Amy Le Ann Richardson is a writer, educator and advocate from Carter County, Kentucky, where she lives and works on her multi-generational family farm. Rooted in Appalachia, her writing explores place, resilience, motherhood and people’s connection to the land. She is the author of three poetry collections—“Make Believe Worlds We Built Together,” “Who You Grow Into” and “Out of Places”—and editor of the forthcoming “Rooted, Resilient, Rising: Women Growing Food across the Mountains.”

Her work has appeared in Still: The Journal, Appalachian Journal, Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel and Kentucky Monthly. She holds a bachelor’s in English from Morehead State University and an MFA in creative writing from Spalding University, and has received grants from the Kentucky Foundation for Women.

Through teaching and community workshops, Richardson works to expand literary access and amplify women’s voices in Appalachian communities. She leads the Bloodroot Writers Collective, a youth-centered literary initiative fostering creative voice and place-based belonging across eastern Kentucky.

Discipline: Multidisciplinary

I was born and raised on the island of Guam. I’ve been an Elementary ESL teacher for 28 years. My hobby is dot painting Guam landscapes and symbols representing the indigenous Chamorro culture. I desire to promote the Chamorro culture through art and share my love of dot painting and art in general with my students.

Hakeem Furious (Andre Carbonell) is a wordsmith from Jacksonville, Florida, with roots in the Rocky Mountains. He graduated from a Southern performing arts high school as a theater major and developed a passion for words through the spoken word community at Florida A&M University, a historically Black college and university that deepened his understanding, appreciation, and preservation of Black culture and resilience.

Currently, he travels the country performing poetry and comedy, curating shows, and writing curriculum and grants as CEO of the #UltraTerrestrialTour.

Program Manager- Artists of Color Accelerate Fellowship, The 224 EcoSpace

Andre Rochester is a Fine Artist from the Greater Hartford region of Connecticut. He studied illustration at the University of Connecticut: School of Fine Arts and completed his BA in Studio Art at Charter Oak State College. He also earned a MS in Organizational Leadership from Quinnipiac University. His preferred medium is acrylic painting. Andre uses his art to make statements for which words are not enough, highlighting the underlying emotions connected to the subject. It is a combination of portraiture and conceptual works connected by narratives of his personal experiences. At a young age, art became a tool for healing and catalyst for connection. It developed into a way for Andre to let people know they are not alone in this journey through life.

In addition to working as a Fine Art Painter, Muralist, and Teaching Artist, Andre is the Program Manager for the Artists of Color Accelerate Fellowship. He is a board member at Windsor Art Center in Windsor, CT where he is the Curatorial Chair, board member at the Connecticut Arts Alliance, and Board Elector at Wadsworth Atheneum. He has also served on the City of Hartford Commission on Cultural Affairs (2014-2015). Andre also assists emerging artists with portfolio development, curation, and consultation for exhibits. He encourages young artists to develop their craft without losing focus on learning professionalism and business acumen. He believes that with every step forward, we must clear a path for others to join us.

Deputy Director of Operations & Strategic Partnerships, Indiana Arts Commission

André Zhang Sonera joined the Indiana Arts Commission in July 2022 as Deputy Director of Operations and Strategic Partnerships. Originally from San Sebastián, Puerto Rico, André received his Master in Public Affairs in Policy Analysis from the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) at Indiana University in 2021. His previous work experiences at the White House, the New York City Mayor’s Office of Operations, the Office of the Indiana Lt. Governor, and the City of Indianapolis Mayor’s Office have nurtured his passion for public service and government.

In his spare time, he proudly serves as a Big Brother for BBBS of Central Indiana and sits on the IndyHub Foundation Boards of Directors.

Arts Education Manager, Breckenridge Creative Arts

Andrea Edwards (artistically known as Drea E.) was born, bred and educated in Seattle, Washington. She graduated Cum Laude from Seattle University earning a Bachelors of Fine Arts of Photography. In college she spent a semester abroad studying art & national identity in New Delhi, India. Post graduation, she spent a year serving in AmeriCorps at Youth Villages Inner Harbor campus, a treatment facility for youth with severe emotional and behavioral challenges. There, she led teenagers in a project linking themes of compassion, art and service. Following her service year, she participated in a 6 month artist residency in Navasota, Texas, creating a body of work about Mance Lipscomb, a local black sharecropper and blues musician turned small town folk hero; responsible for Navasota being dubbed as the “”Blues Capital of Texas””. In 2017, Andrea moved to Colorado to take a seasonal job as a Craft Shop Supervisor for the YMCA of the Rockies Snow Mountain Ranch. From there, she found part time employment at Breckenridge Creative Arts where she was quickly promoted to full time positions as part of their programming team. In her own art practice, Andrea has shifted from photography to more interdisciplinary work. Due to the loss of her mother in February 2019, she’s recently been exploring themes of grief as handled across varying cultures, working paper as an affordable medium but also symbolically paralleling humanity in many respects. https://www.dreae.com/Mixed-Media

Andrew Nemr is the founder of the Nemr Institute, where his work explores the ideas of spiritual formation and creativity. The only child born to Lebanese parents, Nemr’s work has journeyed through the worlds of music, dance, theater, film and the visual arts. The New York Times described him as “a masterly tapper.”

He is recorded on the Grammy-nominated recording “Itsbynne Reel” by Dave Eggar, is the subject of the award-winning documentary short film “Identity: The Andrew Nemr Story,” and is the author of “The Tap Dance Method: A Practical Exploration of Tap Dance Land.” Nemr has given multiple TED Talks on topics ranging from identity and oral traditions to love and collaboration. He also writes regularly on Substack.

Nemr is captivated by the immense and diverse inner landscapes each person carries within and has immense curiosity about how we become who we are becoming.

Angelica Trimble-Yanu, born and raised in Oakland, California, is an enrolled member of the Oglála Lakȟóta Sioux Nation from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in printmaking from the Pacific Northwest College of Art.

Trimble-Yanu’s work has been exhibited at venues including the De Young Museum, MarinMOCA, and the Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello during the 2022 Venice Art Biennale. That same year, she was nominated for the SFMOMA SECA Award following her first solo exhibition, BLACK SUN, at San Francisco’s MRKT Gallery.

Her interdisciplinary and community-based practice has led to numerous public residencies and artist talks with institutions such as Google, the De Young Museum, the Institute of Contemporary Art SF, the Berkeley Art Center, the Museum of Archaeology at South Alabama University, Oregon State University, and Santa Clara University.

Discipline: Folklife/Traditional Arts

Angelina Ramirez is a flamenco dancer, teaching artist and producer living in Tucson, Arizona.Ramirez’s artistic work explores what it means to be a queer, latina flamenca, practicing in a traditional Roma/gitano form of dance.As a teaching artist, she is interested in the intersections of arts and healing, focusing on work with elders of all abilities and integrated flamenco with autistic individuals.She is devoted to promoting accessibility and eradicating ableism, racism and bigotry by practicing and promoting dialogue, acceptance and community participation.Ramirez is an original member of Yjastros, the American Flamenco Repertory Company and has toured with world-renowned, New York-based company Noche Flamenca. Ramirez is a 2022 Dance/USA Artist Fellow.In 2021, she received the Master-Apprentice Artist through Southwest Folklife Alliance for her dedication and commitment to flamenco arts. Ramirez is a National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures fellow.

Associate Educator of Teen Programs,, Milwaukee Art Museum

Anika Kowalik, Associate Educator of Teen Programs, coordinates the Teen Internship program and works directly with teens. Kowalik is a Black and Queer Multidisciplinary Artist residing in Milwaukee. They hold a BFA in Printmaking from Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. In their practice, they address creating safe space, representation and acknowledgement of disadvantaged communities, and programming encompassing these themes. They have a myriad of ties within communities that MAM directly serves as a result of years of interfacing with these communities as an artist. They’ve championed intersectional, anti-racist, and holistic care practices for local organizations such as Cactus Club Milwaukee, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, and the Milwaukee Art Museum. Kowalik completed training from the Clinical & Translational Science Institute of Southeast Wisconsin for a Childhood Development certification in early 2022 and has experience in public health evaluation as a Project Assistant for Jael Solutions LLC for the Kresge Foundation’s Climate Change, Health and Equity Grantees. The multiplicity and richness within their background brings a needs-based approach to teen programs reflective of equity driven approaches to education. Overall, they want teens to see themselves in art careers by providing a fulfilling experience for all involved.

Community Engagement Coordinator, American Players Theatre

Anna Gonzalez (she/her) is the Community Engagement Coordinator at American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin. Anna holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Lawrence University, a Masters of Arts in Shakespeare Studies from the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon, and an MFA in Shakespeare in Performance at Mary Baldwin University. Previous theatre production experience includes working as Wardrobe Supervisor at Glimmerglass Opera, American Shakespeare Center, and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Before returning to the Midwest, Anna worked as a First Grade Teacher in Las Vegas, Nevada for eight years teaching 6-years-olds how to read and be kind. Anna strives to support inclusion, representation, and belonging in order to make theatre more accessible for historically excluded audiences and is passionate about engaging in collaboration to bring audiences into community together around the shared experience of theatre.

Executive Director, World Arts West

Dr. Anne Huang is the Executive Director of World Arts West, a 46 year old arts organization that supports cultural artists sustaining the world’s diverse dance traditions. In 2019 Dr. Huang was appointed the first person of color and cultural artist to lead World Arts West. Under Dr. Huang’s equity and inclusion focus, World Arts West has undergone a transformative equity journey. Huang is the former Executive Director of the Oakland Asian Cultural Center (OACC), one of the largest pan-Asian cultural centers in the U.S. During her tenure, she transformed OACC from an organization in financial crisis into a thriving cultural institution serving 50,000 people per year. She has supported many key cultural institutions in California and beyond, such as Parangal, Cuicacalli, Arenas Dance Company, Afro Urban Society, Diamano Coura West African Dance, and others. As a thought leader with deep knowledge of challenges and solutions for cultural artists in the 21st century, Huang has presented for Grantmakers in the Arts, National Association of Latino Arts & Culture, Arts Administrator of Color Network, Northern California Grantmakers, International Association of Blacks in Dance, and other convenings. She is a NALAC Advocacy Leadership Institute Fellow, an Organizing Fellow for the Greater Bay Area Arts and Cultural Advocacy Coalition, and a member of the Dance/USA Board of Trustees.

Curator and Founder, Prisma Art Projects

Born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, 1987. Finished a Bachelor’s in Graphics Arts from the University of Puerto Rico in Carolina and graduated with a Masters in Fine Art with concentration in Photography from Miami International University of Art and Design.

Started her career as independent curator and arts administrator at Vargas Gallery, FL in 2012. Has served as project coordinator and grant writer at Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico for the past 6 years. Saldaña is the founder of Prisma Art Projects, artist-run organization focused on supporting contemporary emerging artists through curated exhibitions and events. As arts administrator has participated in various professional development programs such as NALAC’s Leadership Institute. Has introduced two international art and photography movements to the PR community: 24hourproject and Free Art Fridays.

As an artist, Saldaña has participated in many exhibitions in Puerto Rico, United States, United Kingdom, Mexico, and Germany, including her latest solo show at the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture in Chicago and group shows such as Bienal SalaFAR at Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, Bienal de Fotografía at Museo de Las Americas in San Juan, Miami Independent Thinkers in Miami and PINTA Art Fair in London.

Anpa’o Locke is an Afro-Indigenous writer, filmmaker, and curator. She is Húŋkpapȟa Lakota and Ahtna Dené (Village of Tazlina), born in the Standing Rock Nation and now residing in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

She was a 2023 Native Lab Fellow and a 2022 Full Circle Fellow at the Sundance Institute, where she developed her upcoming short film, “Kawá,” which follows an Afro-Indigenous teen reconnecting with her Native roots. Her work is focused on amplifying Indigenous narratives in cinema.

In 2023, Locke co-curated “Imagining Indigenous Cinema” at the UCLA Film & Television Archive. This groundbreaking series showcased more than 40 films by U.S.-based Indigenous artists in the post-Standing Rock era. She has also worked as a writer for PBS Digital Studios’ “Sovereign Innovations” and as an associate producer for Best Case Studios.

Discipline: Media Arts

Antonette Tudela Labausa is an Indigenous Chamoru/Chamorro shell carver from Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. Using Mariånas spondylus, clam (hima), and other shells gathered along the coastlines of the Mariånas, she shapes each piece as a tribute to her heritage. Her work carries the spirit of traditional Chamoru shell carving—honoring ancestral knowledge, promoting cultural pride, and fostering a mindful connection between land and sea.

Antonio Camacho Martinez (Tony) is of Puerto Rican and Taino descent, and currently serves as the Program Director at p:ear, an organization in Portland, Oregon that creatively mentors homeless youth, ages 15-25, through education, music and art, as well as wilderness recreation. Tony provides essential services to youth experiencing homelessness while leading the development of p:ear’s programs to provide empowering and accessible spaces to build community, offer support, and create opportunities for exploration and personal growth. After earning a BA from Valparaiso University, he moved to Portland in 2007 from Indiana to serve as an AmeriCorps member as the Development Coordinator at Impact NW, beginning his now 15-year career empowering underserved youth in Multnomah County. Over the years, Tony has mentored, advocated for, and helped youth navigate systems as a Social Services Navigator at a pediatric clinic, and as a Youth Advocate and Career Skills Coach at NAYA Youth and Family Center. Tony is a graduate of the Conflict Resolution program at Portland State University, earning a graduate degree and certificates in interpersonal neurobiology, as well as youth and family counseling, and uses his degree in helping others move through conflict via conflict coaching, workshop facilitation, and mediation, with a focus on advancing equity and promoting cross-cultural education.

April Bojorquez is a Colorado-based Chicana artist, curator, folklorista and educator. She holds a master’s from Arizona State University, where her research examined Chicanx/Latinx/Hispano/a representation in museums and explored decolonial curatorial practices.

As director of programs and food practice at Desert Art LAB—a Chicanx-led environmental arts collaborative—Bojorquez guides participatory projects that restore desert ecologies through zero-irrigation regrowth and revitalize ancestral foodways rooted in the Chicanx experience of the desert Southwest.

Her work as a nationally recognized artist and leader has been featured at institutions including the Museum of Contemporary Native Art in Santa Fe, Galería de la Raza in San Francisco, Dom Museum in Vienna, Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara and the New Mexico Museum of Art – Vladem Contemporary.

She is a Creative Capital Award recipient, a 2021 Mellon Artist in Residence at Colorado College Fine Arts Center Museum, a certified Colorado Change Leader and an alumna of the Smithsonian Latino Museum Studies Program.

Bojorquez is dedicated to amplifying rural Chicanx/Indigenous/Latinx/Hispanic voices and practices in the Southwest to inspire and shape future generations. She lives and works in Pueblo, Colorado.

Discipline: Dance

April Repeki is a cultural dancer, educator, and tradition bearer from Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. She began her dance journey at the age of six, studying Chamorro and Spanish dance under the guidance of Frances Sablan. In sixth grade, she began training with Jonas Barcinas, a first-generation dancer with the Taotao Tano dance group, who introduced her to Polynesian styles and deepened her understanding of the cultural ties across the Pacific. Through Barcinas, Repeki was also mentored by Frank Rabon, the founder of Chamorro cultural dance, Taotao Tano dance group and one of its most influential figures. These mentors instilled in her a deep passion for honoring ancestral stories through movement. For her, dance became more than performance, it became a vessel for memory, identity, and pride.

With over two decades of experience, Repeki has taught more than 300 students, many of whom have performed on Saipan and internationally. She has proudly represented her community at the Festival of Pacific Arts (FestPAC) in Guam (2016) and Hawai‘i (2024), performing alongside her students as proud cultural ambassadors. Today, Repeki remains committed to nurturing the next generation through dance that celebrates heritage, strengthens identity, and keeps island traditions alive.

Discipline: Visual Arts

April Werle is a narrative painter, whose works investigate how culture is internalized and negotiated as a mixed-race person. Influenced by her Filipino heritage and multicultural upbringing, Werle’s works explore themes of mixed-race identity, family, and belonging.

Her paintings have been exhibited at notable venues, including the Holter Museum of Art, Missoula Art Museum, and The Other Art Fair Los Angeles. Her work has been featured in publications like New Visionary Magazine and Kapwa Magazine.

Werle is an advocate for multiculturalism and intercultural dialogue. She has been invited to speak about her work, including a keynote speech at Montana State University with the Asian Student Interracial Association.

April Werle has received recognition for her contributions, including an ARPA Grant and a Strategic Investment Grant from the Montana Arts Council.

Discipline: Multidisciplinary

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