Edra “EJ” Stephens is a writer, cultural advocate and community leader whose work bridges storytelling, heritage preservation and social equity. Stephens illuminates the enduring traditions and voices of the Lowcountry, weaving narratives that explore identity, race, culture and belonging. A Watering Hole fellow and a graduate of the University of South Carolina Beaufort with a bachelor’s degree in English, her poetry and essays have appeared in multiple anthologies.

Her work embodies the belief that storytelling is both art and activism—an instrument of healing, empowerment and transformation. Currently, she serves as a consultant and project lead for heritage-based initiatives across South Carolina, including programs that promote cultural education, economic sustainability and intergenerational storytelling.

Previously, Stephens served as director of business services for Beaufort County, where she strengthened partnerships between local government, small businesses and nonprofit organizations. Beyond her professional life, Stephens embraces her most cherished role as “Gigi,” nurturing creativity and cultural pride in the next generation.

El Dorado Institute, Inc.

Elena Higgins (Samoan/Māori) is co-founder and executive director of IndigenousWays, a Santa Fe nonprofit advancing community-based arts for Indigenous, deaf and hard of hearing, Two Spirit, rural and remote communities.

Raised in Aotearoa (New Zealand), Higgins began her career in education, later moving to Australia and then the U.S. to pursue music and community work. Her duo, Indigie Femme, with her wife, Tash Terry (Diné), is widely recognized for blending storytelling, Indigenous worldviews and advocacy.

In 2025, Higgins received the Santa Fe Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts; that same year, Indigie Femme won the Native American Music Award for Best Folk Recording for their ninth album, “Just To Be,” and previously earned honors from the New Mexico and Global Music Awards.

Higgins centers creativity as a catalyst for resilience, shared joy and meaningful community exchange.

Discipline: Multidisciplinary

Elizabeth Denneau is an interdisciplinary artist, writer, and art educator residing in the Sonoran Southwest. She obtained her teaching certificate and BFA in Art and Visual Culture Education through the University of Arizona and her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is a member of the Art21 Educators Institute and works with local community organizers, cultural workers, and colleges to develop practical models of social justice in art education. In her artistic practice, narratives of human perseverance, vulnerability, and power dynamics continually influence her artist. She writes about her experiences being a Black educator and her upbringing in a place where Black people represent less than 3% of the population. She co-founded the Southwest Black Artists Collective and The Projects- art space. Both organizations serve a mission to bring visibility and support to Black creatives.

Elyssa Lim was born in the Philippines and raised in American Samoa. She gives credit to her high school art teacher for giving her the encouragement to pursue art. She is a multidisciplinary artist, ranging from traditional to contemporary art. Lim posts her projects online to share with other creatives. She is currently working on a project that highlights obscure creatures from Filipino legends. As a Teacher, Lim hosted a mini art show to highlight young artists and hopes to make it an annual event for the community.  She believes art and storytelling are the foundations of human culture.

Em Cebrowski is the administrative services manager for the Utah Division of Arts and Museums and a certified Change Leader. She provides key administrative, financial and purchasing support to help the organization’s creative mission thrive, and is dedicated to ongoing improvement, leadership development and measurable results.

A first-generation, non-traditional graduate with a bachelor’s in anthropology from the University of Utah, Cebrowski values the diversity of human experience. This perspective informs her work as board liaison and in leading a successful department-wide mentoring program for business processes.

As a leader, Cebrowski focuses on the perspectives of those often unheard within her organization and community. She believes connection is essential for organizational health, innovation and belonging. Now, as a first-time people leader, she’s eager to use her systems expertise to expand her impact beyond operations into the broader community.

Director of Community Engagment, Grand Opera House, Inc.

My name is Emari Vieira-Gunn. I have been working in the education and arts fields for the past four years, and was most recently appointed to the position of Director of Community Engagement for the Grand Opera House, Inc. I am a lifelong Delaware resident and my commitment to creating change through the arts/ed and bettering existing programming within my organization, is my main area of focus. I have a passion for enriching the Delaware community and beyond, with engaging, impactful and enriching educational arts programming.

Discipline: Theatre

Erica Felice Hunter, who goes by the artist name Ric Fe’, is a multidisciplinary visual artist, design educator and cultural advocate whose creative career spans three decades shaping visual language, minds and culture. She began her career as a business owner in the Gulf Coast design community, producing nationally and internationally recognized work that elevated the visual voice of her region. That entrepreneurial foundation became the bridge to her 17-year journey in post-secondary education, mentoring emerging designers and artists through programs emphasizing creativity, design thinking and empowerment.

Her artistic practice moves fluidly between painting, fiber sculpture and wearable form and, when the story demands it, sound and video. Hunter’s research examines how art can hold the weight of human experience—grief, faith, trauma and resilience—using creation not only for aesthetic expression but as a tool for transformation and collective healing.

She builds creative ecosystems where diverse stories are honored, belonging is cultivated and those once unseen gain visibility. Her leadership is rooted in lived resilience and guided by a core belief that democracy is not a theory but a daily practice of making the invisible visible.

Curator and Creative Consultant, Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum

Fabiola (or just Fa) is a Venezuelan Human Rights Lawyer who turned her career around and wears many hats as an independent curator, creative consultant, writer, and performer. A former Amnesty International Regional Manager in her native country, her activism proved too dangerous, forcing her to move to the United States where she currently seeks political asylum and dedicates herself to finding justice through artistic and cultural expressions. Recognizing storytelling as the essence of her practice, she strives for thought-provoking and imaginative projects that highlight different perspectives, ignored, and forgotten stories.
She’s a co-founder of KAMA DC, a community-building platform for immigrant-led cultural experiences, and a member of the Curatorial Selection Committee of the GLB Memorial Fund for the Arts, an annual award supporting womxn artists and curators in DC, Maryland and Virginia.
Fabiola has worked with the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, National Museum of American History, National Museum of Asian Art, Anacostia Community Museum, The Embassy of Venezuela, The Embassy of Spain, Washington Project for the Arts, Times Square Arts, The Center for Book Arts NYC, The Brooklyn Museum, MacArthur Fellow Mel Chin, The FUNDRED Project, S.O.U.R.C.E. Studio, and more.

Discipline: Interdisciplinary

Fawn Douglas is a Native American artivist, mother, and enrolled member of the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe. She also has roots with the Moapa Paiute, Southern Cheyenne, Creek, Pawnee, and Scottish. Fawn is the head matriarch of Nuwu Art and runs the Nuwu Art + Activism Studios along with the Nuwu Art Gallery + Community Center, located in the heart of Las Vegas, Nevada. She is dedicated to the intersections of art, activism, community, education, culture, identity, place, and sovereignty. Her art-making often remembers the past and ensures that stories of Indigenous peoples are heard in the present. Her studio practice includes drawing, painting, weaving, sculpture, and performance. Fawn currently does art and cultural consulting through Nuwu Art, organizes with the non-profit IndigenousAF, serves as an Arts Commissioner for the City of Las Vegas, and works part-time with Meow Wolf. She earned her MFA at UNLV and works on several issues that span from MMIR/MMIW to environmental protection.