Michal Alpern
Michal Alpern is a New York based artist with an MFA from Columbia University and a BFA from Bezalel Academy, Jerusalem. Alpern’s practice shifts between making serieses of objects to room sized sculptures, reconciling spatial thoughts like gesture and materiality with abstractions like gender and domesticity. Her works were featured in museums and institutions in NY and Israel, including solo shows at M23 Gallery, NY, The Museum of Israeli Art, Israel and group shows at False Flag, NY and the LeRoy Neiman Center, NY.
Marcelo Arroyave
Marcelo Arroyave is a sociologist and urban anthropologist who has conducted quantitative and qualitative research in Colombia and the US. Since moving to NYC in 2014, he has worked in various urban settings as an after-school teacher, consecutive translator, marketing researcher, and community outreach specialist. Marcelo is also a creator, editor, and producer of fanzines and magazines. He was the founder and publisher of the MusaEnferma fanzine in Cali, Colombia (five editions). He also created Sursystem Magazine, which has eight editions so far. He published the magazine in Cali (3 editions), Bogotá (2 editions), Barcelona (2 editions in Catalan and Spanish), and NYC (1 edition in English and Spanish). The latest edition is The Sound Map of Salsa Music in NYC. Marcelo enjoys dancing to Salsa music and giving lectures whenever possible.
Nadia Bongo
Nadia Bongo is a teaching artist and translator with a PhD in French Language and Literature from Aix Marseille Université. She has earned a Brooklyn Poets Fellowship and a Boston Writers of Color’s grant. Her writing has appeared in The Citron Review, Litro Magazine online, African Voices, TAOS journal of poetry, Apex magazine, and elsewhere. With Dylan Castagnette, Nadia co-directed a short film with the support of the University Open Air, a program of Brooklyn Public Library.
Chia-Lun Chang
Chia-Lun Chang is the author of Prescribee (2022), winner of the Nightboat Poetry Prize, named among the “Best Poetry of the Last Year” by Ms. Magazine, and honored as a Poets & Writers debut poet and two chapbooks; An Alien Well-Tamed and One Day We Become Whites. Recent work appears in Academy of American Poets, Granta, Bomb, Columbia Journal and Brooklyn Rail. She has received support from the Jerome Foundation, Vermont Studio Center, and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, which awarded her the 2022 Sarah Verdone Writing Award. Born and raised in New Taipei City, Taiwan, she lives in Brooklyn. Learn more at Chialunchang.com.
Liuba Kostanda
Liuba Kostanda is a guide in Subconscious Empowerment, an Emotional Intelligence mentor, a Meditation and Breathwork Trainer, a Memory Regression Therapist, and an Energy Healer. With a strong commitment to understanding and balancing the subconscious mind and the subtle energy systems that shape our bodies, minds, and surroundings, Liuba's expertise fosters personal growth and overall well-being.
Liuba began her journey in this field over three years ago, during which she has not only advanced professionally but also undergone a transformative personal journey, absorbing wisdom from highly respected mentors across the globe. Her mastery spans various cultures, enriched by a decade of living in countries such as Ukraine, China, Mexico, Bangladesh, and the USA.
Liuba's diverse scientific educational background includes 2 Master's degrees in Applied Physics and Chinese language & culture, which bring a multifaceted perspective to her holistic approach. Using her unique combination of innate gifts, knowledge, and life experiences allows her to serve individuals who truly desire meaningful transformation.
Matteo Liberatore
Matteo Liberatore is an artist and composer working in experimental music and video art. Now based in Brooklyn, Liberatore spent much of his life in the medieval region of Abruzzo, Italy, amidst dramatic landscapes that are reflected through a performance and composition style of “unsettling beauty” and “striking physicality” (The New York City Jazz Record).
Matteo is currently focused on a solo audio/visual project called Molto Ohm, which is a sonic exploration of the interplay between digital life and social decay on an emotional level; ongoing collaborations include a duo with Amirtha Kidambi (vocals) creating “interdimensional” (The Quietus) improvised aural landscapes that are at once spacious and unrestrained, as heard on their debut album Neutral Love (Astral Spirits); a duo with Brian Chase, playing in the art-rock band Gold Dime, and a trio with Donald McKenzkie and Mark Kelley. He is also an active member of New York’s improv scene, having released albums with Ava Mendoza, Joanna Mattrey, gabby fluke-mogul, Elliott Sharp, Weasel Walter and Catherine Sikora.
During his formative years, Liberatore studied classical guitar under Maestro Marco Salcito at Conservatorio di Foggia, philosophy at the University of L’Aquila, and obtained his M.M. in Jazz Performance at NYU.
Dr. Chok Tenzin Monlam
Dr. Chok Tenzin Monlam has dedicated his career to the continuance of Tibetan Buddhist culture and language in modern society. Ordained by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, he studied and practiced as a Tibetan monk for ten years. Having advanced his studies through institutions for two decades, Dr. Chok has obtained multiple degrees in Buddhist and Tibetan studies, including his PhD from the University of Delhi. He has studied and trained for decades in Buddhist studies, Tibetan yoga, healing, and meditation under the direction of many renowned Tibetan teachers of the major and minor Tibetan Buddhist traditions. An author, translator, and language instructor, Dr. Chok served as the Head of the Research and Translation Department at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala for thirteen years before relocating to the United States in 2019. Dr. Chok has taught prolifically in India, the United States, and over a dozen other countries, offering diverse and inclusive teaching series on meditation, Tibetan yoga, healing, Buddhist philosophy, and Tibetan language.
Adrian is Hungry
Adrian Patino aka. Adrian is Hungry has been collecting and sharing vintage afro-rooted music for the past 6 years in New York City. He specializes in ropical sounds from Colombia, New York, the Antilles, Venezuela, Peru, Africa, and more with an emphasis on danceable tunes that hit a nostalgia chord that bring you back to dancing at a family party.
A traveler and cultural anthropologist at heart, he’s been exploring and rediscovering his cultural identity through music research and curation, creating spaces in his community to bring these sounds into the NYC nightlife.
Mia Shah-Dand
Mia Shah-Dand is the founder of Lighthouse3, a California-based consultancy that focuses on responsible AI and governance. She is known for her work in promoting diversity and responsible AI practices. Mia excels at leading large cross-functional programs, managing multi-disciplinary stakeholder teams, and advising global organizations on responsible development and deployment of AI systems. She is actively involved in addressing issues such as bias, fairness, transparency, and accountability in AI. Mia is also the founder of Women in AI ethics and frequently speaks at conferences on the issues of diversity and ethics in AI. She has hosted 100+ workshops and events to make AI and emerging technology education accessible to everyone. Mia is on the Selection Committee for Anita Borg ABIE Social Impact award committee and Advisory Board for Carnegie Council’s Artificial Intelligence & Equality Initiative. Her work has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, Politico, and Venture Beat. Her pronouns are she/her.
Dream Unfinished
The Dream Unfinished is an activist orchestra. Its mission is to use classical music as a platform to engage audiences in dialogues surrounding social and racial justice. Since 2015, The Dream Unfinished has staged performances throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens, and partnered with organizations such as the Center for Constitutional Rights, Black Women's Blueprint, African American Policy Forum, New Sanctuary Coalition, and others. Past seasons have centered on police brutality, the #SayHerName movement, the school to prison pipeline, the current immigration crisis, and environmental justice, and the 2020 season will be centered on voting rights. The Dream Unfinished has people of color in the orchestra, in the music, behind the scenes, and in the audiences. We are an orchestra that looks and sounds like New York City, and through music, explores pressing issues which are affecting our communities.
Julia Adams
Julia Adams is a Life Coach at the NGO, Academy of Public Health and an educator at a private museum. She is also an expert in tea cultures, skilled in the subject of Chinese Tea Ceremony and Traditional Chinese Culture, especially Tang Dynasty's culture etc. Prior to relocating to New York from Shanghai, Julia was a news anchor and hosted citywide events; she then became an HR director and often hosted nationwide conferences on HR-related topics. Julia is also a zither player, certified by Shanghai Conservatory of Music.