Celestina Billington (NY) is an arts administrator, artist and producer. Currently based and practicing in NYC’s East Village, she hails from Houston’s 2nd Ward “EaDo.” A Latiné woman, she is committed to equity, accessibility and supporting emerging artists. She holds a MA in Arts Administration from Columbia University TC and a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston. Her work has been internationally exhibited in South Korea, Mexico City and across the United States. Recognition from the National Endowment of the Arts, and other notable cultural institutions has been awarded. She is delighted to partner with Mid Atlantic Arts as a returning panelist.
A 2023 Bessie Award winner for Outstanding Service to the Field, Michele Byrd (NJ) is a street dancer, an arts activist and tireless advocate for girls and women; who works to hip-hop culture along gender, sex, and cultural and socio-historic racial lines. With a BS from Temple University and an MS from Drexel University, Byrd-Mcphee has worked in different sectors of the entertainment industry, having been a Production Coordinator at Brooklyn Academy of Music and a Senior Music Coordinator at Late Night with Seth Meyers.
A 2024 Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU Scholar in Residence, Byrd-McPhee continues her 21-year commitment as Executive Director fr Ladies of Hip-Hop and artistic director of LDC (LOHH Dance Collective) and is an Associate Professor of Dance at University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Karen Cueva (VA) works across the arts, education, and social impact sectors to advance youth voice and strengthen creative communities. She is Deputy Director of the Creating Abundance Collaborative (CAC), where she leads initiatives that connect and research the national creative youth development field with cross-sector partners in workforce development and youth mental health. CAC was incubated at The Lewis Prize for Music, where Karen served as Head of Operations.
For seven years, Karen worked at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, where she spearheaded the expansion of PlayUSA, a program that provided funding and professional development to a wide network of community music education organizations across the United States.
Karen’s creative joy was sparked in early childhood upon starting violin lessons. With boundless support from her family, Karen earned degrees from The Juilliard School and Harvard University.
Ananya Goswami (DE) is an accomplished Kathak Artist, Visual Artist, educator, and cultural ambassador with over two decades of experience advancing South Asian classical arts globally. As Founder and Artistic Director of Srishti – The Kathak Academy, Delaware’s first Kathak institution, she creates inclusive spaces that elevate Indian Classical dance within multicultural communities.
Ananya serves as Adjunct Professor of Kathak in the Department of Theatre & Dance at the University of Delaware, where she has integrated Kathak into the curriculum as a Global Dance Form. Her pedagogy bridges theory and performance, fostering cultural understanding through lecture-demonstrations, workshops, and interdisciplinary collaborations.
A recipient of the 2025 Delaware Individual Artist Fellowship Award and the Nritya Ratnakara Vidushi Award from Griffin College London, Ananya is also a National Scholarship holder from the Government of India. Trained under the legendary Pt. Birju Maharaj and Vidushi Saswati Sen, she champions equity and cross-cultural dialogue through Kathak.
Juan Gudiño Cabrera (PR is an arts administrator, philanthropic strategist, and consultant bridging cultural practice, academic leadership, and institutional development across Puerto Rico’s creative sector. As Founder of Gudiño Arts Management Consulting LLC, he provides services in arts administration, grant management, and organizational development. His philanthropic career includes serving as Senior Director of the Flamboyan Arts Fund, where he managed a portfolio of 120 grantees and over $20 million in grants. He currently serves as Academic Leader for Creative Industries at Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, teaching creative entrepreneurship, arts management, and business models. A traditional musician and dance instructor at the Rafael Cepeda School of Bomba and Plena, Juan has published in CENTRO Journal and presented at national conferences, including Grantmakers in the Arts and Chamber Music America. He holds dual degrees from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, both magna cum laude, and is trilingual in Spanish, English, and Italian.
Cynthia McComas (WV) is the Individual Artist Coordinator and Folk Arts Coordinator with the West Virginia State Arts Office. With a background in communications, marketing, and community development, she is passionate about helping artists make a living through their creativity and growing creative economies in West Virginia. She received an MA in English and a BA in Creative Writing from Marshall University where she studied poetry and received multiple writing awards, including the Sewanee Writers Conference scholarship.
Aaron L. McKinney (NY), a Greenville, SC native, is an arts executive, strategist, and culture-builder whose leadership centers the intersection of humanity, strategy, and sustainability. His educational credits include Florida A&M University (BA, Theatre Performance), California Institute of the Arts (MFA, Producing/Theatre Management), and currently enrolled at Union Theological Seminary (M.Div.). As the current Executive Director of Hi-ARTS, he has led the organization through a critical phase of growth, embedding what he calls The ALM Way, a leadership philosophy that prioritizes care, trust, and clarity while strengthening infrastructure and strategy.
Looking ahead, Aaron envisions applying The ALM Way across new terrains, whether in philanthropy, institutional leadership, or consulting. His vision is clear: to dismantle toxic nonprofit practices and cultivate environments where artists of color and their communities can thrive in sustainable, humane, and deeply creative ways. More info: www.thealmway.com. Photo credit: QlickPhotography
Raven Phillips Love (USVI) is a writer and cultural practitioner in the U.S. Virgin Islands with a passion for community building, cultural preservation, research, and self-expression through artistic mediums. Her works have appeared in the St. John Tradewinds, the V.I. Source, Destination Magazine, The Caribbean Writer, Moko Magazine, and the Virgin Islands Daily News. Since 2021 she has hosted Rhyme and Lime, a poetry open mic event at Bajo el Sol Gallery in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. In January of 2025, Rhyme & Lime released its first poetry anthology, “Like Salt and Wet Soil Poems from the Rhyme & Lime”, which Raven edited.
Jasir Qiydaar (MD) is a multidisciplinary writer and youth advocate whose work aims to connect with people in a meaningful, authentic way. Qiydaar graduated cum laude from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) with a bachelor’s degree in media & communication studies and a minor in writing. Qiydaar’s writing mainly focuses on art, equity, and community organizations; he has several published pieces, including features in Baltimore City Paper, BmoreArt, and Baltimore Beat. Outside of feature writing, Qiydaar has written grant applications for local nonprofits to support essential arts programs, including ones that directly benefit youth. He has also worked directly with youth in Baltimore, including as a recruiter, mentor, and writing coach for the Bloomberg Arts Internship, as well as a member of the planning team for the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development’s YouthWorks program. Qiydaar is also the host of Everyday Connections, a podcast with listeners in over twenty countries.
Hannah Wood (PA) is a public school English teacher, capoeirista, volunteer organizer and board member of Project Capoeira, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to sharing Brazilian arts. For the last 20+ years, she’s dedicated her energy into teaching English and capoeira and organizing programs and community events that create positive connections for the public. Hannah is a 4-time recipient of the Pennsylvania Folk & Traditional Arts Master/Apprentice grant with Adenilson Dos Santos, and an athletic hall of fame inductee and Scholar / Athlete award recipient for Upper Perkiomen High School. Her bachelor’s degree in English / Secondary Education is from Moravian University and her Masters of Liberal Arts degree is from the University of Pennsylvania.
Anonymous (DC)
Anonymous (MD)