Andrea Ambam is an award-winning storyteller, truthteller, and worldbender whose roots sprout from Cameroon. As a politically-engaged writer, performance artist, and producer, Andrea seeks to reflect the times and generate new timelines via critical commentary, unruly imagination, and multi-modal creations that interrogate how we get free. Currently, Andrea is developing new theatrical work and serving as the Director of Programming at Level Forward – a public-benefit entertainment studio – where she produces and hosts the Anthem Award-winning audience engagement platform More To Talk About. She has developed her multi-hyphenated artistic practice through fellowships and residencies with New York Theatre Workshop, PEN America, Hi-Arts, Anna Deavere Smith, Broadway Advocacy Coalition, The Playwrights Realm, Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Signature Theatre, and EmergeNYC; and collaboration with JACK, Working Theater, The Billie Holiday Theatre, Classical Theatre of Harlem, NYU Verbatim Performance Lab, Girls Write Now, NYU Prison Education Program, Harlem9, and others. Andrea has been pulsating at the intersection of art, current events, and social impact for over a decade, beginning as a competitive public speaker where she was awarded 10 national championships including “Top Speaker in the Nation” three times, and went on to debate conservative pundits on live TV. Her plays include: Date of Release (Working Theater and Broadway Advocacy Coalition’s Stage Left Festival), Twelve Angry Black Women (Fault Line Theatre’s Irons in The Fire Finalist), Fragile State (Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference Semifinalist, Rattlestick Van Lier Fellowship Semifinalist), R(estoration) I(n) P(rogress) (NYU Educational Theatre/Provincetown Playhouse 2023), Rehearsing Justice: A One-Woman Show (Brooklyn Arts Exchange 2022), and Angelina Weld Grimke (Classical Theatre of Harlem/Playbill, Broadway Podcast Network). Andrea holds a Master’s degree in Art & Public Policy from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. www.andreaambam.com

Reyna Erika Bonaparte-Sandoz is a director, teaching artist, educator, community organizer, facilitator, and podcaster from Harlem, NYC. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from Bard College and received her master’s in Applied Theatre from CUNY’s School of Professional Studies. Reyna has been involved in the arts for over 20 years and spent most of that time working at the Harlem Children’s Zone, where she ran multiple writing, media, and arts programs for students across the agency’s many middle school and high school sites. Reyna is passionate about theatre for social change and activism and sees her work at The People’s Theatre as crucial in her quest to help others use their voice and fight oppression everywhere.

Dria Brown (she/her) is a Black, queer artDoula, creative producer, facilitator, and artist whose practice is deeply rooted in a Black maternal doula lens. She champions slow, intentional creation, guiding artists through nurturing processes whereby their work is “parented” from conception through realization. Dria’s approach honors the natural rhythms of creativity, fostering deep connections, sustained growth, and transformative expression. As a multi-hyphenate creative, Dria masterfully blends her roles to harness the power of storytelling and art as tools for social change. Her work is a testament to her dedication to creativity, justice, and advocacy. www.driabrown.com

Nathan is a multi-disciplinary artist, arts manager, and creative business consultant based in Pittsburgh, PA. His creative practice is currently focused on ceramics, illustration, and painting. As an arts manager and creative business consultant, he received dual Masters degrees from both Carnegie Mellon University in Arts Management and the University of Bologna in Innovation and Organization of Culture and the Arts to ensure that creative individuals have the essential tools to pursue their artistic practice or small business. Outside of Benvenuti Arts, Nathan uses his 10 years of event management experience and art management background to ensure local artists and creative entrepreneurs have the resources and support they need to thrive in their creative practices. He has previously worked in arts management in several organizations including Radiant Hall, Brew House Association, The Chautauqua Institution, Creative Business Accelerator, and the Art Supply Co.

Vivett Hemans Dukes is a third year doctoral student in English Education at Columbia University, Teachers College and a veteran NYC public school educator. Her research explores letter writing as a liberatory literacy practice among Black youth impacted by familial incarceration. Grounded in culturally responsive pedagogy and community praxis, her work bridges scholarship, advocacy, and classroom experience with humanity.

Abe Johnson is an educator, director, and performer in music and theatre with a commitment to social justice arts education. An early chapter in his performing arts journey unfolded during his time with the Lee University Singers, complemented by his earning a B.S. in Music Business with a Vocal Emphasis from Lee University.

Transitioning into education, Abe served as a youth choir director and leader in Mississippi and Florida before advancing to the role of music department chair at a Florida performing arts school. His interest in theatre led him to stage management, acting, and further educational pursuits, culminating in his earning an M.A. in Educational Theatre from NYU Steinhardt with a focus on social justice, theatre, and education.

Abe’s career includes contributions to inclusive arts, most notably through his work as the Education Director for People’s Theatre Project, a social justice arts education organization in Washington Heights, NYC. He has served as a musical director for productions through National Queer Theatre, exploring social and political issues. Additionally, Abe values his role as an alumnus of the NYC Gay Men’s Chorus.

Yekta Khaghani is an Iranian playwright, actor, poet, and theater educator based in New York City. Her plays explore themes of displacement, diaspora, and identity, often blending metatheatrical elements with deeply personal narratives. Yekta is part of the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable’s 2025 cohort of the Teaching Artist Mentorship Program. She created and performed Fairy Tales from Greater Iran, a podcast series produced by Pardis for Children, and has adapted these tales into numerous performances for young audiences. Her play A Study about the Ecologic Arts is Needed was selected as a top 30 finalist for the 50th Samuel French Off Off-Broadway Short Play Festival. She received the 2023 New York City Women’s Fund for her play In the Stillness of Night, which was showcased at The Tank Theater in February 2024. In 2023, Yekta curated Whispers of the Flesh, an anthology of plays by Iranian women playwrights, honoring their resilience and strength. The anthology has been showcased in the U.S. and Europe and is scheduled for a European production in Summer 2026. Since immigrating to the U.S. in 2016, Yekta has emerged as a dynamic voice in independent theater, creating work that bridges cultural boundaries and challenges conventional storytelling.

Toya Lillard is a passionate theater artist, director, and arts educator dedicated to fostering creativity and inclusivity in the arts. Currently, she serves as the Executive Director of 651 ARTS, a nationally renowned arts presenting organization. Prior to this role, Toya was the Executive Director of viBe Theater Experience, an innovative arts education organization and theater company based in Brooklyn, NY.

With a robust background in arts education, Toya previously held the position of Director of School Programs at The New York Philharmonic’s Education Department, where she contributed to the development of the acclaimed School Partnership Program. She is also a part-time faculty member at The New School, teaching Collaborative Theatre Practice.

Toya is actively involved in promoting equity and inclusion within the arts community as a board member of the New York City Arts in Education Roundtable and co-chair of its TaskForce on Equity and Inclusion. 

Toya holds a B.A. from Vassar College and an M.A. from New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. She resides in Brooklyn, NY, where she works  to inspire and empower the next generation of artists.

Fabiola Quiñones is a doctoral student in the Curriculum and Teaching department. Her research centers on the inclusion and representation of current colonies in US History, the co-development of curricula with youth using Youth Participatory Action Research and Latino Critical Race Theory, and the use of multimedia as teaching tools. She works as a Research Assistant at the Gordon Institute for Advanced Study and was an Adult Ally for Cyphers for Justice. Fabiola is also an educational consultant working with District 7 in the Bronx. Previously, she has been an instructional coach, leadership coach, middle school STEM teacher, department head, curriculum developer, and instructional fellow. Fabiola holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Notre Dame, a MAM in Arts Management from Columbia College, and a MsEd from Hunter College. Go Irish!

Candace is a performer, writer, creator and facilitator of movement-based practices including choreography, improvisation, movement as self-care and movement as social justice for movers and thinkers of all ages and abilities. She was the recipient of a 2019 Pepatián Dance Your Future Residency and premiered her first evening-length work coming toward at BAAD! (Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance; Bronx, NY). Recently she shared a movement meditation, rescue, for Fly On A Wall’s Excuse the Art in 2022 (Atlanta, GA). Candace earned a B.A. in Neuroscience and Behavior from Barnard College. Deepening her practices around self and community care, Candace shares energy healing work rooted in embodied listening as a certified Reiki practitioner. This passion for supporting the visions of others led to working for over a decade as a freelance editor for writers in all stages of their creative process including graphic novelists, fitness professionals, and classroom educators. Candace brings to the Benvenuti Arts team a desire to uplift artists’ authentic stories.