Alissa Everett

http://www.alissaeverett.com

Alissa Everett is a creative artist based in New York City. Alissa has photographed and written stories throughout the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the Americas.

In 2007, Alissa dedicated much of her year to co-founding a non-profit organization, Care Through Action. In less than a year, the organization raised over $50,000 to feed people displaced by the crisis in Darfur.

Her clients include the Sunday Times of London, the Economist, NBC Dateline News, Associated Press, the San Francisco Chronicle, Islands Magazine, Sport Diver, Traveler Overseas Magazine, and NBC Dateline News. Alissa also works with several non-profit organizations and private corporations including the Millennium Promise, World Food Programme, Geographic Expeditions, Bushtracks Expeditions, and XOJet.

Alissa hopes that her subjects' stories, told through photographs, begin to break down the boundaries between self and other, countries, religions, and cultures.

Ami Gaston

http://www.amikaeylacollective.com

Proclaimed one of the "purest contemporary voices in the jazz, world and folk industry since Eva Cassidy" by National Public Radio, powerhouse performer, and master percussionist Amikaeyla Proudfoot Gaston embraces the best of many types of music.

With her soulful style, sultry ballads, & enchanting, passionate sincerity, she is a dynamic performer and is in the midst of an amazing musical journey. While the dazzling vocalist from the Washington, D.C. area draws on a dizzying array of influences, from Bel Canto, Funk and Bossa Nova to Blues and Soul, her sensibility is pure jazz. "I view myself as a roots jazz artist, because jazz feels so all encompassing," says the newly transplanted Bay area based singer. Captivating audiences since the age of 4, she began her musical training with classic piano, and went on to study flute, viola, and a multitude of percussion instruments from around the world.

Since then, she has been performing and recording with numerous noted Grammy Award winning artists, including Esperanza Spalding, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Take 6, Howard Levy of Bela Fleck & the Flectones, Eugene Friesen of the Paul Winter Consort, Glen Vélez, Baba Olatunji, Mickey Hart, Pete Seeger, Gil Scott Heron, Cyndy Blackman, Wyclef, Kenny Garrett, and the DC Metropolitan National Symphony. She has a strong academic interest in sacred chanting which has led her around the world touring with various artists such as Rwandan Cultural Ambassador for Peace Jean Paul Samputu, and culminating in her performance for the commemoration of the Golden Buddha at the request and invitation of His Holiness The Dalai Lama at the Inaugural Festival of Sacred Chanting and Singing in India.

Her debut album Mosaic received national acclaim, winning a staggering 12 Music Awards, including Best Jazz Vocalist, Best Urban Contemporary Vocalist, Best World Music Vocalist, and Best Debut Artist. Additionally, she was named DC's best Female Composer in 2006 and again in 2008 for excellence in original composition.

Amikaeyla's latest collaboration is a healing tribute album entitled "Song bird - A Tribute to Eva Cassidy with maestroes Wayne Wallace & John Santos. This project is dedicated to all those who have experienced the effects of Cancer and along with her newest solo album "Midnight Sun'; Amikaeyla captures a myriad of international elements and artfully weaves them together with her penchant for vast improvisation.

C. Eduardo Vargas

C. Eduardo Vargas is a Project Manager with international experience in policy and program research and analysis, pedagogy, and political advocacy. Prior to joining Intersections, Vargas worked with the Office of Caritas Internationalis at the United Nations. His efforts raised awareness, and advocated for the needs of internally displaced persons and refugees to the member states of the United Nations Security Council and United Nations Economic and Social Council member states and civil society.

Vargas has authored articles on international organizations, primarily the European Union and the United Nations. He is fluent in both Spanish and English, and has a working knowledge of French.

Vargas received a Master of Arts degree from the John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health--cum laude--from California State University, Long Beach.

Kathryn Pilkington

http://www.citydance.net

Kathryn is from North Carolina and received her early training from her mentor Sandra Miller. She then went to The Juilliard School where she danced works by Anthony Tudor, Ohad Naharin, Martha Graham, Jiri Kylian, Robert Battle, Zvi Gotheiner, and Lar Lubovitch. Graduating with a BFA in 2004, she became a dancer and rehearsal assistant for Contemporary Dance Theater of NY, under the direction of Jennifer Kries, and Sensedance, under the direction of Henning Rubsam.

Kimberly Schultz

http://www.kimschultz.net

Originally from Minnesota, Kim Schultz is an actress, writer, teacher, improviser and stand-up. Nationally, she has worked at The Guthrie Theatre, Children’s’ Theatre Company and Theatre de la Jeune Lune. She has performed at the Chicago Improv Fest, The Brave New Workshop, and in a HBO Comedy Showcase in LA. Internationally, she wrote and performed a show for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and improvised on the Disney Wonder Cruise ship. In New York, she has performed for The Hamptons Shakespeare Festival, Oberon Theatre and is an associate producer of The Themantics Group. She also created, produced and acted in a regionally televised comedy improv show called Comedy Hotel - which aired on ABC-KSTC.

Kim runs her own improv school called Kim Schultz Improv, where she teaches actors and non-actors the skills of improvisation, as well as going into companies to help them function and play better. Last year, Kim wrote and performed an autobiographical solo show called The F Trip which was based on 3 trips and 3 men: her father, a con, and a man called Jesus. It was workshopped at the Midtown International Theater Festival, followed by a run at The Zipper.

Kim is also currently working on a television treatment for a 30-minute TV comedy based on her previous solo show and also does commercial and film work, recently shooting a national Verizon commercial and an independent film about a suburban baby shower from Hell, called Showers of Happiness. www.stirproductions.net.

Also a blogger, Kim writes at www.kimschultzimprov.blogspot.com. The blog is intended to improvisationally educate and inspire.

Kathryn Schulz

Kathryn is a writer living in New York. Her freelance work, on topics ranging from global climate change to Augusto Pinochet, has appeared in publications including The New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, and The Nation. Her debut nonfiction book, Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error, will be published in May 2010 by Ecco/HarperCollins. She has worked as the assistant director of a school in Costa Rica and in the nonprofit sector in Portland, Oregon. In 2004, she was awarded a Pew Fellowship. Originally from Ohio, she currently divides her time between Brooklyn and the Hudson Valley.

Megan Hoelle

Megan Hoelle works as Director of Communication and Program Development for Intersections. Her career to date has been an intersection of science, religion and public health. Hoelle has worked with religious communities in local, national and international settings for the past 10 years. Her favorite experiences include working for the United Church of Christ's "God is Still Speaking" identity campaign where she made over 700 websites for congregations and her ecumenical work with the World Student Christian Federation in Africa.

In a past life, Hoelle worked for a genetics research laboratory and taught undergraduate laboratory classes in Biology. She has also worked as a sex educator, developing workshops and educational programs around sexual health, HIV prevention and LGBT issues. She received her Master in Public Health from the University of Michigan and a B.S. in Zoology from Oregon State University.

Michael Jordan

For the last 15 years, Mike has been a managing partner at Gotham, a leading New York agency specializing in advertising, branding and 360 marketing. Mike has been the creative director on household brands like AOL, E*trade, Priceline, Yellowbook, AT&T Wireless and Bank of America.

Mike has won over a hundred industry awards and honors. And has worked on dozens of the world’s most famous brands. He has created campaigns for WIC (Women, Infants & Children), the Collegiate Church of New York, and the United Church of Christ.

Michael Jordan’s specialty is identifying the crux of an issue. Tailoring a relevant message around it. And then finding simple, memorable ways to communicate it to his audience.

Paul Emerson

http://www.citydance.net

Paul Emerson moved to Washington for what was supposed to be a brief stopover while waiting for his first posting in the U.S. Foreign Service. He ended up serving as Legislative Director to the late Thomas M. Foglietta (D-PA) for seven years and liaison to the House Armed Services Committee. Mr. Emerson has worked on more than 20 federal campaigns, including races for the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives.

He is a published author on defense and foreign policy, and is a former radio broadcaster, having served as a news director, disk jockey, and sports announcer for several radio stations in Ohio. Mr. Emerson has traveled nationally as a professional photographer, specializing in industrial photography. He has worked as a journeyman in construction and design and dabbles in bronze as a sculptor.

He served as Executive Director for CityDance Ensemble from 1996-2004 and has been Artistic Director since 2000. During his tenure with CityDance Ensemble, the company has been named a “Top 25 To Watch” worldwide by Dance Magazine, won the 2003 DC Mayors Arts Award for Outstanding Emerging Artist and the 2005 DC Mayor’s Arts Award for Innovation in the Arts, created one of the largest and most successful education outreach programs in the region, launched CityDance FilmWORKS, and opened the CityDance Centers at Strathmore and Mt. Vernon Square. In 2006, Mr. Emerson received the Pola Nirenska Award for Artistic Excellence in Dance. His God children Aidan and Nathan are his real pride and joy.

Timothy Frakes

http://www.frakesproductions.com

Tim Frakes is an award winning videographer, video producer, script writer, and editor. A 1984 Harding University alumnus his videos are broadcast on major television networks and distributed world wide through DVD sales.

From 1993-2007 Mr. Frakes served as the principal videographer for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

In March 2007, he launched ‘Tim Frakes Productions’. Tim Frakes videos may be viewed at www.30goodminutes.org, Video Google, You Tube, and Tripfilms.com.

Tim Frakes produces single camera documentary and image video for non-profit, faith-based, broadcast and corporate clients. He has produced programs in twenty countries across Africa, Asia, the Pacific Islands, Europe, and the Middle East including many productions in the United States. Mr. Frakes makes his home in suburban Chicago.