Amy Austin has combined passions of storytelling, theatre, journalism, event production, and her favorite place, Washington, DC. She is the Publisher Emeritus of Washington City Paper, an influential and award-winning local alternative news media company known for long-form local journalism and in-depth arts coverage. She is a member of the Leadership Greater Washington, former board chair of The Theatre Lab, serves on the board of Destination DC, and received the John Conyers Jr. Advocacy Award from the DC Jazz Festival. She is committed to theatre arts and education as essential to the human experience in creating shared empathy, understanding, and joy.

Stanley Bahorek is the co-founder and Creative Producer of Mind’s Eye Producing. He co-produced the world premiere productions of Charles Mee’s "soot and spit" and the new play "Sheila" by The Associates in New York City. As an actor, he most recently appeared in the 2020 Broadway revival of "Company" and played Barry in the Emmy Award-winning Netflix show "Master of None;" in DC he has worked at Arena Stage, The Kennedy Center, and Ford's Theater. He has taught at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy and Princeton University and currently serves as Community Engagement and Development Manager at Georgetown University.

Michelle Banks is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Visionaries of the Creative Arts (VOCA). She is the 2022 recipient of the D.C. Area Black Deaf Advocates Award for Outstanding Achievements in Theater for Deaf BIPOC Artists and the 2017 recipient of Gallaudet University’s Laurent Clerc Award for her contribution to theater. Michelle has extensive professional credits as an actor and director on stage and screen and was the Director of Artistic Sign Language for Olney Theatre Center’s Helen Hayes Award winning The Music Man and Broadway’s For Colored Girls.

Julianne Brienza founded Capital Fringe in 2005, a DC-based non-profit with a mission rooted in creating earning opportunities for individual artists. Since then, she's served as driving force for the vision, community presence, and the growth of the organization. Prior to her role at Capital Fringe, Brienza created the Mead Theatre Lab Program, a performing arts program offering intensive production and development assistance for performing and visual artists, writers, directors, producers, and independent theatre companies. Brienza has received numerous awards, including the Distinguished Alumni Award, College of Business, Performing Arts and Leadership, Viterbo University in 2020, the non-profit CEO of the Year from the Washington Business Journal in 2015 and the Visionary Leadership Award at 31st Annual Mayors Arts Awards in 2015. Brienza serves a Commissioner for the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

Kelly Chauncey is the Artistic Director of BlackRock Center for The Arts in Germantown, Maryland where he leads all aspects of artistic programming, special events and creative partnerships. In 2023 he directed BlackRock's first-ever in-house professional production, Dreamgirls. Chauncey has served as the Artistic Director of Performing Arts at Dubose Fine Arts Studio in McKinney, Texas, Artistic Director The Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County Florida and Assistant Director/Arts at Harmony Hall Regional Center with The Maryland National Capital Park & Planning Commission. A writer, choreographer and director, in 2015 he founded ANKH Repertory Theatre and established a Theater Arts Partnership with The City of Gaithersburg Maryland. As an actor, he has performed locally at Arena Stage, Source Theater, and The Kennedy Center as well as numerous regional and national tours.

Artistic Director Reginald L. Douglas (he/him) is dedicated to creating new work and supporting new voices. He has directed at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, TheaterWorks Hartford, Contemporary American Theater Festival, Everyman Theatre, Weston Theater Company, La Jolla Playhouse, Audible, Bard at the Gate, Profile Theatre, Playwrights Realm, The Kennedy Center, Pittsburgh CLO, Arizona Theatre Company, Barrington Stage, Cape Cod Theatre Project, Negro Ensemble Company, TheatreSquared, Playwrights’ Center, McCarter Theatre Center, Florida Rep, The Lark, New York Theatre Workshop, City Theatre (where he served as Artistic Producer), Studio Theatre (where he served as Associate Artistic Director), and many other national companies. Reginald has developed and directed work by the nation's leading playwrights. A member of the Board of Directors of Theatre Washington and of the National New Play Network, Reginald received the National Theatre Conference’s Emerging Professional Award in 2020.

An innovative leader and artist with the vision, charisma, and insight to make things happen. Shanara Gabrielle is a purpose-driven artistic leader who creates exceptional theatre experiences for all communities. Driven by justice and joy, Shanara is inspired to shape the future of cultural institutions and artistic practice as essentials of an engaged civic life. Though she loves her work, when she's not creating exciting events, and building connections, look for her to be road-tripping with her family and spending time in the sunshine. Shanara is a proud Iowan who makes a mean bowl of popcorn, can whip up a delicious meal from an empty cabinet, and since she's an aerialist, she can probably climb a rope faster than you can. Shanara believes in honesty, roots, justice, and joy.

James Gardiner is a Helen Hayes Award-winning actor, playwright and filmmaker. Mr. Gardiner wrote the book for Glory Days (music and lyrics by Nick Blaemire), which opened at the Circle in the Square Theatre on Broadway in 2008. At the age of 23, he was the youngest librettist to have his work produced on Broadway. Mr. Gardiner's work has been produced commercially in Tokyo, London, and Sydney and has appeared regionally throughout the United States and Canada. He is currently the Director of Creative Content at Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA. Gardiner received his BA in Theatre from the University of Maryland, College Park and currently teaches musical theatre performance at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA.

Lauren Halvorsen is a dramaturg and writer based in Washington, DC. She has dramaturged over 45 plays, including world premieres by Rachel Bonds, Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm, and Morgan Gould. Lauren spent nine years as the Associate Literary Director at Studio Theatre, where she co-managed the theatre’s script submission, commissioning, and season planning processes; scouted new work around the world; and produced new play workshops, readings, and post-show conversations. She has held artistic and literary positions at the Alley Theatre, City Theatre Company, WordBRIDGE Playwrights Laboratory, The O'Neill, and The Wilma Theater. Lauren writes Nothing for the Group, a weekly newsletter about the American theatre. She recently taught contemporary American plays in the Department of Performing Arts at American University and served a three-year term as a Helen Hayes Awards judge.

Navi is a non-binary Sri Lankan many-media artist, music producer, and meme maker. A self-taught creative, they’ve released multiple nerdcore hip hop albums, toured as the lead vocalist of a psychedelic punk rap group, and engaged in local Art Making as a lighting designer, composer, sound engineer, performer, puppeteer, production manager, graphic designer, marketing content creator, and playwright. Currently, they’re running the R&D wing of Flying V as an Artistic Lead, exploring the vast reaches of performance, technology, and nerd culture!

Naysan Mojgani is a freelance dramaturg and Associate Artistic Director at Round House Theatre, where he leads the new play program and serves as in-house production dramaturg. As a scholar, director, and dramaturg, Naysan has worked on new and classic work with theatres around the country, including Theatre de la Jeune Lune, Theatre Squared, Signature Theatre, Contemporary American Theatre Festival, and Arena Stage, and has taught at UC San Diego and George Mason University. Naysan holds a PhD in Theatre & Drama from UCSD, and a BA from Carleton College. He currently lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and two children.

Dat Ngo has dedicated his career to leading and supporting equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging efforts in cultural organizations. He is currently Associate Vice President at Arts Consulting Group, working with client organizations to integrate DEI values. Previously, Ngo served as Shakespeare Theatre Company's Associate Director of Engagement and Inclusion and also held leadership roles at Sitar Arts Center, Philadelphia Young Playwrights, and Philadelphia Theatre Company. A first-generation Vietnamese-American, Ngo has judged for Philadelphia's Barrymore Awards, DC's Helen Hayes Awards, and Fairfax County Virginia High School League's One-Act Competitions. Dat served as a panelist for the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and was a member of the 2018 National Facilitator Cohort for artEquity.

LeeAnet Noble is a multi-hyphenate artist and the Director of Equity and Belonging at Shakespeare Theatre Company. She teaches an original Black theatre history course at The Academy of Classical Acting at George Washington University. She graduated magna cum laude from Howard University with a degree in theater and is certified in Equity from Purdue University. Her original one-woman shows have premiered off-Broadway at The Zipper Theatre and at 54Below in New York City. With her mother and creative partner Lauretta Noble Molloy, she co-directs the internationally, critically acclaimed dance troupe, Team Vicious. Her original productions have been produced at Madison Square Garden, The Stade de Bercy, and The Kennedy Center. As an educator, she has worked at Montgomery College and Howard University and has conducted workshops and lectures at Spelman College, Morgan State University, Hunter College, Coppin State University, Clark Atlanta University, Bowie State University, Morehouse College, The Fashion Institute of Technology and more.

Brian J. Shaw is an Ohio-born, DC-based theatremaker and arts administrator. From 2015-2021 he served as Artistic Associate and Director of Production at IN Series opera-theatre, where he directed, designed, and appeared in numerous productions. From 2017-2019 he served as a judge for Theatre Washington's Helen Hayes Awards and has since returned as a co-producer for Theatre Week and Helen Hayes Awards programming. Since 2017, he has produced Great American Songbook concerts for local senior homes in partnership with The Fenwick Foundation. As a performer, he appeared in numerous productions. As costumer, his work has been seen at Scena Theatre, GALA Hispanic Theatre, Advocates For Youth, IN Series, and Olney Theatre Center. He served as resident designer for Pallas Theatre Collective (‘14-’16). He serves on the board of Monumental Theatre Company, as administrator for the Washington Area Performing Arts Video Archive, and as a grantwriter for Educational Theatre Company and is a regular panelist and reviewer for the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and Spur Local.

Gwydion Suilebhan is a cultural critic, journalist, and playwright. A lifelong arts advocate, he serves as both the Executive Director of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation and the Project Director of the New Play Exchange for the National New Play Network. A founding member of The Welders, a Helen Hayes Award-winning playwrights collective in Washington, DC, Suilebhan previously held the position of Director of Brand and Marketing for Woolly Mammoth. Earlier in his career, he worked as a brand and communications consultant for arts and culture organizations. Suilebhan currently serves on the board of the Alliance for Jewish Theatre. From 2017-2020, he was a member of the Council of the Dramatists Guild of America. He speaks widely on the intersection between the arts and technology in the 21st century.

A bilingual Venezuelan-American journalist with graduate studies in Business Administration and a specialization in Graphic Design, Dubraska has been GALA Hispanic Theatre’s PR & Marketing Manager since 2015. She has over 20 years of experience in the fields of mass media and public relations, and an outstanding management record in disseminating multi-platform information to both external and internal audiences. She has a wide background in digital marketing and innovative strategies to promote businesses, products, and ideas on social media, and strong knowledge about video production with a focus on multiculturality and diversity.

Elena Velasco (she/ella) is a theatre artist who has created and taught theatre through the lens of community engagement with a focus on Title 1 and migrant populations. Her directing and choreography credits include Convergence Theatre, Synetic Theater, GALA Hispanic Theatre, 1st Stage, Keegan Theatre, NextStop Theatre, Adventure Theatre, Imagination Stage, Young Playwrights’ Theater, Source Theatre, Kennedy Center’s New Visions New Voices Festival, and Central Square Theatre in Greater Boston, Avant Bard, Theatre J, Mosaic Theatre Company, and Keegan Theatre. As a performer, she has appeared at many professional theaters, in several films, commercials, and TV shows. Velasco is the Artistic Director/Founder of Convergence Theatre and an associate professor of theatre arts for Bowie State University, Maryland’s oldest HBCU. She serves on the Artistic Advisory Board for the Contemporary American Theatre Festival and on the board of Educational Theatre Company. She is the recipient of the 2023 SDCF Barbara Whitman Director’s Award.

Jacqueline Youm is a Senegalese American actor, director, playwright, lawyer, and French, English, Spanish, Mediation, and Negotiation teacher. She is passionate and insatiable when it comes to storytelling. Some of her favorite credits include Round House Theatre: ADENIKEH in Nollywood Dreams (Helen Hayes nom), The Tempest (Helen Hayes nom); Confidence Performance: OLIVIA in Fireflies; Dominion Stage: STOOL PIGEON in King Hedley II (WATCH award); Chesapeake Shakespeare Co: HELENA in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Best Medicine Rep: JO ANNE in The Trip (Helen Hayes nom); Laurel Mill Playhouse: CLARICE LYLE in Consecrated Ground; Silver Spring Stage: NORA in A Doll’s House Part II; Spooky Action Theatre Company: Syrena; Strand Theatre Company: Q (MERCUTIO) in Romeo/Juliet; Sisters Freehold: YINGHE in The Sleepover. She gives her all to her ancestors and mother.