Sivan Battat is a theatre director & cultural organizer. Recent credits include: Empty Ride by Keiko Green (The Old Globe), In the Amazon Warehouse Parking Lot by Sarah Mantell (Playwrights Horizons), Problems Between Sisters by Julia May Jonas (Studio Theatre), Wish You Were Here by Sanaz Toossi (Yale Repertory Theatre), and Layalina by Martin Yousif Zebari (Goodman Theatre). Sivan was first connected to playwright Zebari through NQT and is profoundly grateful for NQT’s support early in their career, opening many doors. Sivan also works with Noor Theatre Company, dedicated to supporting the work of artists of Middle Eastern and North African descent. Fellowships include: Roundabout, Drama League, TCG Rising Leaders of Color. sivanbattat.com

Ty Defoe is an Ojibwe and Oneida performance artist, activist, and writer living in New York.

Ann James (Intimacy/Sensitivity Specialist) made her debut as the first Black Intimacy Coordinator on Broadway for PASS OVER. Broadway credits include: RAGTIME, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, SUNSET BOULEVARD, A WONDERFUL WORLD, EUREKA DAY, SH*T. MEET. FAN., JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN, THE OUTSIDERS, LEMPICKA, ILLINOISE, HAMILTON, PARADE, SWEENEY TODD, HEART OF ROCK AND ROLL, JELLY'S LAST JAM. Off-Broadway: WORKING GIRL, ANTIQUITIES, THREE SUMMERS OF LINCOLN, THE GREAT PRIVATION, VELOUR! A DRAG SPECTACULAR!, CATS THE JELLICLE BALL, THE HIPPEST TRIP, SUNSET BABY, HUNTER S. THOMPSON MUSICAL, ORLANDO, JONAH, WHITE GIRL IN DANGER, HOW TO DEFEND YOURSELF, THE COMEUPPANCE, EVANSTON SALT COSTS CLIMBING, MY BROKEN LANGUAGE, THE HALF-GOD OF RAINFALL, HERE THERE ARE BLUEBERRIES, LIFE AND TRUST, THE LONELY FEW. Tours: STEREOPHONIC, PARADE, HERE THERE ARE BLUEBERRIES, HAMILTON Worldwide. James’ company, Intimacy Coordinators of Color was awarded a 2024 Special Citation from the OBIE Awards and The American Theatre Wing. James recently launched Ann James and Associates for Certified Sensitivity Specialists as well as other valued artistic and corporate partnerships.

Originally immigrated from Kharkiv, Ukraine to Chicago. Sashko holds a Bachelors and a Masters in Fine Arts in Acting. They are based in New York City having performed Off Broadway, at regional theatres, and overseas. Their collaborative short film “The Fisherman and The Fish” is currently being shown at international film festivals. They are also the Community Manager of North America for Klych, an organization focused on pro Ukrainian cultural projects. Recently you could have seen Sashko hosting and performing at concerts raising funds for humanitarian aid at events like SXSW and Eurovision. Slava Ukrayini.

Winter is an award-winning playwright who makes and champions art to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. She is a founding member of the Obie-winning 13P. Produced nationally, When Monica Met Hillary, No One is Forgotten, Colored, In Darfur, and The Penetration Play are published by Samuel French. They wrote the libretto for the opera of her play NOIF. In Darfur premiered in a sold-out run at The Public Theater, followed by an SRO performance at Central Park’s 1800-seat Delacorte, a first for a play by a woman. Winter traveled to the Sudan border with NYT columnist Nicholas Kristof. Winter is a NYFA awardee, with fellowships at Sundance, Djerassi, Bogliasco, Cherry Lane Mentor Project, Hedgebrook, Blue Mountain Center, Space at Ryder, The Playwrights Center, Civilians R&D, NNPN, New Georges, and a Nancy Dean Lesbian Playwriting Prize. A former journalist, Winter wrote 90+ articles for The New York Times, and is profiled in The New Yorker, Bomb, New York Magazine, and on NPR. Eartha Kitt once held her left hand for five minutes. Photo by Laura Bianchi

Originally from Brooklyn and of Puerto Rican descent. From 2001 - 2005 I attended Oberlin College and studied Latin American Studies with a concentration on Literature and Fine Arts. An Andrew Mellon fellowship enabled me to research queer Latinx writers in exile, which brought me to Spain in 2004, where I facilitated workshops and conferences with COLEGAS, a national LGBTQ+ Organization. Returning to New York, I worked in arts non-profit management before moving to Argentina in 2008, where I taught ESL and provided writing support for local and international artists. After several years in Buenos Aires, I returned to New York and worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as the Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, where I curated my first art exhibit and was involved with community outreach and audience engagement. In 2015 began working at El Museo del Barrio where I served as the Manager of Public Programs and Engagement. In this role I sourced Latinx/Latin American artists and scholars to create a robust series of public programs that engaged the community. I was the Manager of Cultural Programs at The LGBT Community Center, where I curated our arts and culture exhibits and cultural events along with our family programming. I currently serve as the Director of Public Programs and Community Engagement at Socrates Sculpture Park. I believe that the arts are an agent for change and that through art, people of all backgrounds can understand/view their history and re-contextualize it. I have independently curated exhibits/events that address inclusion/representation for the Hispanic Federation’s Fuerzafest, for the Leslie Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, and at The Center. I served as an Artist Commissioner for the 2019- 2020 Queens Council on the Arts Artist Commissioning Program, a juror for Flushing Town Hall’s General Operating Grant and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Creative Engagement Grant. I formerly served on the Board of Directors for Teatro Círculo, the Gay Latino Collective, and currently on the board for the Clemente Soto Velez Center in NYC as well as the award winning podcast Making Gay History with Eric Marcus.

ANDREA PRESTINARIO is a queer award-winning performer, creative producer, and the creator of Ring of Keys, a non-profit artist service organization amplifying queer women, trans, and nonbinary artists in musical theatre.

As a performer over the last 25 years, she has worked extensively throughout the country, notably with NYTW, Paramount Theatre, Marriott Theatre, Lyric Opera Chicago, Gulfshore Playhouse, Writers’ Theatre, York Theatre, and more. Favorite roles include Alison in Fun Home (Studio Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage), Beverley Bass in Come From Away (Paramount Theatre), Eliza in My Fair Lady (Asolo Rep); Maureen in RENT (Paramount Theatre), Martha in 1776 (ACT-San Francisco), and Louise in Gypsy (Drury Lane Oakbrook). She received a Jeff Award for her work as Violet in Side Show (Boho Theatre).  TV: “Succession” (HBO), “Law & Order” (NBC), and “The Equalizer” (CBS).

She created and produces Ring of Keys’ signature programming, the Queering the Canon Concert series and as a record producer, launched Ring of Keys Records with the album Queering the Canon: Live at Joe’s Pub. She created her solo show, sMOkeyTOWN: The Songs of Smokey Robinson, which played throughout New York and Chicago. As an independent producer, she is incubating several projects in development.

A graduate of Ball State University and The School at Steppenwolf, she is a proud Artist Ambassador for the NYCLU. In addition to the Advisory Board for National Queer Theater, Andrea serves on the Alumni Council for Ball State University’s Department of Theatre & Dance and as the Board President for Ring of Keys. She is a member of the League of Professional Theater Women. In 2025, Andrea was recognized on the “Women To Watch on Broadway” list by the Broadway Women’s Fund.

Blair Russell is a Tony nominated producer, developer, supporter, and lover of theatre and live performance whose experience ranges from fringe festivals to Broadway shows. His most recent projects include the hit concept album of EPIC: The Musical by Jorge Rivera-Herrans, the 12-time Tony-nominated Slave Play by Jeremy O. Harris, Lizard Boy by Justin Huertas, and the concept recording of the new musical For Tonight by Shenelle Salcido and Spencer Williams.

Alexander Santiago-Jirau (he/him) is a seasoned nonprofit leader and educator with over two decades of experience at the intersection of arts, education, and community engagement. He currently serves as Executive Director of Opening Act, a New York City–based nonprofit that provides free, high-quality theater programs to students in under-resourced public schools, centering youth voices and fostering creativity, confidence, and leadership. Previously, Alex was Director of Education and Community Engagement at New York Theatre Workshop, where he developed inclusive programming and partnerships that expanded access to theater across the city. A Theatre of the Oppressed practitioner, Alex brings a deep commitment to equity and participatory practice, and has worked extensively with queer youth and immigrant communities. He has also held leadership roles within the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable, where he served as Vice Chair. In addition to his nonprofit leadership, Alex currently teaches Theatre of the Oppressed courses at New York University, where he mentors the next generation of theater educators and artists. He holds a B.S. in Urban and Regional Studies from Cornell University and an M.A. in Educational Theatre from New York University.

Kit is a writer for stage and screen and a recipient of the Kleban Prize, Helen Merrill Playwriting Award, The Vivace Award, ASCAP Harold Adamson Lyric Award, and Jonathan Larson Grant. Along with his writing partner Melissa Li, they have sold a feature film to Disney Channel, and have several tv and film projects in development including an original drama with Archer Gray. Kit is a member of the WGA and alumni of the 2025 Blacklist x WIF episodic lab. Kit’s plays have been produced by Lincoln Center, the American Repertory Theater, East West Players, Weston Playhouse, Keen Company, and New York Repertory Theater. His work has also been commissioned or developed by MCC, Playwrights Horizons, NAMT, The Playwright’s Center, Musical Theater Factory, and the Kennedy Center among many others.