UP NEXT | NAPO MASHEANE Napo Masheane was born in Soweto, grew up in Qwaqwa (Free State). She has a Marketing Management and Speech & Drama Diploma. She is a playwright, poet, stage director & producer, teacher and acclaimed performer on both international and national stages. Napo’s work credit includes working and collaborating with; Equal Opportunity Productions (Los Angeles), Wimbledon School Of Art (United Kingdom), The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), The Market Theatre Foundation (SA), Jungel Theatre in Bremen (Germany), University Of The Free State, Performing Centre Of The Free State (PACOFS), Joburg Theatres, University of Botswana, University of Johannesburg, University of Udine (Italy).

Micah Powell is a writer, orator, poet, DJ, and community activist. A DMV native, barely breaking 30, Micah Powell has been using his gift of wordplay for over 15 years. He has been featured in the Washington Post, multiple anthologies, and magazines. He recently published his first book of poems titled Things No One Else Wants To Say. When Micah is not performing his poetry, you can find him behind the DJ turntables or supporting the DC landscape through literacy and other community service projects as a library associate for the DC Public Library system. Micah's efforts have included events promoting health and wellness, LGBTQIA advocacy and parent engagement. His eccentric nature entraps audiences to listen and just maybe, feel a little something… Get hip Micahthepoet.com

At the tender age of five, Ashanti knew she wanted to be an attorney. Growing up in a large family, she was known as the quick-witted and fiercely persuasive young woman who knew not only how to get her point across but also how to get things done. She graduated from North Carolina State University with an undergraduate degree in English. She went on to graduate from Emory University School of Law in Atlanta with a Juris Doctor degree. After law school, Ashanti moved to Augusta and started out as a criminal defense attorney practicing in the Augusta Judicial Circuit. A few years later, she began working as a prosecutor in the Richmond County Solicitor General’s Office. While at the Solicitor’s Office, Ashanti was instrumental in building the Richmond County State Court DUI, Drug and Veterans’ Courts as the lead prosecutor in those court programs. With the opening of The Law Office of Ashanti A. Lilley, Ashanti decided to take her passion for fighting for her clients into the family law courtrooms. She is known for treating her clients like family and zealously advocating just as hard for her clients who are fathers as she does for her clients who are mothers. Ashanti doesn't back down and her trial experience on both sides of the fence gives her a sharp edge in the legal field. She believes strongly in fighting tirelessly to achieve the best outcomes for her clients.

Hey Y'all meet my boo Dee Drummond. Better known as @indefinitelydeewellness or your future favorite expatriate or Dee the yogi or or or. Dee will be joining me tomorrow for Tribe Talkin' (on a Tuesday). Yes, we are still talkin' the business of advocacy and what better guest to have during this time than a licensed psychologist who centers self-love, self-care and navigating lifes ilk with pleasure and compassion. I'm excited to share her with you and for her to give us some helpful hints for full body, peaceful resistance. Subscribe to my YouTube channel via the link in my bio and let's catch all of this love together. 💋M Hosted by Maryam Foye

Lauren E. Turner ( she/her) is a multi-hyphenate theatre professional and community facilitator based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Turner is the founding Producing Artistic Director of No Dream Deferred NOLA, a community- anchored theatre production company. Her work with NDD is driven by her dedication to equitable, place-based, culturally relevant theatre especially as it pertains to the global south. Lauren is an artEquity trained Equity, Diversity and Inclusion facilitator and founder of Equity and Justice for Institutional Change (EJIC), an organizational development consulting firm. Listed by American Theatre Magazine as one of “6 Theatre Workers You Should Know”. She is a Round 4 recipient in the Leadership U: One-on-One grant program, funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and administered by Theatre Communications Group, designed to further develop prominent emerging leaders and change agents in the American Theatre. She has also served as a Mellon Fellow through Tulane University’s Community Engaged Graduate Program. Lauren received her Master of Fine Arts in Performance from The University of Southern Mississippi and her B.A. from North Carolina Central University. Lauren’s work lives where storytelling, community building, and politics intersect. While she is very proud of the legacy she is creating through theatre, Lauren's greatest joy is at home with her partner Jason, and their 3 children, Austyn (9), Elijah (6), and Nia (6). #advocacy #art #BlackArts #Community #TribeVibe #Artists #ArtsAdvocacy #ArtsActivism

Lynne Streeter Childress is the founding artistic director of Building Better People Productions, a professional theater company based in Annapolis, MD. Building Better People specializes in theater for young audiences centering themes of compassion, kindness and respect. She is a firm believer that helping young people understand these themes will build them into become better people.. Lynne is also a playwright, actor, teaching artist, singer and director. This is her 27th year in professional theater, with much of that experience in theater for young audiences. This includes performing at the Kennedy Center, Arena Stage and Adventure Theatre, and teaching for institutions like the Folger Shakespeare Library. Through all those experiences, Lynne has seen firsthand how theater can communicate the most important things in the clearest and most interesting of ways, especially to young people. Lynne lives in Annapolis, MD with her husband and son.

Jessica Solomon is an organization development practitioner and cultural steward, building a practice of creating conditions for transformative impact in cultural, philanthropic and social justice spaces since 2008. Her firm, Art in Praxis (AiP) centers cultural practices and perspectives in the work of systems-level change. AiP applies behavioral science and cultural practices to issues within organizations and systems to ultimately align capabilities and strategies. From 2017-20, Jessica’s consulting work took her in-house at the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, where as Vice President she sharpened the institution’s place-based arts and culture grantmaking strategy, led organizational change initiatives, and grew RWD’s philanthropic footprint to drive more equitable impact. Currently, AiP's client roster includes national and place-based cultural institutions, social justice networks, and philanthropic organizations. Jessica advises a diverse portfolio of organizations and currently serves on the Board of Directors for Black Women of Print. She is a past Board President of Alternate ROOTS, and former Chief Weaver of Social Fabric at the US Department of Arts and Culture. Jessica is a proud contributor to Animating Democracy’s Aesthetic Perspectives: Attributes of Excellence in Arts for Change (2017) and We Inspire Me: Cultivate Your Creative Crew to Work, Play, and Make by Andrea Pippins (Chronicle Books, 2018). Jessica holds an MS in Organization Development from American University and BA's in Communication Studies and African-American Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park. She is a former National Arts Strategies Creative Community Fellow, Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Innovators Fellow, and Grantmakers for Effective Organizations Change Leaders in Philanthropy Fellow. Jessica is an emerging collector of Black contemporary art by women and gender-nonconforming artists and is writing a dark comedy inspired by her collection.

Kimberly is an arts professional with over 20 years of experience in event management, production, program development, and advocate for the arts and arts education initiatives that serve people of color. Kimberly is a graduate of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts ​and Howard University, where she graduated with a B.A. in Music Business. Kimberly is the Director of THEARC Theater, located in Southeast, DC. Kimberly joined the team of Building Bridges in 2008 and through her leadership, THEARC Theater is widely recognized as a cultural staple for artists, arts organizations and community East of the River. She serves as the senior arts curator, operations specialist, and program developer curating annually a multi-disciplinary season for THEARC Theater and Black Box. Kimberly is an advocate for youth arts education, lover of arts & culture and DC native who presently resides in Upper Marlboro, MD. #DukeEllington #washingtondc #tribevibe #advocacy #art #artsadvocacy #community