AIMON ALI | FASHION
With a dynamic background spanning fashion entrepreneurship, runway show production, content creator, and creative direction, Aimon has transitioned her expertise from Toronto, Canada, to establish her base in Cleveland, Ohio. With over a decade of experience in the Canadian fashion scene, she has orchestrated successful events in major cities including Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and Vancouver.
Driven by her passion for inclusivity and diversity, Aimon is committed to cultivating a community that embraces and celebrates the myriad perspectives of creatives from all walks of life. Through her creative agency, Fashion Talks, she endeavors to unite the fashion communities of Cleveland and New York, fostering connections that empower and elevate the industry. Alongside her non-profit venture, the FT Foundation, she seeks to create meaningful impact, bridging gaps and enriching the fashion landscape with her collaborative initiatives on a national scale.
HEATHER BHANDARI | MARKETING/BRANDING
Heather Bhandari (she/her) is the Co-Founder of CreativeStudy: an online business and financial health education platform for creatives. She is also an independent curator and writer; a co-founder of the project-based curatorial team and podcast, The Remix; a trustee of Art Omi; an adjunct lecturer at Brown University where she teaches professional practice to artists; and a frequent guest speaker across the country. The 2nd edition of her book, ART/WORK, was published by Simon and Schuster in 2017.
From 2000 to 2016 Heather was a director of Mixed Greens gallery where she curated over 100 exhibitions while managing a roster of nearly two-dozen emerging to mid-career artists. Most recently, she was the Director of Exhibitions at Smack Mellon. Heather received a B.A. from Brown University and an M.F.A. from Pennsylvania State University. Her career began at contemporary galleries Sonnabend and Lehmann Maupin, both in New York City.
ANANYA CHATTERJEA | DANCE
Ananya Chatterjea‘s work as choreographer, dancer, and thinker brings together Contemporary Dance, social justice choreography, and a commitment to healing justice. She is the Artistic Director of Ananya Dance Theatre (ADT), a professional ensemble company of Black and brown artists dancing social justice choreography. She is the creator of ADT’s movement signature vocabulary, Yorchhā, and the primary architect of the company’s justice- and community-oriented choreographic methodology, Shawngrām. She is also the convener of the company’s NextGen ChoreoLab program, which supports emerging BIPOC choreographers working in non-mainstream aesthetics. ADT will mark its 20th anniversary in 2025.
Ananya is a 2011 Guggenheim Choreography Fellow, a 2012 and 2021 McKnight Choreography Fellow, a 2016 Joyce Award recipient, a 2018 UBW Choreographic Center Fellow, a 2019 Dance/USA Artist Fellow and the 2021 A. P. Andersen Award. Her work has toured widely to international and national venues. She is currently creating Antaranga, Between You and Me, a piece exploring intimacies across difference, with the support of an NPN Creation Fund grant. Antaranga will premiere in September 2024, and tour to 5 cities thereafter.
As Professor of Dance at the University of Minnesota, Ananya teaches courses in Dance Studies, contemporary practice, and Choreographing Social Justice. Her second book, Heat and Alterity in Contemporary Dance: South-South Choreographies (2020, Palgrave McMillan), re-framing understandings of Contemporary Dance from the perspective of dance-makers from global south locations, was awarded the 2022 Brockett Book Prize by Dance Studies Association. Her most recent book, an edited anthology, Dancing Transnational Feminisms: Ananya Dance Theatre and the Art of Social Justice, was published by University of Washington Press in 2022.
GINA DESANTIS | ART
Gina DeSantis is the lead creator behind her brand Gina DeSantis Ceramics. Gina has worked with clay since 1999 but founded her business in 2013. She began her ceramic studies at her local community college and by 2006 earned her MFA from Kent State University. You may have seen her work in Uncommon Goods, Anthropologie, McGee & Co, Shoppe Amber Interiors and the Sundance catalog as well as over 400 retailers around the country.
Gina and her team work out of an old automobile factory in Lakewood, Ohio (just west of Cleveland). All work is designed and thrown by Gina. Her team helps in many aspects of the work including trimming, handling mugs, glaze development, glazing pots, firing work and working on hand built items. The entire team is hands on in the process so she can proudly state her work is made in the USA. The crater collection is the only line not created in the studio. Gina works closely with a trusted manufacturer in Hong Kong to create this line of porcelain vases. Then each vase is hand glazed in her studio.
JERRILYN DUCKWORTH | THEATRE
Jerrilyn Duckworth is a multi-hyphenate creative (costume, hair, and makeup design) in the theatrical space. Bridging the Gap was founded in 2019. In the Fall of 2020, Jerrilyn was appointed Vice-Chair of Hair and Makeup for the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT). She held the post until 2023. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Costume Design and Production from The University of Alabama. She also has a Bachelor of Arts degree in general theatre from The University of Southern Mississippi. Jerrilyn’s designs have been on the stage at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, People's Light, Coastal Carolina University, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Ensemble Theatre in Cincinnati, Oklahoma Shakespearean Festival, Indiana University, Illinois State University and Millbrook Playhouse. Jerrilyn continues her Bridging the Gap work. She travels to various universities to provide seminars about hair & makeup issues that plague BIPOC students and performers in the theatre industry. Bridging the Gap dives into the history of hair & makeup, wig prep on natural hair textures, correct language, products and practical applications that would set any performer or creative artist up for success. The goal is to create an inclusive environment for all performers. Through her work, Jerrilyn has given over 300 workshops with attendance exceeding 3,500 people.
BRYAN HELSEL | MUSIC
Bryan Helsel is Lecturer of Recording Arts at Youngstown State University, where he teaches courses in music technology, DAW lessons, operates the studio and administers the program of students including assisting senior projects and supervising recording internships. He earned his Ph.D. in Music Education from Kent State University, which featured additional emphasis on choral conducting and curriculum design. His research interests include music ensemble travel, music technology, and music literacy. His case study on ensemble tourism was published in the journal Excellence in Performing Arts Research, and he has been published multiple times in the PMEA Journal. He also holds a Master’s degree in piano performance from Duquesne university and bachelor degrees in music education and piano performance from Westminster College. He studied piano under David Allen Wehr and Dr. Nancy Zipay DeSalvo. Conducting teachers have included Dr. Scott MacPherson, Dr. Jerry Blackstone, Dr. James Jordan, Dr. Rollo Dilworth, and Dr. Paul Rardin.
Before joining the YSU faculty, Helsel taught music in Pennsylvania public schools for 26 years, serving as choir director at Butler Area Senior High School for 24 years, where he also taught piano, music theory and guitar, and created new curricula for courses such as recording and songwriting. Under his direction, choirs have received superior ratings at assessments and have been invited twice to perform at the Pennsylvania state conference. He was a quarterfinalist in the nominee process for the Grammy Award for music education. Additionally, he served two terms as music department chair for the district. Active in the arts in Western Pennsylvania, Dr. Helsel plays piano in the Butler Symphony Orchestra, organ at various churches, played trumpet in chamber settings and large ensembles, and he can be found playing recitals locally or playing jazz and pop music at Pittsburgh area venues and private functions. He is listed in “Who’s Who among America’s Educators” as well as “Who’s Who in America.” His professional affiliations include PMEA (Pennsylvania Music Educators’ Association), NAfME (National Association of Music Educators), TI:ME (Technology Institute of Music Education), ACDA (American Choral Directors’ Association), and AES (Audio Engineering Society).
Helsel has composed several choral works and has released albums of his own contemporary music. He has appeared on public radio as a pianist, most recently on NPR’s From the Top (May, 2023). He has been the conductor for the community choir of Butler County, and he is in demand as accompanist and guest conductor at county and District festivals, most recently in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina. He has presented research and rehearsal strategies at state conferences in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and frequently presents on rehearsal strategies and music technology. He has appeared as guest artist in concertos with Regional Symphonies and bands playing selections such as Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, Concerto in F, I Got Rhythm Variations and Saint-Seans’ Carnival of the Animals. As a pianist and singer, Helsel has shared the stage with the likes of Shirley Jones and Garrison Keillor. Aside from teaching, performing and conducting, he owns and operates Helsel Music, a full production recording studio. He resides in Butler, Pennsylvania with his wife Heather and children, Colin and Elyse.
JESS WILLIAMS | GAME DESIGN
Jess Williams is a professional 2D/3D motion graphics artist, designer and art director with 20+ years industry experience in Chicago and Cleveland. She has designed graphics for national broadcast, sports, entertainment, digital channels, television shows and films working with clients such as: Disney, Netflix, Warner Brothers, SC Johnson, Amazon, the Cleveland Indians, TLC channel, Cricket Wireless and as Art Director of the second largest creative studio in the world at American Greetings.
Williams is currently working with companies and start-ups to create stunning explainer videos, logo intros/outros, social media content and product videos to tell their stories. She loves that she can go back and forth between the 3D world and the 2D world and integrate video content to help make extraordinary videos. Williams is highly skilled at helping companies decide on their best approach to reach their audience, designing visuals to tell their story, adding sound fx and music to make the video come to life.