ANTONIA BADON, Book Author, SAG/AFTRA & AEA Actress, Teaching Artist, CulturREPreneur, Antonia Badon is a former Co-segment Producer and Co-Celebrity Talent Coordinator for the late Great Chair-Emeritus, Percy E. Sutton’s Inner City Broadcasting Co., TV show “It’s Showtime At The Apollo,” a NAACP AWARD WINNER for the play ZORA!, a BEST ACTRESS AWARD WINNER of the Strawberry One-Act Festival, a WBLS/WLIB, Circle of Sisters COMMUNITY HONORS RECIPIENT, and a FIRST FRUIT AWARD RECIPIENT for her radio show. The HBCU graduate of Dillard University New Orleans-actress is a force to be reckoned with. Antonia came to the consciousness of the New York populous with her critically acclaimed one-woman play of the famous Zora Neale Hurston in, ZORA! written by Multi-Award Winner Laurence Holder. Antonia is a trailblazer in digital media, audio, and film editing. As an Edu-Tech Creator, she envisions a world where urban America is seen through a new lens, blending history and culture seamlessly. Her mission seeks to inspire young minds through culturally diverse content, making history enjoyable & accessible.

Inspired by urban-born artists like Duke and Zora, Antonia’s mission transcends conventional boundaries. Antonia harnessed her superpowers to build community awareness and appreciation for urban communities. Her transformative journey merges education seamlessly with inspiration. At the forefront of an edu-tech revolution, she builds bridges of awareness and combats violence by fostering community appreciation globally. 

Antonia’s dedication extends to inspiring the next generation through cultural awareness. Her book “Harlem: The Black Mecca,” part of the “Harlem Renaissance Time Travel Girlz” landmark series for children aged 1 to 9, is featured on the shelf of the Schomburg Center Bookstore. This series blends historical exploration with storytelling to pave the way for a future devoid of violence.

CORNELL CARELOCK also known as Lord Judah is a mindfulness practitioner and instructor, professional artist, teacher, and student of comics, creative writing, music production, and music culture. He has worked along with many civic-based organizations, schools, and community groups, regarding Social Justice and Social Action and Continues to develop creative strategies for translating positive proactive messaging into his Art and Art workshops. He utilizes the practice of mindfulness and heart-based meditation to stay grounded in his service to humanity to allow all participants to receive the most from the space that he creates for them. Through a unique blend of all his learned techniques and strategies, he has developed a self-healing instructional program he calls “True He (ART) Academy”. It is Judah’s mission to be a leader in mindfulness and arts integration, and influence those from his generation to look at how art, but more specifically music impacts mental health. Learn more about his work on his website: https://trueheartacademy.com/

COURTNEY RENEE COCHRAN is a NYC based freelance dancer, teacher, and choreographer. Born in Sacramento, CA, she received her training from Sacramento Ballet, Lines Ballet, Alvin Ailey, Ballet X, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and Crockett-Deane Ballet where she was selected as an emerging choreographer for Regional Dance America. Since moving to New York, Courtney’s work has been featured in programs such as Brooklyn Ballet’s First Look , Norte Maar’s Counter Pointe, Dance Theatre of Harlem’s Sunday Matinee, Thelma Hill’s Dance Festival and Works & Process’ Artists Virtual Commission Series where her piece entitled, From cage of teeth and jaw, was awarded “Best Solo Performance” in Earl Mosley’s Dance is Activism Film Festival. In 2019 she was nominated for Dance Lab New York’s first Female Choreographers of Color residency in collaboration with The Joyce Theatre where the culmination of her work was presented at Works & Process at the Guggenheim.

Courtney has 10+ years of freelance experience dancing with companies including Eglevsky Ballet, Brooklyn Ballet, The Black Iris Project, Collage Dance Collective, Columbia City Ballet, and Dance Theatre of Harlem; and has performed in ballets such as Swan Lake, La Bayadere, Les Sylphides, The Nutcracker, and starred as Puck in Sierra Nevada Ballet’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream.Courtney has taught at Brooklyn Ballet, The Billie Holiday Theatre, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Límon Dance, Harlem School of the Arts, and after completing her ABT NTC certification, joined the JKO School in the fall of 2021.

JACOB COHEN is a Brooklyn-based experimental cellist, instrument maker, visual artist, and educator. He began playing the cello in 1995 and over the years has developed a unique improvisational style that grew out of his days as a street performer in New York City. Cohen’s music was featured in the 2014 film Foxcatcher which was nominated for 5 grammy awards. From 2014-2018 He ran a music program for youth incarcerated at Rikers Island Correctional Center. He brought his cello into the jail and played music with the youth, and also drew portraits of them. Over 500 of the portraits were exhibited at the Queens Museum in 2018 in a solo show titled “Dispatches from the Ghost Ship.” In 2020 he and a group of activists founded the Free Prakash Alliance with the goal of getting murder charges against Prakash Churaman dropped. At the age of 15 Churaman had been accused of a murder in Queens he did not commit and interrogated for hours before making a false confession with no lawyer present. All chargers against Churaman were dropped on June 8, 2022. Jacob is now running a music and art program at Crossroads Juvenile Center, an ACS-run secure detention facility in Brooklyn.

MAYA JUNE DWYER is an emerging interdisciplinary artist based in Syracuse, N.Y.. She is a teaching artist, performer, director, choreographer, movement director and music and theatre creator specialized in site-specific immersive art. She has trained and worked with companies including PUSH Physical Theatre, The Hofesh Shechter Company, Punchdrunk, Meredith Monk, and Pilobolus. She recently completed Big Bang, a contemporary dance training program in Montréal at Espace Ouvert, and in 2023, she was one of 12 choreographers in New York State to be awarded the NY State Dance Force Choreographer’s Initiative. Maya is a frequent guest artist at Le Moyne College, where she directs and choreographs movement-infused productions of plays and musicals and has taught courses since 2020. During COVID, she Previous directing and choreography credits include Orlando and Cabaret at Le Moyne College. At the heart of Maya’s teaching career is the goal of demystifying movement and working to dissolve the barriers to entry which exist in movement and theatre.

DANAYA ESPERANZA (she/they // ella/elle) is a queer Afro-Cuban immigrant who spent much of her childhood in the Deep South. Based in the Bronx, they’ve performed on several of the most renowned stages in the country, including The Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, Theatre for a New Audience, The Signature Theatre, National Black Theatre, Soho Rep, Playwrights Horizons, Shakespeare Theatre Company (DC), Folger Theatre (DC), and the Goodman Theatre (Chicago). She recently played an artistic ancestor, Haydée Portuondo in BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB at Atlantic Theater Company, and this summer, will be revising her role as Adriana in THE COMEDY OF ERRORS/LA COMEDIA DE ERRORES at The Public. Danaya often works as a teaching artist with The Classical Theatre of Harlem and volunteers with The 52nd Street Project. As a writer, they are developing two plays honoring their two grandmothers. Danaya is a graduate of The Juilliard School where she adapted and directed KASSANDRA AND THE WOLF, based on the novel by Margarita Karapanou; and Columbia University where they completed a Thesis in Directing with Sarah Kane’s 4.48 PSYCHOSIS. Her callings are new works and adaptations, or a reimagining of classics, where they can bring something of their intersecting identities. Danaya is also a poet and songwriter, and collaborated with the Latin band, Última Nota on the song ESPUMAS as the lyricist and vocalist, which is available on all streaming platforms.

BAKARY FALL is a dancer and choreographer of traditional and contemporary West African, Capoeira, and urban dances from Dakar, Senegal. Bakary launched his career at the Third World Festival of Black Arts in Dakar, originally established by Senegalese poet and president Leopold Sedar Senghor.

Bakary notably studied with Bessie award winning dancer Germaine Acogny.His dancing and choreography have been featured in several documentaries and music videos, including with Grammy award winning artists. He founded the annual Nun ak Yeen festival in Dakar in 2014 that is recognized throughout West Africa for uniting artists experimenting with the fusion of contemporary and traditional dance. He also founded a dance group, Sunu Percu Dance, in Senegal that works with traditional and contemporary West African cultures. In 2023 he took 20 members from Kofago Dance Ensemble, for whom he is a Choreographer, to Senegal for the Nun Ak Yeen Festival.

Since arriving to the United States in 2018, Bakary has danced in festivals and performances, including in New York: INSITU Dance Festival, a Youssou N’dour’s performance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the International African Arts Festival: West Africa Dance Masters. He teaches classes and workshops at Alvin Ailey Extension currently weekly, Ripley Grier, Piel Canela Center for Latin Arts, Peridance Capezio Center, CUMBE: Center for African and Diaspora Dance, Queensborough Community College and NYC public/charter schools to all ages. He has also taught at schools and universities across the United States and has performed throughout Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, and Senegal.

ROSEMARIE FIORE lives and works in Bronx, NY. She is a pyrotechnic painter, sculptor and performance artist that typically creates her own tools to harness Firework smoke using Fumage to create work.Fiore has received awards through National Endowment for the Arts, NYFA Artist Fellowship, Avery Foundation, NYC DCLA and Dieu Donne Paper Mill. The Bronx Council for the Arts has supported Fiore’s work with BRIO, AIE and Arts Fund Grants. She has attended residencies at Millay, Kohler A/I, Art Omi, Yaddo, Skowhegan, MacDowell, Walentas-Sharpe Studios, Wavehill, Roswell AIR, VCCA, Sculpture Space and Bronx Museum.

Her exhibitions and performances include: MOCA, Jacksonville, FL., Weatherspoon Museum, NC, The Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, NY, SCAD Museum, GA, Von Lintel Gallery, LA, VCUarts, Richmond, Grand Arts, Kansas City, Bronx Museum, Queens Museum, Socrates Sculpture Park, NYC, and Franklin Institute, Philadelphia.Her exhibitions have been reviewed by The New York Times, New York Magazine, Art in America, Artforum, Village Voice, NY Arts Magazine, FLAUNT Magazine, Art Papers Magazine, Art on Paper, Art and Cake and Art Ltd. Magazine.Fiore’s work is included in the following collections: Kohler Co., John Michael Kohler Art Center, US Art in Embassies, Colombo, Sri Lanka, UBS Art Collection, Fidelity Corporate Art Collection, Weatherspoon Museum, Cosmopolitan Hotel Las Vegas, Neuberger Berman, Aspen Collection, Texas A & M University, and The Franklin Institute of Science.She has served as a mentor in NYFA’s Immigrant Artist Program since 2010, is a teaching artist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and MacDowell trustee.

SHERESE FRANCIS (she/they) describes themselves as an AlkyMist of the I-Magination, finding expression through poetry, interdisciplinary arts (collage, book and paper arts, sound and performance art, text art), workshop facilitation, editing, and literary curation. Her(e) work takes inspiration from her(e) Afro-Caribbean heritage (Barbados and Dominica), and studies in Afrofuturism and Black Speculative Arts, mythology and etymology. Some of their work has been published in Furious Flower, Obsidian, Rootwork Journal, The Caribbean Writer, The Operating System, Cosmonauts Avenue, No Dear, Apex Magazine, Bone Bouquet, African Voices, Newtown Literary, and Free Verse. Additionally, Sherese has published four chapbooks, Lucy’s Bone Scrolls (Three Legged Elephant, 2017), Variations on Sett/ling Seed/ling (Harlequin Creature, 2018), Recycling a Why That Rules Over My Sacred Sight (DoubleCross Press, 2021) and Lady Liberty Smashing Stones (THRASH Press, 2022). Sherese has received grant awards from Queens Council on the Arts, NYFA and NYSCA ,and residencies from WorksonWater, LMCC, Akademie Schloss Solitude and SeaSalted Honey in Senegal. Besides publications, Sherese has had her(e) work featured in various exhibitions and showcases from NY Live Arts, Queens Public Library, York College Arts Gallery, King Manor Museum, WorksOnWater, Flushing Town Hall, Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning, Jamaica Flux, Bliss On Bliss, Maleza Proyectos, The Rubenstein Art Center, The Loomis Chaffee School Mercy Gallery and Ely Center for Contemporary Art.

MIRANDA (RANDI) GESCHEIT, a true Brooklyn native, found their artistic calling meandering through Manhattan’s art scene after a day at Edward R Murrow High School. There they participated in any after school program they could find, including Theater Performances, workshops and talkbacks. These experiences lead them to study Theater Production/Hospitality and Tourism from Buffalo State University. Randi’s journey took a meaningful turn towards community engagement and arts education. From Theatre of Youth to Ujima Company Inc where they are a company member. Randi immersed themself in local theater, managing community partnerships and ensuring the show’s heartbeat as a Stage Manager. Randi’s passion spreads far and wide; they have been a Teaching Artist in Arlington, Virginia to Central New York, as a Road Manager at The Rev where they bring theater to rural corners of New York State. Randi has been inspired by Stacy Wolf’s book Beyond Broadway… to work with the next generation of theater goers and makers all over the US but most importantly in their home state of New York. Randi is thankful for their Public Education and the Teachers, Professors and Friends that got them to where they are today along with their hard work and passion. “

DEVIN JOYNER is an arts educator, choreographer and creative director from VA who performed and taught in Chicago five years before moving to NYS. She premiered in Sharon Cooks’ Black Girl Magic in Winter 2022 and Verbatim Performance Labs’, Whatever you are be a Good One Fall 2023. She/Her work has premiered on stages for companies such as the Black Ensemble Theater, Theater 47 and Steppenwolf Theater.

Though she is just getting started her most prized moments are when she gets to teach in detention centers and schools teaching youth how to express themselves through writing and dancing. Storytelling is the heart of her work so each piece she creates shares a piece of her with the audience. She believes there is a healing in expression through arts and wants to share it with whoever will watch/listen. She is honored to be apart of NYU Dance Education Program and grateful her leaders and professors who have done such an amazing job of continuing to mold her into the arts educator she is today. She is beyond excited to embark on this new journey with NYS Mentorship Program and can’t wait to connect with the cohort and her new mentor.

GAIL LEWIS is a retired preschool teacher and Day Care Provider of 45+ years. Art has always been a part of her practice but in recent years, she has become a Certified Zentangle Teacher. Gail has taken her passion for art as a form of relaxation and made it into a small business by teaching through grants or privately through local libraries. She has collaborated with the ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes to bring different forms of arts and crafts to rural areas in the region. Gail has also been seen on stage in local theatre groups and sings with two choral groups.

Gail has two daughters, a son-in-law, and two grandchildren who are the loves of her life. She loves warm weather and likes to keep busy and active, which includes jumping on trampolines with her granddaughter!

FATIMA LOGAN- ALSTON, a native of Durham, NC is a multi-faceted artist who is committed to engaging communities in culturally and historically thematic workshops, residencies, concerts, and performances connecting dance, live music, and visual elements into a theatrically enriching experience. Fatima received her BFA in Dance and Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University, a Teaching Artist Certificate from the Teacher’s College at Columbia University, and a Masters in Liberal Studies from SUNY Old Westbury. Fatima was a company member of the African-American Dance Ensemble and Forces of Nature Dance Theater. She has performed with artists such as Bobby Sanabria, Paul Winters, Ntozake Shange, at the Curtain Up Broadway Festival, and Lincoln Center Outdoors. Fatima is currently the Artistic Director of Threads of Truth (formerly VashtiDance Theater),  which she founded in 2011. Since that time, Threads of Truth, has presented her work at national and international venues including Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM, NY) The Sheen Center for Thought and Culture (NY), Durham Arts Council (NC), Powhatan Arts Council (VA) and the International Association of Blacks in Dance (Ontario, Canada). Fatima has been in residency at Hunter College (NY), Long Island University Post (NY), and Hostos Community College (NY) through the CUNY Dance Initiative. She has been a Guest Instructor at Queens College (NY), University of Iowa, Barnard College (NY), and is currently an Adjunct Instructor at SUNY Old Westbury and a Teaching Artist with Alvin Ailey Arts in Education and Community Programs. Fatima works with community organization partners including the Caribbean Cultural Center and African-Diaspora Institute and has also been awarded support for her work from the New York Council for the Arts (2021), the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (2022), and the Lower Manhattan Council for the Arts (2023).  She is grateful and excited for this opportunity as a mentee in the third cohort for the New York State Teaching Artist Mentorship Program. 

LORENA MARIN is an interdisciplinary artist based in Brooklyn, NY, originally from Bogotá, Colombia. She has been involved in numerous theater and dance projects across Manhattan and Jersey City. Her credits include notable Shakespearean roles such as Isabella in “Measure for Measure” and Banquo in “Macbeth.”

Lorena has been an integral part of the Dance Company Katherine Pettit Creative as a principal dancer and the Something From Abroad Theater Company as an Actress, Director, and Producer. Among her recent works is her bilingual play based on Shakespearean monologues titled “Unspoken Garden/El jardín que calla.” Additionally, she orchestrates the Artistic Laboratory, a live performance where, as a dancer and director, she collaborates with other artists to explore their craft and create original works through improvisation.

She is also the Founder and artistic director of the Robus Dance Theater Ensemble, which has showcased commissioned works for the New York Foundation for the Arts, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, and the Queens Council on the Arts.

KEVIN TOLEDO aka Advice is a Bronx born and bred artist of Puerto Rican & Dominican descent. He is an independent hip hop artist, teacher, mental health advocate, and creative entrepreneur. Throughout his career Advice has provided mental health services across New York City and now works as a teaching artist and program manager for Thrive Collective’s R.H.Y.M.E. mentoring youth through hip-hop across NYC.

KEA TREVETT (she/her) is a theater practitioner, filmmaker, and educator. As an actor, her NY stage credits include Roundabout, Classic Stage Company, Lincoln Center, Ars Nova, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Sheen Center, New Georges, The Lark, Page 73, and Cherry Lane. Kea teaches playwriting and Shakespeare in performance for Theatre For A New Audience and Lincoln Center, and is a founding member and co-artistic director of Apocalyptic Artists, a theater company which provides free theater programming and professional productions to NYC schools. MFA: Columbia University. www.keatrevett.com

JO-ANN WILSON earned a bachelor’s degree from New York University with a double major in Music and Journalism. She is a Licensed Master Social Worker, author, singer/songwriter, instrumentalist, playwright, actor, motivational speaker, and educator. Jo-Ann has written Black History Month coloring books on various topics including Traditions from Africa, Famous African-American Writers, and 101 Things Everyone Should Know About African American History. As a motivational speaker, she has performed at national conventions, mental health organizations, juvenile detention facilities, and nonprofit organizations. As the Founder of INSPIRED, her mission is to use the arts to improve individuals’ self-worth, confront misconceptions on a community level, and provide safe spaces for people from different cultures to have important conversations. Her programs are multi-generational/cultural and include a variety of artistic genres. Performers include professional artists and community members. 

MIYABI WRIGHT‘s journey is deeply rooted in underground street dance and club culture. Born amidst the pioneers of Hip Hop and House dance, Miyabi’s formative years were steeped in rhythm, grooves, and soul. From her upbringing emerged a passion for artistic exploration, innovation, and community-building through Street dance. As a Black and Japanese street dance teaching artist, she empowers her students drawing upon her rich experiences. In an effort to educate the Japanese street dance community, her family opened Next Generation NYC Studios in Okayama, Japan. NXGN is a school that focuses on understanding the history and origins of street dance styles as well as their core foundations and grooves. Miyabi spent her early years learning how to build hip hop based programs curriculums, teaching methods and material, with the help of her street dance pioneer father, Terry (Cebo) Carr. In 2010, Miyabi joined the Ladies Of Hip Hop collective in New York where she continued to not only educate the youth and women all across the U.S. nation, but grow artistically as a street dance artist and performer.

KANGNAN ZHENG (NAN) is a drama teacher and member of Beijing “Trust” Playback Theatre. She led a startup education company and cooperated with 10+ organizations and schools in China, such as The China Soong Ching Ling Science & Culture Centre For Young People, and Beijing Chaoyang Foreign Language School, etc.

She received the “Excellence Award for Program Design” from Beijing Academy of Educational Sciences and “Excellent Teacher” in the Third Golden Thrush Children Drama in Education Showcase. With 10 years of acting and teaching experience, she worked internationally in China, Nepal, British, New Zealand, and the United States.

Nan graduated from The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute and holds an MA in Educational Theatre from New York University. She believes that the power of drama transcends the stage. Her goal is to popularize drama education and integrate drama with personal growth and community development.