Alisha Vasquez Tasha Abourezk—Community Voice Tasha Abourezk is Mandan/Hidatsa and a member of the Three Affiliated Tribes. She grew up in National Parks in North Dakota and Montana. She was raised around sewers and quilters, and started sewing at age 8. She credits her grandmothers for inspiring her love of sewing and quilting, and her mom for … Read more
Bryan Jenkins—Community Voice Bryan M. Jenkins, Ph.D. is a 2022 graduate of the Communication, Culture and Media Studiesprogram at Howard University. His research explores how marginalized groups utilize the digitalspace as a tool to educate and empower one another. His dissertation investigates Blackpodcasts as a critical educational tool for Black communities that continues the traditions … Read more
Holly Doll—Community Voice Holly Doll, Anpao Win (First Light Woman) (she/her) lives in Bismarck, North Dakota and is a citizen of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. First and foremost, Holly is an artist. She specializes in traditional Lakota forms of beadwork and quillwork, which her mother started to teach her when she was just 2 … Read more
Peter Strong—Community Connector Peter is the director and co-founder of Racing Magpie, a Native arts hub located in mniluzahan (Rapid City, South Dakota), where he is dedicated to supporting Native artists, arts, culture, and communities through creativity and being a good relative. He has held leadership positions at The Heritage Center at Red Cloud Indian … Read more
Tom Farris—Community Voice Tom Farris has been immersed in American Indian art his entire life. The child of passionate collectors, Farris spent a good deal of his formative years in various museums, galleries and artists’ homes. Having such intimate contact with the genre, Tom found inspiration for his own growing artistic aptitude. A member of … Read more
Valerie Mendoza—Community Voice Valerie M. Mendoza received her Ph.D. in History from the University of California, Berkeley.She works in the public humanities where her research focuses on the history of the Latinxcommunity in Kansas and the Midwest. For the last two years she has served as co-host of theBig Idea, a monthly discussion sponsored by … Read more
Claudio Mir—Community Voice Claudio Mir received a Professional Actor Degree from La Escuela Nacional de Arte Dramatico, Palacio de Bellas Artes, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He studied theater direction at the International School of Latin American and Caribbean Theater (EITALC) in Bologna, Italy, and Havana, Cuba. Mir received his bachelor degree in Fine Arts from Mason … Read more
Omar Santiago Fuentes—Community Voice Desde muy joven conoció muchas expresiones musicales que le generaron gran interés por lamúsica, la palabra y la tradición de la trova. Se inició temprano en los Concursos de Trovadoresen la isla de Puerto Rico donde logró con éxito obtener decenas de galardones a nivel nacional.Como improvisador de versos se especializa … Read more
Pedro Adorno Irizarry—Community Connector Pedro Adorno Irizarry is founder and artistic director of Agua, Sol y Sereno (ASYS). He is a film and theater director, actor, plastic artist and cultural manager. He began his career in the eighties with the group Los Teatreros Ambulantes de Cayey, directed by the renowned theater artist Rosa Luisa Márquez … Read more
Dorimar Ferrer—Community Voice Dorimar Ferrer is a Latinx actress and theatre administrator from Bayamón, Puerto Rico. She came to Memphis 14 years ago and holds a Bachelors in Professional Studies with a Concentration on Theater and Nonprofit Management from University of Memphis. She was selected as a 40 Under 40 class of 2021 leaders and … Read more