Gonzalo Casals is an educator, policymaker, and cultural advocate based in Jackson Heights, Queens. He is the Co-Director of the Culture & Arts Policy Institute alongside Mauricio Delfin. The Institute, a research and advocacy organization, addresses systemic challenges in New York’s Culture and Arts sector.

Gonzalo leads Saludos From Jackson Heights!, a consulting firm that works with mid-size to small BIPOC-led or serving organizations and those in geographic peripheries. Committed to lifelong learning, he teaches Cultural Policy and Advocacy at CUNY, NYU, Yale, and Columbia.

Crystal is the Council Member for New York City’s District 35 in Brooklyn, representing the neighborhoods of Crown Heights, Prospect Heights, Clinton Hill, and Fort Greene. A third-generation Brooklynite, she was first elected in 2021 and made history as one of the first out gay Black women ever elected in New York City. Crystal is a public servant committed to making government more accessible for more people. As a first-term Council Member, she passed more bills than any other first-term member in Brooklyn and was second among all new members. She has authored the Black Agenda for New York City and co-authored the Marsha & Sylvia Plan, a first-of-its-kind policy agenda to support LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers. Crystal is chair of the Committee on Aging and also serves as co-chair of the Council’s Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus.

David King is an interdisciplinary artist, facilitator and administrator committed to youth development, cultural equity and creative storytelling. He advocates for sustainable access to the arts and education and he supports the dignity of teachers, learners and arts workers. He is the Director of Education at The Apollo. Prior to that, he served as Program Director of School and Community Partnerships at Community-Word Project (CWP). 

He is a member of Dance/NYC’s 2023-24 Dance. Workforce. Resilience. Initiative Advisory Group. He is a board member and Co-Chair of the Advocacy Committee at the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable. He is an Innovative Cultural Advocacy Fellow with CCCADI and a subcommittee member of Culture@3, a space for leaders of NYC’s cultural institutions to connect and share resources and support. He is a member of Actors’ Equity Association, Artists Co-creating Real Equity (ACRE), and Creating New Futures (CNF). He was a founding member of The Seven Collective, a NYC-based artist collective. 

David was born and raised in New York City on ancestral territory of the Munsee Lenape, Canarsie and Matinecock peoples. He graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School and earned a B.A. in Theatre from The City College of New York (CUNY). He appreciates those who contribute to the process.

McGregor Smyth is the Executive Director at NYLPI. In addition to his experience building and leading legal programs, McGregor has represented thousands of clients on a wide range of civil rights, immigration, and civil legal services matters, including numerous class actions. Before joining NYLPI in 2013, he was the founding Managing Attorney of the Civil Action Practice and the Director of Reentry Net at The Bronx Defenders, pioneering the integration of civil and criminal defense services for indigent people in the criminal and family justice systems. A graduate of Yale Law School and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, McGregor clerked for Chief Judge Charles Sifton, United States District Court, Eastern District of New York and was awarded the Skadden Fellowship to join The Bronx Defenders in 2000 and establish the civil practice. A recipient of the Kutak-Dodds Prize from the National Legal Aid and Defender Association, the Legal Aid Society Pro Bono Award, and the Arthur Liman Public Interest Law Fellowship, McGregor has published multiple articles on the need for and design of holistic legal services and the so-called collateral consequences of criminal justice involvement. Member of the Yale Law School Executive Committee and the Advisory Council of the Arthur Liman Center for Public Interest Law.

Born in Brooklyn, New York Nikiesha Hamilton is a first-generation West Indian American who has a deep passion for arts and culture. She is currently the Chief of Staff for the New York State Association of Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislators Inc. She’s also an arts & cultural consultant, advocate, and scholar. As Founder & CEO of Afeni Creative Studios, Nikiesha utilized policy and community skills to design new political and governing frameworks for a more inclusive global creative economy.

Nikiesha grew up in politics, which shaped her career and life trajectory. She earned her Bachelor of Arts (BA) focused on Global and Comparative Governance from American University along with two fellowships: Public Policy International Affairs (PPIA) from Princeton University and NYC Urban Fellows. With a demonstrated history of working in public service, Nikiesha worked within the U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. House of Representatives, NYC Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit Office, and the Domestic Policy Council’s Office of Urban Affairs, Justice, and Opportunity at the Obama White House. Nikiesha lived in Spain and Belgium and traveled to 19 countries in Europe to study the European Union’s economics, governance, security, and culture, which taught her what is possible for the African Diaspora.

Nikiesha created Afeni Creative Studios in 2020 after being the Head of Government and Community Relations at the Brooklyn Museum and witnessing the lack of investment in community-centered cultural organizations and workers once the pandemic hit.

She has achieved almost $3 million in funding for clients worked with and $15 billion from the Federal Government for Wildlife Conservation Society and other NYC cultural organizations for the New York arts and culture sector. Afeni has also worked with African Film Festival, and New Yorkers for Culture and Arts to expand programming and partnerships. And finally, the West Indian American Day Carnival Association, Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA), Sesame Flyers, and Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute for government engagement and community development.

Nikiesha is passionate about the work she does because she is creative and enjoys expressing herself artistically. Nikiesha is a dancer, film photographer, and writer who enjoys going to any arts and culture presentations from theater to art exhibitions. She is an avid reader and loves to travel and study different cultures and histories.

Hercules Emile Reid was a student at New York City College of Technology (City Tech) studying Architectural Technology where he graduated and received a Baccalaureate degree in the Spring of 2017. Mr. Reid was a transfer student into the City University of New York (CUNY) system from the Historically Black College, Delaware State University (DSU). While attending Del State, he experienced the power of a student’s voice while serving as Student Government Vice President of his freshman class in 2010. Hercules transferred to CUNY City Tech. Hercules Reid was elected City Tech’s Student Government President in 2015 and served two terms. From the 2016-2017 academic year he was elected Vice-Chair for Legislative Affairs for CUNY University Student Senate and was instrumental in a student’s return from Iran after the 2017 Muslim ban, played a significant role in fighting for CUNY’s student tuition freeze and faculty contracts and helping to pass the Dream Act. Mr. Reid was appointed by Mayor Bill Deblasio as a student representative of the City Council CUNY Taskforce where he served as Co-Chair. After graduating with a Bachelor Degree, he became the Legislative Director for CUNY’s University Student Senate. Through these opportunities, he took all he learned and experienced as a student leader and ran for NY City Council to represent District 45 in Brooklyn at 26 years old. Hercules went on to be an Assistant to the Deputy Borough President in the office of the Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams. There he played a vital role during the COVID-19 pandemic as an Assistant to the Borough President helping to get food and PPE to those in need citywide during the day. In the evenings he would clock out and join protests as a member of Strategy For Black Lives calling for police accountability in 2020. In 2021, Hercules was asked to join his campaign for mayor and was hired to be an Advance and Body person. After winning the election, Hercules was asked to join 110th Mayor Adams administration as a Special Assistant to Chief Advisor to the mayor in 2022, helping to build the infrastructure of his tenure. The same year, Mr. Reid left to work at the School of Construction Authority as a Senior Management Specialist doing inter-agency coordination with city and state agencies and elected officials to help design, build, and renovate public schools citywide. During that time, Hercules decided to run for the New York State Assembly District 58 to represent East Flatbush, Brownsville, and Canarsie at 29 years old. After his election, he decided to seek an opportunity allowing him to continue his calling to be a public servant. Hercules Reid at 31, became the Brooklyn Borough Director and first Citywide Youth Coordinator for the Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs where he is currently.