She previously served as Executive Vice President for the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, where over the course of twelve years she led the organization’s advocacy, field research, community engagement, and grantmaking efforts. Hawkins is secretary of the board of the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, advocacy committee chair of Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania, and a board member of the Asian Arts Initiative. She holds a BA from Duke University and an MFA from Temple University, and was recently named one of the region's "Creative Connectors" by Leadership Philadelphia.