Discipline: Film

L Sam Zhang is the author and illustrator of the The First Chinese Festivals series of children’s books. Behind each festival lies a fantastic tale steeped in history and legends thousands of years old. She aims to make these stories available in English so more people can enjoy the festivities throughout the year in a meaningful way. These colorful books also help children better understand themselves and the world around them in our increasingly global environment.

Sam was born in Shanghai and grew up in Buffalo, NY. After getting a BS in Biology from Cornell and a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Michigan, she spent a decade on the West Coast doing branding and outreach for startups, research institutes, and nonprofits. Sam now lives in Michigan, and is the Executive Director of the Kalamazoo Chinese Academy, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing Chinese language and cultural experiences to youth from all backgrounds.

Ladies Musical Club

Discipline: Folklife/Traditional Arts

Neech Yaanagut Yéil yoo xhát duwasáak. Yéil áyá xhát.Teeyhítaan naax xhát site. Kagwaantan yádi áyá xhát. Laine Rinehart’s Tlingit name is Neech Yaanagut Yéil. He is of the Teeyhítan clan from Wrangell, Alaska, and is a child of the Kagwaantan through his father’s side. Maternally, he descends from Taos Pueblo on his mother’s side.

In the summer of 2010, Rinehart began weaving in Kay Parker’s Ravenstail class and has since worked with Lily Hope and her mother, Clarissa Rizal. He is deeply grateful for the opportunity to participate in a tradition that is typically unavailable to men and strives to honor the practices and traditions of Chilkat weaving. Using materials such as mountain goat hair (jaanwu) and yellow cedar bark, Rinehart crafts a weaving style that reflects respect for and dedication to this cultural art form.

Discipline: Multidisciplinary

Latina Dance Project

Latino Arte and Culture

Discipline: Multidisciplinary

Actor and Equity, Diversity, Inclusion (EDI) Dramaturg, Salt Lake Acting Company

Latoya Cameron (She/Her/Hers) is an advocate/actress/singer/writer. Growing up painfully shy, she found her voice and presence through acting and hasn’t looked back. She has been performing professionally for 17 years and is a proud member of Actors Equity. She made her New York debut as the lead in Shelter: the Musical at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2012. She has always hoped that theater would be a place that could unite and cause positive change.
Along with performing, she is currently working on making theatre spaces more equitable for historically underserved communities who continue to be excluded by systemic oppressive behaviors and racism. For almost two years, she has worked as the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Dramaturg at Salt Lake Acting Company in Salt Lake City, Utah. She continues to dive into the organization’s infrastructure to implement EDI practices and policies in hiring, casting, marketing, outreach, and how to build a supportive, brave rehearsal process. In addition, she continues to advocate for BIPOC artists within the community by standing up against problematic erasure in casting and being a voice when exclusionary practices are happening within the greater Utah theatre community.

Discipline: Visual Arts

Lauren Benetua (she/they) is an American-born Filipina of Illonggo, Batangueña, Bikolana, and Ilokana heritage residing in Huichin Ohlone territory. They are a dedicated cultural practitioner and weaving apprentice with Kalingafornia Laga, a weaving collective of Pilipino American women who preserve, promote, and maintain the indigenous backstrap weaving traditions from Kalinga in the Philippines. Lauren brings with them 10 years of textile weaving experience, including facilitating cultural educational workshops and weaving demonstrations alongside their mentor and teacher, Jenny Bawer Young. She now explores the responsibility of teaching traditional backstrap loom weaving to new learners in the same tradition taught to her that has been passed down by the hands of indigenous women for generations and is eager to continue cultivating a community of Pilipinx weavers in the diaspora.