October 2023 | Alliance Theatre

ALLIANCE THEATRE PODCAST: AN EXPLORATION OF THEATER AND THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE IT HAPPEN.

On this episode of the Alliance Theatre Podcast we chat with playwright and director Mark Valdez about Into the Burrow, grief, joy, and the many natural blessings we get to share with one another.

Mark Valdez (Director/Writer) is the artistic director of Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis, where he partners with communities, organizations, civic institutions, and others, using theater and creative tools to address community needs and lift community voices and stories. His work has been seen at the Alliance Theatre, Cornerstone Theater Company, East West Players, La Peña Cultural Center, Mixed Blood, the Ricardo Montalban Theater/CTG, and Trinity Rep, among others. Recent projects include the animated short film The Curious Cardinal, Detained by France-Luce Benson, and The Most Beautiful Home…Maybe, an interactive performance about affordable housing that toured the U.S. With Mixed Blood, he commissioned 12 artists to create new performances with/for 12 Twin Cities communities. The project, 12×12, culminates in day long festival of all 12 performances. Mark was the founding Executive Director of the Network of Ensemble Theaters, a collective of artists committed to co-creation. He is the recipient of the Johnson Fellowship for Artists Transforming Communities, the Zelda Fichandler Award, and the California Arts Council’s Legacy Artist Fellowship.

Learn more about the Alliance Theatre Podcast.

Open Auditions for The Preacher’s Wife, Sunday, November 5, 2023, at 2:00pm
Seeking Two Black Males, Ages 9 to 13, to play the roles of Jeremiah and Hakeem

The Alliance Theatre is holding an open casting call for its upcoming world premiere musical of The Preacher’s Wife. Inspired by the beloved blockbuster film, The Preacher’s Wife features an original, gospel-infused score by actor, comedian, and writer Tituss Burgess (TV’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) and a book by actress, producer, and writer Azie Dungey (TV’s Harlem). The production will be co-directed by Tony Award winner Michael Arden and Alliance Artistic Director Tinashe Kajese-Bolden.

The Alliance Theatre will hold open auditions for two Black males, ages 9 to 13, to play Jeremiah and Hakeem in its world premiere of the Broadway-aimed production, The Preacher’s Wife, on Sunday, November 5, 2023, at the Alliance Theatre (1280 Peachtree Street, NE) with registration beginning at 2:00pm. All auditions are first come, first served. To pre-register, or if you have questions, email Brant Adams, casting associate, at brant.adams@alliancetheatre.org.

Prepare

Bring a headshot or picture and resume. Come prepared to perform 16 to 32 bars of contemporary musical theatre or a pop song (acapella or from your own devices) that preferably showcases a high belt.

Date & Time

Sunday, November 5, 2023. Registration to begin at 2:00pm (walk-ins are welcome after 3:00pm). Pre-Register by emailing brant.adams@alliancetheatre.org.

Location

Hamacher Movement Studio, 3^rd Floor, 1280 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30309

Production dates

First Rehearsal – 3/26/24
First Preview – 5/11/24
Opening – 5/24/24
Closing – 6/9/24

Learn more about The Preacher’s Wife.

The Alliance Theatre is proud to announce its participation in the Nationwide Reading of ENOUGH! Plays to End Gun Violence on November 6, 2023, in the Selig Family Black Box Theatre. The Alliance will join more than 50 other communities around the United States to perform this year’s winning play selections as art, activism, and teen voices unite on stage in a vital evening of theater addressing gun violence in our community. Admission is free.

ENOUGH! calls on teens to confront gun violence by creating new works of theatre that will spark critical conversations and inspire meaningful action in communities across the country. They received 244 submissions from 36 states this past spring when they called on teens to write 10-minute plays on gun violence. This year’s plays were selected by nationally recognized dramatists Idris Goodwin, Lauren Gunderson, Zora Howard, Samuel D. Hunter, David Henry Hwang, Octavio Solis, and Lloyd Suh.

“These plays provide powerful insight into the perspective of a generation where the threat of gun violence has become ubiquitous with going to school growing up,” says ENOUGH! creator Michael Cotey, “Performing them across the country exactly a year from the next presidential election is an urgent reminder that gun violence remains a vital issue for many young voters coming of age next November.”

The Alliance Theatre’s Teen Ensemble will stage the readings comprised of six new 10-minute plays by teen writers. The plays address the many angles and lenses through which we see gun violence at work in America: in classrooms, in neighborhoods, and in families.

“This year victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting would be applying to colleges across this country, preparing to don their caps and gowns like our Teen Ensemble members. We are reminded of the potential extinguished too soon,” said Alliance Theatre ENOUGH! Director & Allyship Program Director Maya Lawrence. “This initiative stands as a poetic call to action that resonates far beyond the walls of any classroom. Through the emotive medium of theater, we aim to author a new narrative, to foster a safer, more compassionate world where no more lives are lost to gun violence, where every graduate walks the stage, their future unmarred by tragedy.”

All are welcome to attend. Patrons are advised that the subject matter includes discussions – but not graphic depictions – of many forms of gun violence, including school shootings, officer-involved shootings, suicide, and violence against the LGBTQIA+ community.

“In the face of adversity, we find strength; in remembrance, we find purpose,” added Lawrence. “As we remember the names of countless victims across communities, circumstances, time, and space, this is our commitment to creating a future where gun violence is but a distant memory. It is in their honor and memory that we unite, using the power of art, empathy, and action to combat the pervasive issue of gun violence in our society.”

Find more information about the Alliance’s November 6 reading of ENOUGH! Plays to End Gun Violence.

To learn more about ENOUGH! and the Nationwide Reading, visit enoughplays.com/reading. 

As we explore further into the burrow, we get to see how the play uses different art forms such as shadow puppetry to help the audience understand how Peter and friends interact with others outside the burrow.

As the audience enters through the doors leading down to the Hertz Stage, they walk into a Beatrix Potter landscape, with charming cottages in the distance. There are trees, painted and real. One tree leads into an underground lair. This is the world that Ms. Potter’s animals inhabit.

Once we walk “into the burrow,” we are in Peter’s house, which he shares with his siblings, Mopsy, Flopsy, and Cotton-tail. The audience stays in the burrow throughout the whole play, but the animal characters leave the burrow to visit Mr. McGregor’s farm.

Peter and the other rabbits in the story live in the burrow, the main setting for our story. A burrow is a hole dug underground where rabbits can eat and sleep. Peter’s burrow is bright and bold in color and is a place where he can socialize with his dearest friends.

Audience members are invited into the burrow to celebrate Peter’s birthday. How do you think the animals will react to seeing humans in the burrow?

When Peter and his friends visit Mr. McGregor’s Garden, the play uses shadow puppetry to show what is happening to the characters outside of the burrow.

Shadow puppetry is a form of theatrical performance that originated in China and on the Indonesian islands of Java and Bali. This type of puppetry often includes music, singing, and the shadows of puppets cast onto a screen to tell a story. Flat images are manipulated by the puppeteers between a bright light and a translucent screen, on the other side of which sits the audience. The contrast and movement between light and shadow bring the puppet characters to life.

The shadow puppetry in today’s performance was designed by Raymond Carr and has been pre-recorded.

Learn more about Into the Burrow: A Peter Rabbit™ Tale.

With Into the Burrow now on the Hertz Stage and the Beatrix Potter exhibit on display in the High Museum of Art, the spotlight is on the mind behind the never ending creativity that gave us the tales of Peter Rabbit.

Beatrix Potter’s beloved children’s tales have inspired readers for well over a century. The animals and places breathed to life in stories such as The Tale of Peter Rabbit™, The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher, The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, and The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle have stood the test of time. They continue to delight households over bedtime reading and to educate young people in classroom story time.

Potter’s writing is elegant, without being dusty; it’s smart, while still being accessible; her stories are simple and sweet, without being treacly. A craft like this paints characters with extraordinary staying power — a wealth of friends with whom we can grow and learn. Her skill as a writer is only matched by her skill as an illustrator, a talent she first started to hone at the age of eight, while spending summer holidays in Perthshire, Scotland.

A less well-known fact about Beatrix Potter is that she was an ardent conservationist, with a fierce love of nature and animals. Spending summers in Scotland, and later in the mountainous regions of the Lake District, Potter was given an escape to open air natural habitats, away from the somewhat oppressive expectations of a young woman in England’s Victorian Era. She had a variety of pets (which she drew constantly), from mice to hedgehogs, and even a collection of butterflies. She was fascinated by almost all natural sciences and even developed theories (including one on reproduction) that because of her sex and amateur status were rebuked.

An entrepreneur at heart, Potter sketched and painted her own greeting cards to send to friends, while away on holiday. Upon hearing that her former governess’ son was ill, she illustrated a letter in the form of a short story about a rabbit named Peter (inspired by her own pet) and his three siblings, thus launching her career as an illustrator and writer. Gaining independence from the sales of the books that followed, Potter began to buy parcels of land that protected the open fields where sheep grazed as well as woodlands and land that channeled rainfall. She became involved in community planning, resisting developers and restoring and preserving farms. A creative thinker, an entrepreneur, a conservationist. All of these titles that can be attributed to the legacy behind the name Beatrix Potter are ever present in her carefully drawn characters that inspire Into the Burrow: A Peter Rabbit™ Tale.

In today’s production, behind the rally cry of Peter’s “Let’s take back the garden!” you can hear young Potter’s frustration at not being taken seriously by other scientists when she took her findings about lichens to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. When Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle thinks creatively and uses her tap dancing to set off the traps in Mr. McGregor’s garden, you can see Potter as a young woman lifting up friends and family with beautifully illustrated greeting cards. When Mr. Jeremy Fisher screams “Let’s do it for the butterflies!” you can sense Beatrix Potter, the conservationist. Behind all of the characters in her writings, you will have a peak at the real writer and illustrator Beatrix Potter, a woman ahead of her time.

Learn more about Into the Burrow: A Peter Rabbit™ Tale.

ESTABLISHED IN 2016, THE SPELMAN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM BECAME THE FIRST MENTORSHIP PROGRAM OF ITS KIND – ONE DEDICATED TO FOSTERING A RELATIONSHIP WITH HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES.

This paid, part-time fellowship is committed to the singular goal of supporting and investing in the next generation of young black women within the world of arts administration. Through this program both interns and fellows are given the opportunity to gain real-world experience working alongside some of the best in the world of art and theatre.

“The Spelman Leadership Program at the Alliance has been honored to receive exceptional young Black Women who have been instrumental in helping to expand the hearts and minds of our community to forge new pathways of what is possible in the future of this industry.” – Maya Lawrence & Airelle Jacob, Spelman Leadership Supervisors

This season we’ve welcomed three new and dynamic interns. All of whom have thrown themselves into projects that benefit multiple efforts at the Alliance Theatre. Meet our interns below and be sure to follow their work this season at the Alliance Theatre.

	Asili Johnson (she/her) is a dancer, choreographer, and multifaceted creative from Brooklyn, NY. She is currently an Economics and Dance Performance & Choreography double major in her senior year at Spelman College. Asili serves as the Founder and Inaugural President of the Spelman Dance Student Association which is the first of its kind at Spelman. She takes pride in creating quality work in her crafts while staying grounded in who she is as a dance, scholar, and innovator. She is invested in her practice of dancing for healing and clarity through black vernacular dance forms in addition to her training in various dance forms.
	Shaelyn DeVonne Mullins is a fourth year Theatre and Performance Major attending Spelman College, from Snellville, Georgia. She is affiliated with the Spriggs Burroughs Theatre Club on campus, known for shows like Festival of Eccentrics, and Art After Dark. She has always been intrigued by the performing arts and has been performing since then, including singing, dancing and acting. She has also developed a love for creative writing as well, and is interested in working behind the scenes in developing productions.
	Kerrington Griffin is a Graduating Senior at Spelman College majoring in Dance Performance and Choreography and minoring in Music, with a vocal concentration. At Spelman, she’s served as a Peer Assistant Leader, Student Tutor, Spelman Dance Theatre Student Choreographer, Chief of Staff for the Spelman Dance Student Association, Alto Two Section Leader, and Vice President of The Glee Club. She comes from Baton Rouge, Louisiana and is currently dancing the nights away with the WNBA Atlanta Dream. After graduation, she aspires to land in New York and work towards a life on BROADWAY. Griffin is honored to work alongside her fellow Spelman Sisters and excited to join the Alliance Team for this Theatre Season!

Learn more about the Spelman Leadership Program.

The Alliance Theatre is proud to welcome sixteen new members to the Advisory Board.

The Class of 2026 consists of leaders in the nonprofit, government, and professional sectors across Metro Atlanta. They will serve a three-year term as Advisory Board members in support of the Alliance Theatre’s artistic vision and mission.

	Alicia Thompson, APR, is vice president of communications for Randstad US. Alicia has more than 30 years of experience developing and implementing public relations and marketing communications programs for companies and agencies including Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, BellSouth Corporation, The Coca-Cola Company, Edelman, Porter Novelli, Fletcher Martin Ewing and Cohn & Wolfe. She currently serves as a member of the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations Board of Advisors and the College of Charleston Department of Communication Advisory Council. She is a member of the Georgia Chapter of the Public Relations Society, Leadership Atlanta Class of 2008 and National Eagle Leadership Institute.
	Ana Urrego, a Colombian native who moved to the United States at age 7, passionately advocates for community connectedness, children’s rights, and equitable access to the arts. With a BBA in Marketing from Kennesaw State University and a Master’s in Merchandising and International Trade from the University of Georgia, she’s honed her business expertise. Ana is an integral part of her family’s dental practice, GDC Smiles, and co-founded Furdale, a pet supply company catering to small breed dog owners. In 2021, Ana served on Mayor Dickens’ campaign for Mayor of Atlanta as a Latinx Outreach Strategy Lead. Her commitment to community service is evident through past roles, including being a SheSyndicate TechSavvy Program Mentor and Korean American Coalition (KAC) Board Member. Ana’s dedication extends to her role as a Sustainability Ambassador for the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Resilience and her recently completed tenure as Vice President for Hispanic Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs (HYPE). Ana currently serves on the UNICEF NextGen Steering Committee and the AJC ACCESS Board. Her contributions were honored with recognition as one of Georgia’s 50 Most Influential Latinos in 2021 and her recent induction into Outstanding Atlanta, reflecting her invaluable work within the community.
	Brandon P. Fleming is a renowned speaker, nationally acclaimed educator, and author of MISEDUCATED: A Memoir. His triumphant story of struggle, success, and service has captured the heart of national media and inspired millions of people around the world. An at-risk youth and college dropout turned award-winning educator, Fleming is a former debate coach at Harvard University and Founder & CEO of the Veritas School of Social Sciences in Atlanta, GA. In 2017, Fleming was recruited to become Harvard University’s assistant debate coach at the age of 26. Fleming soon made history at Harvard as the founder of the first Black pipeline program called the Harvard Debate Council Diversity Project, which was designed to increase Black enrollment at Harvard’s residential debate program where hundreds of gifted young scholars from over 25 different countries study and compete in an international academic debate competition. As a renowned speaker, Fleming has keynoted for international governmental organizations such as the United Nations. Fleming has spoken at the nation’s most prestigious colleges, universities, K-12 conferences, and the nation’s largest brands such as Walmart, Bank of America, FedEx, the Federal Reserve Bank, and many more. At the age of 29, Forbes Magazine named Fleming to the Forbes 30 under 30 list. In 2020, The Root Magazine named Fleming one of the top 100 most influential African Americans in the United States. And in May 2021, North Carolina Wesleyan College bestowed upon Fleming the honorary Doctor of Humanities degree.
	Emmanuel Glaze is the Founder/CEO of the non profit Optimize The Vizion and the media company OTV Media LLC since 2019.He is the co/host of the Sports Talk Show The Crush Sports Talk since 2014. He has been married to his wife Jennifer for over 25 years and has 2 daughters Nia and Nadiyah. He is a graduate of Morris Brown College with a degree in Mathematics. He lives by the motto “You are confined only by the walls you build yourself.”
	Erica Greenblat is Director of Philanthropic Outreach for the ADL Southern Division, serving as one of the organization’s key philanthropic leaders. Over the course of her nine-year span, she’s held multiple roles at ADL, including Director of Development for the ADL Southeast Region, Director of Community Engagement and Associate Director of Development for the New York Region. In April of 2021, she was honored with the Senn-Greenberg Award, a national ADL award for professional excellence. She previously worked for March of the Living as the Director of Young Leadership, after starting her career in fashion and event planning, working for luxury brands such as Prada and Chloe. Erica has an MPA in Nonprofit Management from the NYU Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service, and a BA in Art History and English from NYU. Erica is an active civic and community leader: she is a volunteer with Big Brother Big Sister, serves as the Volunteer Director for Candler Park Fall Fest, is active with The Temple, and previously served as one of the Planned Parenthood Southeast Roses for Roe Co-Chairs. She also completed a fellowship through the Ruskay Institute for Jewish Professional Leadership in New York. In her spare time, she enjoys taking dance and yoga classes, going to see live music and theater, and traveling to exciting destinations with her husband, Matthew. A life-long musical theater nerd, Erica is ecstatic to bring her energy and experience to the Alliance Theater Advisory Board!
	Jeff Graham is the executive director of Georgia Equality, an organization that works to advance fairness, safety and opportunity for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities throughout Georgia. Jeff began advocating on LGBT and AIDS related issues as a college student in the mid-1980s and has continued his advocacy on these issues since that time. He has been involved in a wide variety of grassroots and legislative advocacy campaigns and for nearly 30 years has served as either an executive director or board member to a number of local and national organizations working on issues related to gay and transgender rights, access to healthcare, community empowerment and HIV/AIDS. Jeff has received numerous awards and recognition for both his advocacy and nonprofit work from organizations such as the National Center for Human Rights Education, the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, Atlanta City Council, The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, ACLU of Georgia and several local publications and organizations within the LGBT and HIV communities. He served as a Grand Marshal of the Atlanta Pride Parade and has been named to the most influential lists of Atlanta Magazine, Atlanta Business Chronicle and Georgia Trend.
	Jennifer Lee is the Policy Director for Asian Americans Advancing-Justice Atlanta, a non-profit legal advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the civil rights of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in Georgia. She previously served at the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, where she researched and advocated for state policies that provide Georgians greater opportunity to complete a higher education credential across race, ethnicity and family income. Jennifer also served as director of the Texas Kids Count Project at Every Texan (formerly the Center for Public Policy Priorities) in Austin, Texas. She graduated from Wellesley College and holds a master’s in public affairs from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.
	Jodi Kalson is a business and tort litigation staff attorney at Jones Day. Her experience includes disputes related to breach of contract, employment matters, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and spans multiple stages of litigation. Jodi has represented clients on a variety of business litigation matters involving claims of breach of contract, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing, and piercing the corporate veil. Jodi’s experience includes trial and appellate matters. She has appeared as second chair in a state and federal trial, both of which resulted in victories for the clients. Jodi previously clerked for a Judge in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia. Jodi is the author of the children’s book, The Girl Who Lives in the Sky, proceeds from which benefit the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). She also hosts an annual fundraiser to benefit the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta NICU. Jodi also enjoys volunteering for Jewish Family and Career Services (JF&CS). Jodi lives in Sandy Springs with her daughters, Micah (10) and Riley (7).
	Originally from South Florida, Jo Lopez is an alumna of the University of Central Florida, where she majored in Human Communication. She has years of experience in advancement/development in non-profit arts, with specific skills in community engagement, donor relations, event planning, and board relations. As the Assistant Director of Donor Relations at Emory University, Jo supports the planning, management, and implementation of programs designed to enhance and strengthen Emory’s relationships with principal, major gift donors and significant donor prospects. Jo and her husband, own Humo Cuisine, a Latin American-Inspired catering business. When she has the opportunity, Jo enjoys traveling, attending artistic experiences, volunteering at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, and napping with her 17-year-old dog, Nemo.
	A native Atlantan, Dr. Joni L. Johnson Williams has more than 30 years’ experience in secondary and higher education. Currently Chief of Staff, Joni has served as Special Assistant to the President, HR Director, Distance Education Coordinator, and on the faculty of Atlanta Technical College. She has served as adjunct faculty at Kennesaw State University and Georgia State University. Joni has a Ph. D. in English (Georgia State University), a M.A. in English (University of Kentucky), and a B.A.in English (Spelman College). Her research interests include post-colonial and Global South literatures; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and leadership development. She has presented at regional conferences and appears in several reference volumes. She is a member of the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Regional Leadership Institute (2022) and HERS Wellesley (2013). Service in metro Atlanta includes the Hapeville Charter School Board, Georgia Women of Achievement Board of Trustees, the Center for Civil and Human Rights, and Spelman College. A PGA TOUR Championship volunteer and hospitality venue chair since 2016, Joni has been recognized by rolling out magazine as a “Top 25 Influential Woman of Atlanta” and by the TOUR Championship (East Lake Foundation) and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., for her service.
	Mamie Dayan Vogel most recently led a Commercial Research, Consumer Insights, UX Research & Product teams for a prominent, multi-national FinTech, bringing a background of research & customer behavior tools to help strategic merchant partners understand shopper financing preferences & needs. A Master’s Degree in Demography & a background of population statistics has led her to roles focused primarily on understanding, impacting & designing for end-user needs. Mamie has developed a career working in retail innovation & designing multiple digital & hardware products. These designs have resulted in being awarded four patents from the US Patent Office. Outside of working, Mamie spends time volunteering with non-profits focused on the arts & inter-ethnic bridge building as well as enjoying time with her husband and two children.
	Melinda Weekes-Laidlow, Esq. is a social change architect, master facilitator, entrepreneur and ordained minister. Melinda leads Weekes In Advance Enterprises, a consulting firm offering organizational development and impact strategy services to change agents in corporate, entertainment and social innovation sectors. She is also the Founder/CEO of Beautiful Ventures, a narrative power building and entrepreneurial support organization for Black story-driven creatives. She has held leadership positions at Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation and the Interaction Institute for Social Change. Echoing Green named Melinda its first-ever Social Entrepreneur in Residence in 2015. Melinda is a graduate of Wesleyan University, New York University School of Law and Harvard Divinity School and is proud to have studied for a semester at Spelman College. Born in New York City, Melinda is a proud “Georgia Apple” – now making home and community in the great city of Atlanta.
	Michelle Robinson, a passionate entrepreneur, is the founder and Principal of Resilient Resources Group (RRG), a national HR consulting firm. With a dynamic team, Michelle draws from her extensive background in hospitality, healthcare, facilities management, education, and the arts to offer comprehensive solutions in workforce planning, talent management, DEI strategy, and leadership coaching. Michelle’s leadership prowess was evident during her tenure at Sodexo, a global quality of life services company, where she orchestrated impactful DEI and talent management strategies. Her strategic approach led her to become the Vice President of Inclusion Diversity Equity and Access at the Woodruff Arts Center, a hub for visual and performing arts with robust educational programs. Here, Michelle crafted and executed the center’s inaugural DEI strategy, embedding inclusive practices throughout the organization. Recognized for her leadership, Michelle received the National Society of Minorities in Hospitality Legacy Award for her innovative talent development programs. Holding a Bachelor’s degree in International Business and French from the University of Georgia, along with various certifications, Michelle is an engaging speaker and facilitator. She shares her insights globally, captivating audiences on DEI and Talent Management topics. Beyond her professional accomplishments, Michelle actively engages with civic organizations like Mocha Moms Inc, Girl Scouts of America, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She’s a valued Advisory Board member for the Multicultural Foodservice and Hospitality Alliance, furthering multicultural initiatives. Presently, Michelle serves on the Advisory Board of the Alliance Theatre. Her dedication to fostering growth extends from employees to the communities they serve, reflecting her belief in cultivating a thriving work culture.
	Susan Sim Oh is the Vice-President of Strategy and Operations for GrayTV’s Telemundo Station group. In this role, Oh develops overall strategy and best practices for news, programming, digital, OTT, marketing and sales for GrayTV’s Telemundo station group, which comprises of 42 markets across the United States. GrayTV is the second largest broadcaster in the United Stations with television stations in 113 television markets. From January 2009 to March 2022, Oh was co-owner and managing partner of WKTB-CD, a Class A Television Station in the Atlanta DMA broadcasting top-tier Spanish and Korean broadcast networks, serving the fastest growing minority groups in Atlanta with a reach of over a million viewers. Through Oh’s leadership, Telemundo Atlanta was the first local Spanish-language television station to consecutively garner the coveted ‘Overall Station Excellence’ Emmy® Award by the National Academy of Arts and Sciences in the Southeast region in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2022 and 2023. Under Oh’s leadership, Telemundo Atlanta has garnered over 60 Emmy® Awards within the last 10 years. Oh received her Executive MBA from Georgia State University and Bachelors of Science in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign. Oh resides in Johns Creek and enjoys attending theatre productions, traveling, and playing tennis.
	Campbell Hastings, Management Consultant at Bain and Company
	Tre’Von McKay, Co-Founder and VP of Product Development at Hire Ground