Margaret S. “Tog” Newman

Margaret S. (Tog) Newman is a visionary leader who has been at the helm of countless arts, education, and nonprofit organizations at the state and national levels for more than forty years. She is vital to Winston-Salem’s reputation as a cultural center. She has been described as “a leader, a lover of the arts, an advocate for equality, fairness and justice, and a very able administrator with a passionate and generous soul.”

Newman was born and raised in Charlotte, NC, where she was educated in the public schools. She attended Hollins College in Roanoke, VA, for two years and earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1958. After graduation she worked in New York City until moving to Winston-Salem, where she has lived since 1962. She began her lifelong involvement with arts organizations in 1964 when she managed the Winston-Salem Gallery of the Arts (now the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art). While serving on the Winston-Salem Symphony Board, Newman helped establish the Association of Symphony Orchestras of North Carolina.

Newman has led the state and the nation as board chairman of  arts support and advocacy  organizations such as Arts North Carolina, the North Carolina Arts Council, the N.C. Center for Nonprofits (current chair), the Southern Arts Federation (now South Arts), and the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies. She has served the state broadly in many capacities including the Heritage and Cultural Tourism Board, the North Carolina Center for International Understanding, the North Carolina Conference for Women, and the Board of Trustees at Winston-Salem State University.

Strategic and energetic, Newman is the quintessential volunteer. During the opening of the Roger L. Stevens Center for the Performing Arts, she took on what she called “a full-time volunteer job” overseeing 240 committee members. She is a team-builder as well as a team-player. She motivates people to achieve their goals and to seek new challenges. As a leader, she builds partnerships and inspires creative thinking and helps committees and boards to realize the possibilities of progress and the opportunities for service. She recently received the North Carolina Award for Service.

Tog Newman lives in Winston Salem with her husband Michael, an architect. They have two adult children and three grandchildren.