or donor journey—without a solid, wide foundation, there’s no way to build a strong peak. In the for-profit world, companies invest enormous resources into building this infrastructure, but for nonprofits, it’s often an afterthought—pushed to the bottom of the budget and left to interns or external consultants.

As a lifelong problem-solver, I couldn’t ignore this gap. That’s why I founded ArtsRising—to help nonprofits build the digital foundation they need to thrive. We can’t build organizations on sand. In the digital age, that foundation is a well-structured marketing technology stack.

Through ArtsRising, my mission is to empower struggling organizations, helping them compound their efforts so they can grow, engage, and flourish. Because the incredible work nonprofits do deserves more than just getting by—it deserves to rise.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
This is hard! There are so many interesting places to go, visit, eat, see, hear, immerse, etc. Here is my three day weekend itinerary.

Day 1, Georgetown: Breakfast at Yellow, a middle Eastern meets French cafe serving wood-fired pita sandwiches. Window shop and walk along M street. Try a paddle boat or kayak on Potomac. An early dinner at Leopold Kafe, Vienese-style restaurant with the best Riesling collection. Grab a cab or walk and find one of many speakeasies in the city. My favorite is Allegory hidden behind a wall in Eaton DC.

Day 2, Can’t skip the museums in DC. Start at Hirschhorn where you can grab coffee and pastry from Dolcezza. If you want to stay in the modern art theme, then hop off to Renwick, and/or National Gallery of Art’s Modern Art wing. Make the last stop at the Portrait Gallery, which is open later than other museums. Then we are hitting chef José Andrés’ joints. Dinner at Oyamel (definitely get the tableside guac) followed by drinks at The Bazzar at Waldof Astoria DC.

Day 3, We are venturing out to the suburbs where the best ethnic foods are. For breakfast, we’d start at Eden Center, a Vietnamese-American mall. Walk to any of the hall-in-the-wall places for a good bowl of pho. With the full belly, we will hit the Virginia wine country. My picks are Stone Tower Winery and The Winery at Bull Run. For dinner, we head to Centerville. I love Korean-Chinese food and Jang Won is one of the bests in the area. While in Centerville, we can stock up on Korean skincare items at Aritaum or THEFACESHOP and have tasty bakeries at O Bread & Cake.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Yena Kathryn Hwang, a senior pastor of Falls Church Persbyterian Church and a Korean immigrant who paves her way to inspire her community.

Website: https://www.artsrising.co

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grace_love_cho/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gracelovecho/

Image Credits
Photos by Albert Ting, Luz Maria Rodriguez, and myself