Adam Odsess Rubin - Founding Artistic Director

Adam Odsess-Rubin is the Founding Artistic Director of National Queer Theater (NQT) and Co-Founder of the acclaimed Criminal Queerness Festival, showcasing censored and criminalized LGBTQ+ artists from around the world. He directs community-based theater programs such as Write it Out! for playwrights living with HIV, New Visions Fellowship for Black trans artists, DREAMing Out Loud for LGBTQ undocumented youth, and Youth Write Now for young queer playwrights. Last year, he was a founding Teaching Artist for Rainbow Connection, an intergenerational theater program for queer teens and elders in Fire Island. In 2023, he will launch Staging Pride: Queer Youth Theater, a free afterschool theater program for marginalized LGBTQ+ youth in New York City at The Center. At National Queer Theater, Odsess-Rubin has presented work with Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York Theatre Workshop, NYC Pride, MCC Theater, and The Lark. Through NQT, he has raised over $250,000 for queer and trans artists since 2018, and has received praise for his work in The Advocate, The New York Times, American Theater Magazine, The Brooklyn Rail, and Time Out New York. Odsess-Rubin is a Teaching Artist and former Education Associate at New York Theatre Workshop, and served as the first Education and Community Programs Fellow at American Conservatory Theatre. Odsess-Rubin has published work in Howlround and The Teaching Artist Journal on queer theater education, and is a 2020 Mayor's Grant for Cultural Impact awardee. BA: UC Santa Cruz MA: New York University.

yoshi kuroi - Business Manager

yoshi (they/them) is a genderqueer British-Canadian arts administrator who immigrated to the United States for the majority of their education. They grew up and worked primarily in California with various companies including San Francisco Shakespeare in the Park, City Lights Theater Company, and Disneyland. They graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with concentrations in theatre and literature. They’ve been working professionally in the NYC theatre community since 2010, most notably as the Managing Director of the New York Neo-Futurists and as General Manager for FRIGID New York. They were awarded Fractured Atlas’ 2016 Unsung Heroes of Arts Administration for their work with the New York Neo-Futurists. They began work as National Queer Theater’s Business Manager in 2022 and are thrilled to continue to serve artists in a positive and collaborative culture.

Begum "Begsy" Inal - Artistic Engagement Intern

Begum "Begsy" Inal (they/she) is a gender non-conforming theater artist born and raised in Turkey. Begsy is currently studying Dramaturgy at Columbia University. She graduated with a theater degree from UC Santa Cruz where she wrote and directed the production of her play “Coup-ed Up”. Begsy has been bringing their perspective and lived experiences into many different sides of theater such as stage, props and costume designing to directing, writing and dramaturging performance arts pieces.  Begsy is delighted to be the Artistic Engagement Intern at National Queer Theater, and is excited to be working on development centered with and around marginalized voices and stories. They’ve recently helped coordinate artistic engagement for NQT’s Jubilee for a New Vision, and have assessed and chosen the plays that will be showcased at the upcoming Criminal Queerness Festival.

Andrew Taw - Grant Writer

Andrew (he/him) has helped grow organizations from a wide variety of fields like mental health, vocational rehabilitation, education, climate change, and the arts. Over the past four years in the field, he has won over $100 million so nonprofits can launch new programs and deepen existing ones that empower individuals and families with the lowest resources. He has a passion for innovative solutions for social impact so he’s thrilled to work with National Queer Theater. Beyond his work, he spends much of his time rock climbing, reading/writing poetry, hiking/backpacking, and cooking. He has a BA in Literature from UC Davis and an MFA in Creative Writing from Saint Mary’s College.

Dr. Durell Cooper - EDI and Anti-Racism Consultant

Dr. Durell Cooper is one the nation's leading cultural strategists and is the Founder and CEO of Cultural Innovation Group; a boutique consulting agency specializing in systems change and collaborative thought leadership. He is also the creator and host of the web series, Flow and the Podcast Fluency. He is also an adjunct instructor at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, New York University,  and The City College of New York. Durell graduated from the Impact Program for Arts Leaders (IPAL) at Stanford University in 2018. He is a member of the Diversity Scholars Network at the National Center for Institutional Diversity, University of Michigan. He earned a B.F.A from Southern Methodist University, and both a M.A & Doctorate of Education from New York University.