Cynthia Toles is a Houston-based contemporary art collector and supporter of the arts with ties to Austin and San Antonio. A graduate of The University of Texas at Austin (BA, MA) and the University of Houston Law Center and a financial services lawyer by profession, Toles cites art as her true passion, taking particular pleasure in fostering the development of young artists and curators by supporting exhibitions, funding travel, hosting events and dinners, and collective work. A longtime arts patron and advocate, Toles was Founding Chair of the McNay Contemporary Collectors Forum in San Antonio, TX, a patron group that has grown to over 250 members in its 20+ years. She has organized and led museum art tours and serves or has served on the following boards: MFAH Core Residency Program (Chair) and Core Salon (Founding Chair); Artpace San Antonio, an international artist residency; Art Lies, a Texas-based critical journal of contemporary art (Chair); Gulf Coast, a Houston-based literary and art journal; Houston Arts Alliance; Rice Design Alliance (Houston); Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston; Blue Star Contemporary (San Antonio); Sala Diaz (San Antonio); and Aurora Picture Show, a Houston-based micro-cinema.