Janice Stieber Rous
Janice Stieber Rous is the creator of BODY DIALOGUE. www.bodydialogues.com. It is a practice of present moment awareness that aligns breath, body, emotions and spirit.She is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College B.A. and has a Masters from Bank Street School of Education She was trained by Marion Woodman, a Jungian depth psychologist. She has lead women’s retreats since 2003. Currently she teaches at the ATLANTIC CENTER and the ARTS and does private zoom sessions in BODY DIALOGUE and Ritual creation. Her greatest joy is her mentorship of young women using ritual and BODY DIALOGUE
Deidre Lovell
Dancer, Choreographer, Actress, Director, Producer, Film maker, Photographer, Arts & Health Science Researcher, Holistic Wellness Practitioner, Globetrotter, Mother, Gardener Chef, Mentor, Arts/Health/Environmental Activist, Warrior. Following a twenty-five year international career in dance performance, pedagogy, theater/film production and arts and business management, Ms Lovell embarked on her fourth career as a holistic bodywork practitioner starting her next entrepreneurial venture Body & Soul Therapies in 2004. Film credits include documentary and art house short films commissioned by the Arts Council of Great Britain, London’s Jazz FM, Tyne Tees Television, Granada Television, Central Television, Channel 4, La Sept, BBC2 and Central Television.
Retired, Ms Lovell currently lives in New York, impacting her various communities as a business-as-usual disrupter, environmental, health and arts activist, business mentor, wellness consultant to an international client base, and learning to love the creative forces that nurture and shape every aspect of her life.
Bre’Annah Stampley
My name is Bre’Annah Stampley but I prefer to go by Bre. My pronouns are they/them/theirs. I am a Black queer nonbinary artist from Chicago, Illinois currently working towards finishing up my Bachelors of Fine Arts degree at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. I am a multidisciplinary artist that creates exercises in seeing. I ask viewers to see what normally gets overlooked by elevating and recontextualizing materials. My studio practice is very improvisational and haphazard. I am fascinated with the mundane and build odd collections through a ritualized process of gathering that is both very meditative and playful. I aim to tell stories that restore material agency lost via negligence, inviting viewers to practice seeing.
Autumn Martin
Autumn Martin is a Literary Journalism student attending the University of California, Irvine. She is also a contributing writer for the campus newspaper, New University. Autumn also enjoys writing short stories, poetry, and screenplays. Autumn has written a screenplay titled, Maternal Negligence that is centered around the epidemic of Black women dying during/after childbirth in the U.S. Her play is scheduled to be developed with UCI’s CTSA, LEAD ABC, and Medical Humanities. She hopes that the play will spread awareness on the troubling issue and not only bring forth a conversation, but steps and actions towards real change.
Jazmyne McNeese
Jazmyne is a doctoral candidate at Rutgers University-Camden studying race, wealth and business ownership. Originally, from Los Angeles California, she obtained her BA in Sociology, with a minor in African American studies from the UC-Irvine. Jazmyne’s passion for advocacy reflects in her on and off-campus experiences, where she developed an identity as a community organizer and researcher. Since relocating to NJ, Jazmyne has worked with various organizations and state agencies including, NJ Policy Perspective, NJ Community Capital, and the Department of Community Affairs. Jazmyne identifies as a researcher, unapologetic advocate, and a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated.
Maria Luz
Maria da Luz is a dancer, choreographer, educator and movement director working through multidisciplinary arts to develop Intercultural awareness performance. After graduating from Trinity Laban, she joined Kokuma Dance Theatre exploring the work of various African choreographers including Germaine Acogny. She was a part of the original cast of The Lion King, London, as dance captain and ensemble working with Garth Fagan and Julie Taymor. Currently, she is an Associate Artist with Spare Tyre mentoring adults with learning disabilities and works with people with diverse ages, abilities and backgrounds from professionals to non- professionals.
Sheila Darcey
Sheila Darcey is an innovator with 20+ years as a facilitator, coach, and consultant. Her work with Fortune 500 companies informs her understanding of what drives transformative growth in individuals and teams. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Memphis and a certification in Social Emotional Arts (SEA) from UCLA. More recently, she returned to her artist’s roots and founded SketchPoetic®, a creative expression practice to support mental and emotional health. Sheila has been instrumental in shaping the culture of and diversity of companies. She is a strong advocate for women’s leadership and empowerment across organizations.
Trevor M Z Mbatha
Community and Cultural Producer; currently located in London. The ethos of his work is emancipation of those who are underrepresented and or socially and economically deprived. His cultural experience spans film exhibition (Queer Film and Black to the Future) visual arts and dance. His community work includes community organizing and the creation of physical infrastructures that facilitate liberation, for example e.g. Mildmay Community Centre https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VoG2_I-7B94
José Cossa
José Cossa, Ph.D., is a Mozambican scholar, writer/author, researcher, poet, blogger, “twitterer”, podcaster, entrepreneur, and an Associate Professor in the College of Education at Pennsylvania State University. He is the author of the book Power, Politics, and Higher Education: International Regimes, Local Governments, and Educational Autonomy, the recipient of the 2012 Joyce Cain Award for Distinguished Research on People of African Descent, and Co-Founder of AI4Afrika (Artificial Intelligence for Afrika). Focused on global and social justice, Cossa’s research deals with the de-colonializing of higher education, system transfer, and international development.