Evelyn Burnett is a co-founder and partner of the ThirdSpace Action Lab and Third Space Café. Prior to this exciting venture, Evelyn served as Vice President, Economic Opportunity at Cleveland Neighborhood Progress an intermediary whose mission is to foster communities of choice and opportunity throughout Cleveland. Prior to joining CNP, Evelyn served as Associate Director for Program Strategies with Admiral Center at Living Cities, project director in the city of Cleveland’s Office of Sustainability, and as a 2007-2008 Cleveland Executive (Coro) Fellow. Evelyn is a 2018 German Marshall Fellow and sits on the board of several organizations throughout Northeast Ohio and nationally including ioby (In Our Back Yards), Credit Builders Alliance, Teach for America, Birthing Beautiful Communities, Dance Cleveland, Walsh University School of Business and CTMDreams. Evelyn holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business and Organizational Communications & Public Relations with a double minor in Sales & Marketing and Dance from The University of Akron during which time she studied abroad in Ghana, Africa; and a master’s degree in Public Administration from The University of Akron.

Website: https://3rdspaceactionlab.co/

Twitter: @evburnett

Mordecai Cargill is a co-founder and partner of the ThirdSpace Action Lab and Third Space Café.  Prior to starting this exciting venture, Mordecai served as the Director of Strategy, Research & Impact at Cleveland Neighborhood Progress (CNP), a community development funding intermediary committed to fostering inclusive neighborhoods of choice and opportunity throughout the city of Cleveland. Mordecai provides oversight and analysis for the implementation of the Cleveland Neighborhood Progress 2017-2021 Strategic Plan, focused primarily on 3 key areas of activity: Program Design and Evaluation; Research and Thought Leadership; and Partnership and Resource Development. Since joining Team CNP in 2014 as Manager of Fund Development, Mordecai’s responsibilities have included project management for strategic initiatives such as an Organizational Assessment (2014), and the planning process for the 2017-2021 Cleveland Neighborhood Progress Strategic Plan (2016). He also contributes to CNP’s emerging Policy, Advocacy & Research body of work, and co-leads the organization’s efforts to elevate racial equity and inclusion as a citywide community development priority. Mordecai earned his BA in African American Studies from Yale University, with a concentration on Black Culture in the 20th Century. He was awarded the William Pickens Prize for his Senior Thesis entitled, “The Black Arts Iconography of John Coltrane

Website: https://3rdspaceactionlab.co/

Twitter: @MCargill28

Calida Jones began studying the piano at the age of 3 while attending Nursery School, and switched to violin at the age of 6 when she entered Thomas G. Pullen Performing Arts School in Landover, Maryland. Currently, Calida is the Assistant Director of Education & Engagement at University of Hartford’s The Hartt School. She also serves as Program Director for Music Matters, and the Conductor of the Hartford All-City Youth Orchestra in conjunction with the Charter Oak Culture Center. Prior to those roles, Calida was appointed Director of Development and Advocacy for the El Sistema inspired program PROJECT MUSIC from 2018-2019. In 2012, Calida was hired by the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra to design and implement the El Sistema inspired program “Bravo Waterbury!” (Bravo). She continued her work in Waterbury until August of 2018. She continues to consult with organizations all over the country. An accomplished musician, social justice advocate and educator, Calida’s work has taken her all over the world teaching and performing. Calida is passionate about intentional purposeful teaching and community engagement. Her personal mission is to ensure that children who have limited resources also have access to musical opportunities and activities. She knows that this type of musical exposure and education will benefit them and build their confidence which will catapult them to successful careers, regardless of the career path. She is committed to correlating the art of teaching to life skills, and community building. Calida has had the privilege of speaking multiple times at the prestigious Yale School of Music, Duke University, Ravinia, The Connecticut State Capitol, The Hartt School of Music, and was a Tedx speaker in San Jose, CA. Most recently, Calida has consulted with Sphinx Organization, The Cleveland Orchestra, The Utah Cultural Alliance, and a host of other organizations. A graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania (Bachelors of Fine Arts in Violin Performance), she received her Masters in Violin Performance and Suzuki Pedagogy from The Hartt School of Music. Calida is honored and humbled to have received awards, and honors during her career including a scholar fellowship at the Aspen Festival of Ideas, The Elizabeth Mahaffey Fellowship, a Grammy nomination for the Music Educator Excellence Award, the Father Thomas H. Dwyer Humanitarian Award for her work in Waterbury, Connecticut, and the 2018 CT Arts Hero Award in Waterbury CT. Calida serves on the Board of The Hartt School of Music, El Sistema USA (Board Clerk), and chairs the Racial Diversity and Cultural Understanding Committee; she also serves on the board of the Connecticut Arts Alliance.

Website: www.cnjassociates.com

Co-founder of diversity initiative “Final Bow For Yellowface” Georgina "The Rogue Ballerina" is breaking glass ceilings in the world of Ballet. Celebrating a 18 year career with world renown New York City Ballet, she aims to be named the company's first female Asian American Principal dancer. A steadily rising star, she is an ambassador of her art form across the platforms of Ballet, Broadway, and Film. Known as the "The Rogue Ballerina" she empowers those not fitting the "balletic ideal stereotype" with her story of success and rise through the ranks of NYCB. She most recently can be seen on stage at David H. Koch Theater and on TV in the hit Fosse/Verdon tv series. In addition to her many credits including award winning film “New York Export Opus Jazz”, Ivy in the revival of “On the Town” and originating the role of Victoria in the 2016 revival of “Cats”, Georgina is a passionate activist for foundations Orphan Starfish, Arteamor, using ballet as a universal language tool raising awareness and impacting social change.

Website: GeorginaPazcoguin.com     

Instagram: @Georgina_Pazco

Bryan Doerries is a New York-based writer, director, and translator, who currently serves as Artistic Director of Theater of War Productions. A self-described evangelist for ancient stories and their relevance to our lives today, Doerries uses age-old approaches to help individuals and communities heal from trauma and loss. During his tenure at Theater of War Productions, the company has presented diverse projects across the United States and internationally, using dramatic readings of seminal plays and community conversations to confront topics such as combat-related psychological injury, end-of-life care, racialized violence, prison reform, gun violence, domestic violence, addiction, sexual assault,  and the refugee crisis. Doerries’ books include The Theater of War: What Ancient Greek Tragedies Can Teach Us Today (Knopf), The Odyssey of Sergeant Jack Brennan (Pantheon), and a collection of his translations of ancient Greek Tragedies entitled All That You’ve Seen Here is God (Vintage). He has taught courses at Princeton University, Bard College, the University of Connecticut, and the Bard Prison Initiative. His academic degrees include a BA in Classics from Kenyon College and an MFA in Theater Directing from the University of California, Irvine. Among his awards, he has received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Kenyon College, and in March 2017, he was named Public Artist in Residence (PAIR) for the City of New York, a joint appointment with the New York City Department of Veterans’ Services and Department of Cultural Affairs. For more information about his work, please visit: www.theaterofwar.com.

Facebook: Theater of War

Twitter: @theaterofwar

Instagram: @theaterofwar

Saint Louis native, Dr. Philip A. Woodmore has been an active member of the St. Louis music community for many years. Phil received his bachelors from Saint Louis University in Business Marketing and Music Vocal Performance and then went on to receive his masters from Webster University in Music Education.  He recently graduating with his PhD in Music Education from the University of Missouri-Columbia. His research interest are the changing voice and voice pedagogy and his dissertation is on the transformative power of music in the choral setting using the auditioned choir in the Off-Broadway run of Antigone in Ferguson.   

Phil taught choir one year at Ferguson and Berkley Middle Schools in the Ferguson-Florissant School District and then went on to become the choir director at Crestview Middle School in the Rockwood School District where he taught for 12 years.  Along with his work in Rockwood, Phil was the Coordinator of the Voice Program at the Center of Creative Arts (COCA) and the artist director of the Allegro Music Company from 2008-2017, has been the director of the Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department Choir since 2009,  was the director of the Northern Arizona University Gospel Choir from 2014-2017, Artist in Residency for the State of Arizona for a two year term 2016-2018, minister of music at Trinity Community Church from 1992-2018, and vocal coach to many in the St. Louis and New York.

In August 2016 Phil was asked to compose an original score of a version of Antigone translated by Bryan Doerries called Antigone in Ferguson which has been traveling the country for the past four years and premiered internationally in Athens, Greece in June 2016. Since the success of Antigone in Ferguson, Phil has written an original score for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last sermon The Drum Major Instinct and also for a speech by Frederick Douglass.  In 2018 The Drum Major Instinct premiered in Athens, Greece and was performed on several college campuses during the 2018-2019 school year. In 2018 Antigone in Ferguson ran in an Off-Broadway theater in New York for a five-week workshop and in 2019 it ran for ten-weeks at the St. Ann and Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Brooklyn, New York. Philip is excited for several collaborations in 2021 including a production of Pirates of Penzance in which Phil’s company P. Woodmore Music, LLC will be a producing partner and will provide all the music for the show.  Phil will be joining the Muny family for the 2020 summer season and he is looking forward to a great partnership as the Music Director for Muny Kids. For more information on Dr. Philip A. Woodmore please visit www.philipawoodmore.com

Twitter: @phil_woodmore

Margie Johnson Reese has a 30-year portfolio as an arts management professional and has contributed to public policy in areas of public participation in the arts, public art policy and practice, community development, and cultural master planning and her career has included arts leadership in Dallas and Los Angeles.  She has been an advisor to the nation’s most diverse communities. She has worked directly with artists and other creative professionals to enhance their employment and business opportunities, in both the nonprofit and commercial sectors. She has guided the development of numerous cultural facilities and managing architectural design, budget and staff to guarantee that pubic service is a priority.

She served as a grant maker for the Ford Foundation in their Office for West Africa as the Program Officer for Media, Arts and Culture. In that capacity, she cites among her major accomplishments funding the restoration of the slave castles in Ghana and Nigeria and providing funding to preserve the ancient Arabic manuscripts of Timbuktu in Mali.

Margie formed MJR Partners, LLC in 2010, and provides professional arts management services and guidance to communities for planning, stabilizing and implementing inclusive public policy. Her clients have engaged her services to assist in stimulating strategic partnerships between the cultural sector and government agencies, foundations, corporations, and academic institutions to advance cultural understanding. She is a professor at Goucher College in Towson, Maryland, teaching Cultural Policy in the Arts in the graduate Arts Administration program. A graduate of Washington State University in Pullman, Washington with a BS in Speech and Theater, Margie holds an MFA in Theater from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. She is a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Website: http://www.margiejohnsonreese.com/

Miguel (he/him; el/ello) is an American born artist living in Spokane, WA born in San Antonio, TX. He’s a Chicano photographer documenting the surreal lifestyle of being bicultural a predominantly monocultural world.

 Miguel has been exploring biculturalism in art since he was introduced to Chicano art as a child, he was mentored by Chicano artists from central and southern Texas, founded The Community Darkroom project to promote film photography, and created photographic formula processes exclusive to his pop color print style. In the early nineties, Miguel started The Community Darkroom as a place to keep film photography alive when digital was becoming more accessible. This grew into a strong following in San Antonio as an annual Photography event, and now starting LTNX artes to document and develop Latinx art and culture in the Pacific Northwest. Nationally, Miguel is a member of the Cousins Regime of Art Administrators of Color, National Association for Latino Arts and Culture, U.S. Latinx Art Forum, in Washington he is a member of the Hispanic Business Professionals Association, and Spokane Independent Metro Business Association. Miguel is currently a commissioner with Spokane Arts, and a board member with Arts administrators of Color.

Being bicultural means living with two social norms, involving two languages spoken in a single conversation, or reading words in two languages at the same time. Throughout his life, Miguel has made great attempts to balance his identity. Since moving to Washington, Miguel has been told he’s not American enough, and should go back to Mexico. They called this his “Country of Origin”, well he can’t because he’s a U.S. citizen without the ability to become a Mexican Citizen. When he’s is in Mexico, he’s not accepted socially and culturally. In this he’s not Mexican enough. Miguel is one of the many people that live their life neither from here or there, but living in a fine line between two countries of origin.

The creative efforts Miguel develops are from two different mediums. Film photography and digital illustration. Many call this mixed media, but the media is not mixed together. The illustration stands apart from the photograph. The reality people see in the photograph is the world we all live in. The photograph is the monocultural world. The illustrated portion is the uniqueness of being bicultural in the monocultural world. The mediums are not mixed, but live simultaneously in every creative effort Miguel makes. 

Websites: ltnxartes.com | miguelgonzales.com

Facebook: @ltnxartes

Instagram: @ltnxartes

AmiScherson (she/her/hers)is an arts administrator, musician, and self proclaimed "mover". Sheis fascinated by the intersections of social justice and the arts, and strongly believes in using creativity to create positive change. Ami works for Americans for the Arts as the Equity in Arts Leadership Program Coordinator, creating opportunities and initiatives to pursue cultural equity throughout the field. Prior to working at Americans for the Arts, she has interned at Kaufman MusicCenter, the Cleveland Orchestra, and Stuart's Opera House. She is passionate about community development, and has pursued projects throughout urban, suburban, and rural regions of the United States. Most recently, she conducted research in Nelsonville, Ohio to understand the impact of nonprofit arts programming on rural Appalachian communities. She graduated from OhioUniversity's Honors Tutorial College with a B.A. in Music and a minor in Business. In addition to her work, Ami is a member of the Dance/NYC JuniorCommittee 2019-2020 Cohort. She is a proud Japanese-Chilean, and currently lives in Queens, NY. 

Nikki joined Americans for the Arts in February 2020. As the Equity in Arts Leadership Program Manager, she will work to envision, design, and implement programs to improve the entry, advancement, and leadership opportunities for historically and currently marginalized or underrepresented arts administrators in the arts and culture field.

Nikki holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Linguistics from Pitzer College in southern California, where she solidified her interests in language, human rights, and cross-cultural understanding. She also holds a Master's degree in Arts, Festival, and Cultural Management from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she researched the impact of programming at the intersection of arts and social justice.Her previous work experiences include organizations across the US, such as the Massachusetts Cultural Council, El Sistema USA, Berklee College of Music, and The Center for Arts-Inspired Learning, among others.