Ashayla Byrd (she/they), dance writer and artist, supports dance communities while creating brave spaces for queer and BIPOC folks to witness and be in fellowship with one another. She serves as the Manager of Executive Affairs for the Association of Performing Arts Professionals. Prior, Ashayla served as the Presentation Administrative Assistant at Dance Place in Washington, DC. She has danced with professional artists including dani tirrell, Mark Caserta, Tiffanie Carson, Yoshito Sakuraba, and Anna María Alvarez, and she is a dance journalist with publications in Dancing in the District, The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, and Memoirs of Blacks in Ballet. Ashayla was raised in Virginia Beach, Virginia and solidified her investment in the arts at Shenandoah University (SU), graduating with a BA in both Dance & English. Ashayla also served as the President of both the Sigma Rho Delta Dance Fraternity as well as the Shenandoah Conservatory Student Council.
Kiana Carrington is a researcher, strategist, and advocate for equity in arts funding and programming. With experience in program evaluation, event management, and strategic planning, she has worked with organizations like the New England Foundation for the Arts, the Intercultural Leadership Institute, and the Barr Foundation. As a Research Associate at McNeil Creative Enterprises, she helps arts service organizations and foundations design more equitable funding programs and assess their impact. Her background spans project management, community engagement, and supporting cultural sustainability efforts. Whether working behind the scenes at live events or advising on funding strategies, she is passionate about uplifting BIPOC-led organizations and strengthening arts ecosystems. She’s excited to bring her expertise to this panel and contribute to conversations about sustaining cultural communities.
Adia Edmondson (she/her) is an East Coast native who grew up between New York and Connecticut. She is passionate about bridging equitable arts programming to under-resourced communities, championing representation in artistry and leadership, and celebrating cultural diversity. Adia has worked as both an artist and arts administrator with organizations such as Groove With Me, Dancing Classrooms, Soul Dance Company, Isadora Duncan Dance Foundation, Pentacle, WADE Dance, JUNTOS Collective, and the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, among others. She holds a BA in Dance & Theatre with a concentration in Dance Therapy from Manhattanville University and an MS in Arts Administration and Museum Leadership from Drexel University. Adia also holds certifications including a 450-hour Pilates comprehensive certification from Drexel Pilates Studio, a Non-Credit College Teaching certificate, and a Tessitura Career Accelerator certificate in the Hands-On learning track. Her work reflects a commitment to access, inclusion, and representation in the arts.
Vania Evangelique, formerly known as Zeal Eva, is a visual storyteller working in painting, photography, and curation. Her work is rooted in personal history and shaped by the communities she navigates. Born in Brooklyn and raised between there and Bethlehem, PA, she is now based in Pittsburgh, where she documents interior and exterior spaces to explore growth, the duality of comfort, and discovery. Vania has exhibited at Bunker Projects and Silver Eye Center for Photography and collaborated with organizations including Associated Artists of Pittsburgh and Boom Concepts. She has also curated and exhibited at the Brewhouse Association and the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. Her creative process is centered on the idea of “looking away to look back”—creating work that pushes toward the future while reflecting on the past. In doing so, she uncovers connections across time, offering narratives that are both dynamic and deeply vulnerable.
Frewuhn is a multidisciplinary artist and educator whose work explores memory and collective healing through sound, storytelling, and immersive performance. She weaves together her studies in ethnomusicology, history, and theological studies to create transformative artistic experiences. Her projects and collaborations, including NuHymns, Revelation, and Freedom Summer, Haha Real, reflect her commitment to freedom, ecology, and reimagining generational healing. She has collaborated with institutions such as the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, University of Mississippi Center for Southern Culture, Carnegie Museum of Art, Project Row Houses, and August Wilson African American Cultural Center, to name a few. As an educator, she has developed and led thought incubators at Fisk University, Chattanooga State Community College, and HYPE Freedom Schools, fostering creative expression in diverse communities. Through global programming Frewuhn continues to expand the role of the arts in shaping collective narratives and empowering future pedagogies.
Anna Heywood Green, Interim CEO of Arts for Learning Virginia, brings decades of experience in arts advocacy and management. Born and raised in Whynot, NC, she grew up in the pottery community of Seagrove, where her parents ran Whynot Pottery. This creative environment sparked her lifelong passion for all art forms. Since 2004, Anna has led Arts for Learning Virginia with a focus on innovative programming and organizational leadership. She excels at building partnerships with artists, educators, and communities to deliver impactful arts-in-education initiatives. Her commitment to arts access extends beyond her role—she volunteers on councils and panels for Norfolk Public Schools, the Virginia Commission for the Arts, and the Norfolk Commission on the Arts and Humanities. A graduate of Tidewater Community College and the College of William & Mary, Anna is dedicated to ensuring that all students have access to high-quality, equitable arts experiences.
robin holder’s work reveals conflicts of societal inequity, social injustice and the complexities of cultural, class, religious, gender and racial Identity. holder is the recipient of residencies, grants and awards from the New York State Council on The Arts, The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, The Brooklyn Arts Council, Manhattan Graphics Center, The Printmaking Workshop and Brooklyn Cable Access Television. Her work is included in significant collections, including The Library of Congress and The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. holder has completed five large scale site specific public art commissions most notably 34 glass windows for the NYC subway. She has worked in arts in education for 30 years, interviewed over twenty five artists and participated on panels with The New York Foundation for the Arts, The College Art Association and The Delaware Division of the Arts among others.
Aristotle Jones is a musician and storyteller that combines the folksy elements of growing up in Appalachia, with the funky pocket of Black American Music and is a descendant of coal miners, and farmers who made a life in the poor coal town of Osage, West Virginia. Influenced by the rural soundscape in addition to the music of musical pioneers Johnny Johnson and Bill Withers, the central theme of Aristotle’s projects is shedding light on the contribution to art in culture provided by Black Americans living in the Appalachian Mountains. Affectionately known as the “Appalachian Soul Man” Aristotle was named a Black Appalachian Storyteller Fellow in 2023 by the National Association of Black Storytellers and continues to perform the soulful, high energy folk music in theaters, churches and festivals throughout the American South, and Appalachian Region.
Susan Justiniano, known professionally as RescuePoetix, has been an influential force in the arts since 2006. Her multifaceted roles include performer, poet, spoken word artist, playwright, workshop facilitator, event producer, curator, and teaching artist. Since 2018, she has also made her mark in nonprofit arts administration, serving as a board member, grant review panelist, literary adjudicator, and arts panelist across the USA. With over a decade of experience as a Teaching Artist and Information Technology Education Specialist, Susan expertly designs and delivers curriculum for diverse audiences. Twice honored as Poet Laureate, she collaborates with private and public organizations across NJ, NY, CT, PA, DC, and MD, delivering a wide array of programming, curriculum development, and execution in both virtual and in-person settings. Her global presence is marked by publications in print, digital mediums, and music collaborations, reflecting her dedication to the arts.
Dr. Wenhong Luo has a rich interdisciplinary background spanning sociology, cultural anthropology, folklore, public folklore, and museology. She currently serves as the Director of Folklife and Community Engagement at the Sandy Spring Museum, where she collaborates with diverse communities to co-curate exhibitions, performances, and public programs that celebrate and sustain cultural heritage. With over a decade of experience as a curator at institutions such as the Yunnan Nationalities Museum, Dr. Luo has worked extensively with minority ethnic communities to create exhibitions and programs that amplify underrepresented voices. Her work spans traditional crafts, performing arts, and innovative public folklore initiatives. Holding a Ph.D. in Archaeology and Museology from Fudan University, Dr. Luo combines rigorous research with inclusive, community-driven approaches to preserve and reinterpret cultural traditions in meaningful ways. Her expertise in cross-cultural collaboration and community engagement has made her a strong advocate for cultural sustainability and equity in the arts.
Yosef Medina is a rising scholar-practitioner in the public humanities and a visionary leader dedicated to bridging Black and Latin communities through cultural initiatives and educational programs. As Director of Community Initiatives at Virginia Humanities, Yosef provides strategic leadership in cultivating community partnerships and overseeing impactful programs such as the HBCU Scholars Fellowship and the Virginia African American Cultural Resources Task Force. Currently pursuing a Doctor of Liberal Studies at Georgetown University, his research focuses on integrating public humanities with sustainable funding models. Yosef serves on the advisory boards of Rivanna Books at UVA Press and the AfroLatin@ Forum and was a member of the Governor’s Virginia Latino Advisory Board. He was also a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Minority Serving Institutions at Rutgers University. Prior to Virginia Humanities, Yosef led education and reentry initiatives in New York City’s K–12 public school and juvenile justice systems, empowering justice-impacted youth through innovative programs.
Ashlee McKinnon, a passionate artist and educator, has been blessed to work alongside and with prominent arts organizations and schools in and around the Washington, DC area for over 10 years. Although she transitioned from K-12 dance education to arts administration in 2020, Ashlee still operates as an educator- constantly advocating for equitable solutions to create and sustain enriching youth development and arts education programming. Currently working at DC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative, Ashlee also serves as a teaching artist with Story Tapestries and Imagination Stage, and as a grant reviewer and ambassador for Maryland State Arts Council and other state agencies. Ashlee has been blessed to be featured on CBS This Morning as a teacher, dance at The Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage as an artist, and be published in Black Dance Magazine as an arts advocate.
Nada Odeh is a Syrian artist, activist, humanitarian, and a modern-day poet. She was born and raised in Damascus, Syria. She established a project known as ‘Nada’s Picassos’. The medium she works in is acrylics on canvas and Arabic miniatures; Middle Eastern colors and small details of her heritage influence her art. The key theme in her artwork is Syrian refugees in camps and the Syrian people. Recently, she has focused more on displaced Syrian women in exile. Nada got her M.A. in Museum Studies from Syracuse University She was awarded the Jusoor scholarship of 100 Syrian Women, 10,000 lives. She received her B.A. in Fine Arts from Damascus University. Nada is a freelance curator who had the opportunity to curate different projects with the topic of immigration and folklore arts. She worked with the New York Folklore Society on different projects to highlight immigrants’ and refugees’ folklore arts.
Rashaad Hasani Pearson moves with purpose—rooted in the past, alive in the present, and building for the future. Since 2003, he has honored the African diasporic art forms of Strutting, Popping, Hip Hop, and Locking, preserving their essence while pushing their evolution. His movement carries his full story—his upbringing, his teachers, and the lessons passed down by those who paved the way. As Founder and Creative Director of Soulmatic LLC, Rashaad is a storyteller, educator, and performing artist dedicated to uplifting his community. He is the first Hip Hop Adjunct Professor at UMBC and has spent the past five years as a Theory Lecturer on African American Freestyle Dance Studies at Fontys Performing Arts in the Netherlands. His 2023–2024 Soulmatic Teaching Tours have brought his message to Australia, Taiwan, and Japan, sharing dance as history, expression, and truth. With community, courage, and imagination, Rashaad walks his path as a true soul man—one solo at a time.
Mireily “Mimi” Rodríguez is an arts and culture manager, art historian, communications strategist, and advocate for Puerto Rico’s creative industries. With a background in visual arts, media, administration, and academic research, she specializes in developing and implementing initiatives that connect artistic talent with economic sustainability. Her experience includes organizing national cultural events, leading creative entrepreneurship workshops, managing artist residencies, and more. Currently, she serves as the coordinator for Strengthening Teaching of the Arts through Student (STARS) at the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, supporting professionalization, retention, and graduation efforts for students in creative disciplines. Passionate about cultural research, Mimi explores the intersection of community arts, policy, and economic impact, emphasizing cultural preservation, equitable funding, and anti-colonial advocacy in Puerto Rico. She is committed to fostering sustainable creative ecosystems that empower artists and communities alike.
Alexa Smithwrick utilizes digital publishing, visual theory, and an ethnographic practice rooted in the Southern Black Oral tradition to create media content for campaigns and nonprofits. A graduate of NYU’s Contemporary Culture and Creative Production program, she has collaborated on graphic design, archival digitization, and public programming projects with organizations like Arts.Black, BRIC, The Dandylion Project, Mark Morris Dance Center, MoCADA, Lohar Projects, and Weeksville Heritage Center. She is currently Associate Director of Marketing & Communications at Recess. Alexa’s work is driven by theories on collectivity and visual-spatial processing, exploring the role art plays in re-imagining communities. Her interests in storytelling, preservation, and (at times false) memory have led to interview, archival, and public program projects focused on engaging with personal and shared history responsibly. She specializes in creating multimedia campaigns, press releases, brand kits, as well as designing wall text, window vinyls, and exhibition catalogs.
Kristen L. Taylor is a compassionate, purpose driven, visionary leader. She is a Chicago native. She is an alumna of Howard University with a Bachelor of Arts in History. As a Performing Arts Manager, she has supported organizations in Company Management and Marketing (Step Afrika!), Booking and Tour Management, Event Management, Strategic Communications, Radio Servicing, and Social Media Management. She is the Assistant Business Manager of the Howard Gospel Choir of Howard University and the General Manager of performing artist and entrepreneur, Clifton Ross III. She believes in people and the power of community, and this guides her endeavors. Her newest project, her consulting firm, Taylor Made Inc, is an extension of her passion work as a strategic thought partner. Her anchor is her village. They remind her to move with intention and gratitude.
Ramya Thiyagarajan is a composer and ethnomusicologist. She comes from a lineage that cherishes South Indian classical music, learning violin and vocal in that tradition. She also pursued undergraduate and graduate studies in Western Classical music, focusing on vocal studies and composition, while continuing to perform South Indian classical music. She has also worked and performed with the Grammy-award winning Indian composer of film music, AR Rahman. Exploring these diverse and rich traditions of music has been a fascinating and thought provoking journey, and her compositional work often blends the emotive power of the ragas and tala with Western music’s rich harmonic language and orchestration, as they produce compelling soundscapes. She also enjoys writing poetry and stories, and has composed and sung her original works in both English and Indian languages, and has published an EP and Single under her artistic alias, Mukura.
Karen C. Thurland, Ph.D. has served on the St. Croix District Historic Preservation Board, the State Historic Preservation Review Board, the Virgin Islands Cultural Heritage Institute and presently on the Virgin Islands Council on the Arts. Dr. Thurland is the author of six books: Masqueraders, Musicians and the Old Time St. Croix Christmas Festival, Tradesmen of St. Croix, The Sugar Industry on St. Croix, The Neighborhoods of Christiansted: 1910-1960, The 872nd and 873rd Port Companies: My Father’s Story, and Peter G. Thurland: Master Cabinetmaker and Band Leader. Her books have been exhibited in Washington, D.C. at the National Book Festival. Karen C. Thurland, born on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, worked for the Virgin Islands Department of Education for over 30 years and was also a part-time instructor at the University of the Virgin Islands.
Rolanda L. Williams is an artist, educator, and advocate for arts education with a central purpose to educate and expose the next generation to the arts . With over 20 years of teaching experience with students ranging from 5 years old to adults, she believes every student deserves access to an equitable, inclusive, and high-quality arts education. Currently, she is a high school theatre and dance teacher with Baltimore City Public Schools. She earned a BFA in Theater Arts from Howard University and an MS in Arts Administration from Drexel University.
Accra Zuberi is a surrealist artist and enthusiastic programing administrator. It is Accra’s mission to empower and enrich communities through the exploration of the arts. Accra has accomplished these goals through accessible program design, festivals, artist collaborations, and maintaining sustainable partnerships. Zuberi received their BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2006. They hold certificates in Arts and Healthcare from Temple University (2009), Design for Print and Web from Moore College of Art and Design (2012), and Trauma Informed Practices for Art Administrators from the Bartol Foundation (2020). Zuberi has completed artist residencies for numerous organizations including the Mural Arts Philadelphia, The Clay Studio, and the Philadelphia Department of Recreation. Zuberi is currently the Mural Arts Initiative Manager for the Strength Through Solidarity Art and Environmental Co-Learning Initiative, a Mural Arts subgrant for Environmental Justice Organizations led by People of Color.