Peter J. Kuo (he/him/his) is bi-coastal LA native, and the Director of the Conservatory at American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.), where he serves on the Staff EDI Committee. He is a theatre director, producer, writer, and educator focusing on raising the visibility of marginalized communities. Achievements include being part of TCG's Rising Leaders of Color cohort, a directing residency at The Drama League, directing assistantships at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Williamstown Theatre Festival, South Coast Repertory, and Geffen Playhouse. He has directed for A.C.T., Weston Playhouse, East West Players, Playground, among others. He is a co-founder of Artists at Play, an Asian American theatre collective that produces Los Angeles premieres of works for Asian Americans. He has been one of the pioneers in leading Live Video Theatre productions and workshops. He has facilitated and led EDI initiatives at The New School, A.C.T. TCG, and multiple other conferences and institutions.

Elise Drew León is Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the School of American Ballet (SAB) at Lincoln Center.  In her role, she works to ensure that SAB is a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization according to its behaviors, policies, and practices.

Prior to joining SAB, Elise worked as an artist, administrator, and teacher.  As a member of the Limón Dance Company, she performed throughout the US and abroad, most notably to Africa as a cultural ambassador for the US Department of State.  Additionally, Elise performed with Mark Morris Dance Group in The Hard Nut, Luna Negra Dance Theatre in Chicago, and was a founding member of TAKE Dance under former Taylor dancer Takehiro Ueyama. 

Elise holds a BFA in Dance from Fordham University. Most recently, she was a 2020 CUP Fellow as part of the Council of Urban Professionals, an organization committed to inspiring, elevating, and empowering the next generation of diverse business and civic leaders. 

Elise is dedicated to ensuring that the performing arts is as inclusive and equitable as possible.  She has spoken on panels for the Diversity in Arts Leadership Internship and the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program, has served as a grants panelist for ArtsWestchester, and has mentored several dancers who have gone on to lead successful careers.  Elise resides in New Jersey with her husband and daughter.

Esther Jeong is an experienced diversity and inclusion leader with global business experience designing employee engagement and business inclusions strategies for technology companies. As a culture catalyst and inclusion strategist, she brings data-driven solutions to building and strengthening inclusive, equitable, and collaborative team environments.

Esther has worked at Infor, Google, Moody’s, Bloomberg LP, and the Arts & Business Council of NY. Esther received a B.A.in Cultural Anthropology from Wheaton College (MA), conducted a Fulbright fellowship on Korean dance and completed the Coro Leadership NY program.

Anthony D. Meyers has over twenty years of experience in grants and program management, consulting, facilitation, and organizational change. Currently, Mr. Meyers works as a senior program officer for the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and is an adjunct faculty member for the Master of Arts in Arts Administration program at Baruch College/City University of New York. He has served as an arts administrator and collaborated on program design, strategic planning and fund development, board and donor cultivation, for a wide range of nonprofit cultural organizations across the New York tri-state area.

In 2017, Mr. Meyers created Leading ChangeMakers (LCM), which utilizes education, consulting, and research to achieve racial equity in arts leadership. LCM is headquartered in NYC and provides administrative and professional development services nationally. The company works with organizations and cultural workers to create sustainable systemic change as it relates to power inequalities. Its consultants are arts administrators, leaders, facilitators, educators, coaches, and experts from diverse cultural organizations.

His love of the arts started with his early work as a performing and visual artist. Mr. Meyers has an M.S. in Organizational Change Management and post-masters Certificate in Leadership and Change from The New School, and a B.A. in Child Development from Tufts University. His research interests include leadership, identity, and power, and their interplay within organizations and industry ecosystems.                  

Website: https://www.leadingchangemakers.com

Eddy Kwon (they/them) is a violinist/violist, vocalist, composer, improviser, and interdisciplinary performing artist based in Brooklyn. They are a United States Artists Ford Fellow, Van Lier Fellow at Roulette Intermedium, Andrew W. Mellon Artist-in-Residence at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, and Johnson Fellow for Artists Transforming Communities at Americans For The Arts. In addition to a rigorous and evolving solo practice, they collaborate with artists of diverse disciplines, including The Art Ensemble of Chicago, Senga Nengudi, Tomeka Reid, Degenerate Art Ensemble, Jens Lekman, and Lizzy DuQuette. They have performed throughout the Americas and Europe, including the Kennedy Center, Big Ears Festival, SESC Pompeia, Barbican Centre, Berlin Jazz Festival, Festival Banlieues Bleues, and more. Recent commissions include the Contemporary Arts Center Cincinnati, National Performance Network, Bang on a Can, and Colorado College Creativity & Innovation. In addition to their creative & performance practice, Eddy is an experienced non-profit arts administrator and fundraiser, having worked for a decade in the fields of creative youth development, community engagement, equitable neighborhood development, and contemporary performing arts. Currently, they serve as Director of Individual Giving at International Contemporary Ensemble in New York City.

Brea M. Heidelberg is an arts management educator, consultant, and researcher focusing on the intersection of the arts and other fields of study. She joined the Entertainment & Arts Management faculty in 2017 and currently serves as Program Director. She sees arts administrators as intellectual translators and works to instill a respect for both theory and practice in her students and clients. She has served the field as Vice President of the Association of Arts Administration Educators, Co-Chair of Americans for the Arts’ Emerging Leaders Council, and on the editorial board of the American Journal of Arts Management.

Dr. Heidelberg earned her PhD in Arts Administration, Education and Policy from The Ohio State University. Her research interests include professional development issues facing arts administrators, arts advocacy rhetoric, and (inter)national cultural diplomacy. In addition to earning a MA in Arts Policy and Administration from The Ohio State University, she also earned a MS in Human Resource Development from Villanova University. Her current research interests involve the professionalization of the field of arts management, the training and development of arts managers, and management issues unique to small and midsized nonprofit arts organizations. Past projects include investigations into arts policy and advocacy rhetoric at the state and federal levels.

Dr. Heidelberg’s consulting work focuses on human resources issues in the nonprofit arts, particularly issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. In her consulting practice Dr. Heidelberg addresses issues such as employee recruitment and retention, organizational structuring, and succession planning. She also assists arts organizations with board development, organizational and program evaluation, and strategic planning. She enjoys bringing her work in the field back into the classroom to prepare her students to be thoughtful leaders. Dr. Heidelberg thoroughly enjoys office supplies, graphic novels, and getting back to her first love: dance. 

ISO Arts Consulting: www.isoartsconsulting.com

Twitter: @BMHeidelberg

Karla Estela Rivera is a writer, performer, activist, and arts advocate that has leveraged her gift of storytelling to uplift and create opportunities for, with, and in underserved communities. She is the Executive Director of the historic Free Street Theater and a company member of 2nd Story in Chicago. In addition to her artistic work, Karla has served in non-profit organizations for over a decade, beginning as a teaching artist and youth worker, to systems-level leadership in public affairs. Most recently she served as the co-chair of the Illinois Fine Arts Indicator work group which developed the nation’s first weighted accountability measure for the arts as part of the Illinois Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan. Karla continues to perform in venues and zoom rooms across the country, and actively teaches storytelling and consults on advocacy initiatives. She is a native of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, and holds a BA from Columbia College Chicago’s Department of Film & Video, with graduate studies at New York University.

IG & Twitter: @kestelarivera

LinkedIn: karlaerivera

Onyx Montes is an arts educator, cultural worker,  and salary transparency advocate. Onyx moved by herself to the U.S. from Mexico, at the age of 17 and studied art history at the University of Washington in Seattle. She is the first person in her family to graduate from college. She is finalizing her Masters degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago's  MA in Museum and Exhibition Studies program, and is part of the inaugural Arts & Culture Leaders of Color Fellowship by Americans for the Arts. Onyx has worked as a museum educator at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago. She currently works as the social media manager for Hyde Park Art Center. She is a solo traveler and has been to 19 countries so far. 

https://onyxmontes.com/resources

Jenée-Daria Strand is the Curatorial Assistant for the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum. There, she supports in the research and organization of numerous exhibitions, including Carrie Mae Weems' "Resist COVID: Take 6" and "Lorraine O'Grady: Both/And." Jenée-Daria aims to expand her knowledge of art history, and integrate her interests in performance practices, to examine Black subjectivity within the museum setting. She holds a BFA in Dance from Florida State University, and is pursuing an MA at New York University (NYU).