De’Avin Mitchell (They/Them) is from Louisville, Kentucky, and is currently a Ph.D. student in the Arts Administration, Education and Policy program at the Ohio State University (OSU). Throughout their graduate studies, De’Avin has sought to investigate the ways in which the values of equity, diversity, inclusion, access, justice, belonging, and respect manifest within the policies and practices of arts organizations. De’Avin’s doctoral research interrogates the workplace and internal operations of arts organizations to better understand how equity policies and initiatives impact laborers at all levels of an organization.

Along with individual research, De’Avin is a member of a research collective comprised of arts education and policy researchers called Big Gay Church (BGC). With BGC, De’Avin has interrogated contemporary issues impacting LGBTQ+ art educators, students, their allies and accomplices, and the spaces they occupy. De’Avin has also helped organize and moderate an annual panel series at OSU, titled Power and Potentials, that has brought in internationally recognized scholars and arts leaders to discuss community, equity, and justice in the cultural sector. De’Avin received their master’s in arts policy and administration from OSU in 2021. De’Avin received their bachelor's in art education and studio art from the University of Kentucky in 2019.

Angela Chi-Chi Glass (she/her/ella) plays and teaches piano. As the daughter of Peruvian parents, Angela’s creative and academic work is rooted in the conviction that everyone should have access to the arts and a quality and sustained arts education.

Upon graduating from the Virginia Governor’s High School for the Arts in Norfolk, VA Angela was invited to study at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, France, where she trained as a classical pianist for almost two years with the great pedagogue Françoise Thinat. Angela then entered the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, MA, earning her BM in Classical and Jazz studies. Shortly thereafter, Angela was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study Afro-Peruvian music in Lima, Perú.

Angela’s time in Perú was formative and transformative - studying and performing there for almost 5 years. As Angela was welcomed and embraced by teachers, performers, academics, and activists of the Afro-descendant, Indigenous, and LGBTQ communities, she started to look outwards and began volunteering with the Peruvian NGOs ASONEDH, Teatro del Milenio, Las Respondonas, and La Voz del Cajón. As a result, Angela began working toward finding solutions to the problem of lack of diversity in the arts back home in the U.S.

Angela now lives in Sunset Park Brooklyn, NY where she founded and runs a private music studio, drawing upon her experience of exchanging cultural ideas in Spanish. She is a graduate student of Arts Administration at the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences, Baruch College (CUNY).

View Angela's final presentation here.

Originally hailing from Orlando, FL, Jaime Sharp (she/her) is "a mezzo-soprano whose artistry, administration, and activism is rooted in accessibility and change" (Garrett McQueen, TRILLOQUY). She currently resides in Cincinnati on the stolen territories of the Delaware, Miami and Shawnee tribes. She is passionate about advocating for artists of all identities and creating an environment where everyone can thrive. Jaime was selected for the Opera Leaders of Color inaugural cohort with OPERA America. She is also the President and General Director of Opera NexGen, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Hear Us, Hear Them Ensemble, Administrative Manager of the Black Opera Alliance, and Marketing Intern with Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.Jaime is pursuing her MM in Voice at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). She is the Vice President of the Graduate Student Association, Treasurer of the Black Student Association, Student Liaison for the DEI Committee and the Marketing and Communications Graduate Assistant.

She is a member of the CSO Multicultural Awareness Council, Women of Color in the Arts, NANM, Arts Administrators of Color, Black Administrators of Opera, BIPOC Arts, the Racial Justice Opera Network. Jaime holds a BM from the University of Michigan and is working on graduate certificates in arts administration with Boston University and the University of Connecticut.

Trés McMichael is an emerging arts leader and performer who is passionate about community engagement, arts education, and social justice. Trés is an alumnus of Elon University, where he graduated with degrees in Music Theatre (BFA) and Arts Administration (BA). While at Elon, Trés toured Ghana with the Africa Alive Dance Company and conducted research on perceived partner availability for emerging adult Black gay men. He has worked with various nonprofit and arts organizations such as Arena Stage, Maryland Leadership Workshops, and the NAACP. In 2018, Trés was awarded first place in the Hall Johnson Spirituals Competition by the National Association of Teachers of Singing. He currently serves as the Education Programs Manager at the DC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative. Over the years, Trés has been featured in the Baltimore Sun, Playbill, and Time Magazine and has performed on the stages of Mill Mountain Theatre, Theatre Raleigh, Lyric Opera Baltimore, Signature Theater, and Lincoln Center. Through his work, Trés strives to make the arts sector more inclusive and equitable for all.

India Mack is an arts administrator, educator, activist, and creative from New Orleans, Louisiana. She is the co-founder of No Dream Deferred NOLA, a community-anchored theater production company that produces culturally relevant theater. As the creative director of NDD, India designs and implements all educational programs. In addition to her role in educational programming, she is an Equity and Justice for Institutional Change Facilitator. EJIC is a program of NDD that provides tools, resources, and training to organizations looking to cultivate meaningful shifts within their organizational culture and EDI analysis.