Team Profiles

Mary F. Morten (she/her)
President

Mary Morten is the President of Morten Group (MG), a national consulting firm established in November 2001 to focus on clients in the nonprofit, for-profit, governmental, and foundation fields. 

Mary is a bridge-builder and connector guiding disparate voices toward common goals and mutual accountability. She built Morten Group with an intentional focus on assembling a multiracial, cross-generational team of professionals that remains at the heart of the firm’s commitment to social justice while centering diversity, racial equity and inclusion, executive placements, and research in its work. Mary’s podcast “Gathering Ground,” covering topics on nonprofit management, foundations, and equity and inclusion, is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Previous positions include Associate Director, Interim Executive Director, and Board President of Chicago Foundation for Women, the region’s largest women’s fund, and the past Director of the Office of Violence Prevention for the Chicago Department of Public Health. Before this position, Mary was an appointee for Mayor Richard M. Daley as a Director of the Chicago Commission on Human Relations. 

Recently, in collaboration with Senior Consulting Director Geneva Porter, Mary contributed to “Leading Systems Change in Public Health: A Field Guide for Practitioners.” This new book from the de Beaumont Foundation and Springer Publishing offers readers a practice-based guide that examines systems change in public health. Their chapter, “Organizational Leadership: ‘We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For,’” focuses on fostering equitable organizational change through power transfer and a grounding in community and collaboration.

Many organizations have honored Mary, ranging from Women in Film to Equality Illinois, the YWCA of Evanston/Northshore to About Face Theater. In 2020, the Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago established the Mary F. Morten Justice Award to recognize Mary’s long-term work as an activist, advocate, and champion of social justice.

Mary holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications with an emphasis in radio and television from Loyola University Chicago.

If I could share a meal with any two people, living or dead, it would be Maya Angelou. And Luther Vandross. I love Luther Vandross. We were listening to him at a party recently and I was reminded of how much I miss his music.”

Charles Andrean, MS (he/him)
Interim Education and Curriculum Director

Charles joined Morten Group in 2021 as a facilitator and trainer. He grounds himself in an intention to help work toward a world where everyone can access and cultivate lives of radical love, healing, and liberation. As a facilitator and trainer, he engages organizations and communities in learning about equity and justice. He has particular passion and investment in work with men of color and the APIDA community.

Charles spent eight years working in higher education, including time at Northwestern University and Iowa State University, where he developed social justice and leadership education. He served on the board for Lambda Phi Epsilon Asian-interest Fraternity for ten years, which included having the opportunity to serve as International President and involved organizational transformation, non-profit management, and extensive work around masculinity.

Charles completed his Master’s Degree in College Student Personnel at Southern Illinois University and received his Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

I was a teenager the last time I visited Korea. It’s been an intentional journey over the last handful of years to connect with my Korean-ness through learning the language, practicing recipes, and listening to my mother’s stories. I would love to travel back to Korea with the awareness and understanding I have now and be able to more fully continue that part of my own story.

Avi Bowie, LCSW (they/he)
Senior Consultant

Avi joined Morten Group in 2015 as a consultant with the “Your Voice, Your Health!” project. Until 2022, they served as Morten Group’s Training and Curriculum Director. In this role, Avi generates customized training curricula for the Equity and Inclusion Institute, facilitates knowledge-building opportunities, and supports client partner READI (racial equity, accessibility, diversity, and inclusion) capacity-building efforts.

Avi’s professional expertise lies in non-profit management, program development and evaluation, curriculum development, youth trauma and resilience, racial justice and equity, and LGBTQ+ services. Prior to joining Morten Group, Avi worked with and for LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness at the Ali Forney Center in New York City, and as the Director of Youth Programs at Center on Halsted in Chicago.

Avi received their B.A. from Hampshire College, where they studied Medical Anthropology and received a Summer of Social Change Grant to develop a peer-led sexual health education program for adolescents in Springfield, MA, and their M.S.W. from Columbia University’s School of Social Work in New York City.

The best advice I’ve received (lately) comes from embodiment practitioner, writer & facilitator, Prentis Hemphill who said: “Perfectionism is a commitment to habitual self-doubt”. Perhaps less advice, and more observation, this statement reminds me that focusing on perfectionism can be harmful, and it ignores the value of process, of learning, of making mistakes, of changing course, of collective effort. It is a reminder that we all have inherent value that does not require perfection.

Jacqueline Boyd, CGCM (she/her)
Consulting Associate

Jacqueline brings passion and expertise to the field of aging and LGBTQ+ advocacy. A dynamic speaker, facilitator, and entrepreneur, Jacqueline is the owner of The Care Plan. The Care Plan (www.the-care-plan.com) is the country's first LGBTQ+ centered care management company. The Care Plan’s innovative model of client-directed care provides advocacy, care navigation, and advance planning for successful aging experiences.

Jacqueline is a sought-after speaker and author, having presented at the American Society on Aging National Conference, Creating Change Conference, the Los Angeles County Older Adult Summit, and the University of Chicago among others. She recently contributed a chapter to Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Health and Aging, available from Springer Publishing, and authored the guide Create Your Care Plan: An LGBT Person’s Guide To Preparing For Medical Procedures.

As a Consulting Associate with Morten Group, Jacqueline supports projects ranging from organizational development to racial equity and inclusion.

Benjamin Brownson, MA (he/him)
Associate Project Director

Ben has been part of Morten Group since 2019 and has been a proud Chicago resident since 2008. Since joining the MG team, Ben has partnered with dozens of nonprofit, philanthropic, healthcare, government, and corporate organizations, leading or contributing to projects in READI/DEI assessment and education, organizational development, data analysis, and strategic and equity action planning.

Prior to joining Morten Group, he was Director of Programs for Leadership Greater Chicago (LGC), Chicago’s premier civic leadership program dedicated to cross-sector collaboration and improving our region, and the Founding Artistic Director of Broken Nose Theatre, an award-winning pay-what-you-can company dedicated to amplifying underrepresented voices. He holds his MA in the Humanities from the University of Chicago and, more recently, spent five months traveling (literally) around the world, continuing to feed his curiosity and passion for connecting people, ideas, communities, challenges, and solutions.

Some of the best advice I’ve ever been given was in interviewing a couple of dear friends who had been partnered for over 20 years for a documentary theatre project about marriage and relationships. In response to a question about what makes a relationship last, they shared a few observations and insights before wrapping up with “At the end of the day, we’re kind to each other and we make each other laugh.” I think about that a lot, and strive to look for and offer those components (along with empathy, understanding, and mutual growth) not just in romantic relationships, but in all the ways I connect with others.

Glenn Carrere (he/him)
Consulting Associate

Glenn joined Morten Group in 2021 as a facilitator.  He is originally from Los Angeles but has called Chicago home since 2008. After initially serving in student leadership roles at UC Berkeley, he started his career working in higher education. He initially worked directly with University of Chicago undergraduate students and alumni where his role focused on co-curricular programming, volunteer training, and student engagement. He later took on a role working with MBA students at the Chicago Booth School of Business as an admissions officer.

He currently works as a leadership consultant for Shamrock Consultants and as the Archduke of Positivity for Joy Channel. Glenn's major focus in leadership and READI work is on how to empower organizations and individuals during times of transition and hopes to broaden and redefine the concept of "professionalism".. He also spoke at SXSW about how to increase engagement and productivity in the workplace using games and play. He has a *problematically* large board game collection and co-hosts two podcasts "Party Chat" and "Meh-Sculinity".

Mackenzie DeLoatch (she/her)
Special Projects and Operations Manager

At Morten Group, Mackenzie provides management support on a variety of projects, including company operations and marketing and communications efforts.

A graduate of Duke University, Mackenzie holds a B.S. in Psychology and a Certificate in Markets and Management Studies. For three years, she worked as a research assistant in Duke’s Identity and Diversity Lab, a social/developmental psychology lab focusing on issues of race, gender, and social identity.

The best advice I ever received was from my dad. He can often be a man of few words, but the wisdom he’s shared throughout my life is invaluable. A few years ago, when I was facing some major decisions about college and my future, he told me to “Go where you are celebrated.” Since then, every time I’ve been at a crossroads in my personal or professional life, those words have served as a guiding light and have always steered me in the right direction.

Greg Frankson (he/him)
Consulting Associate

Greg Frankson is a facilitator with Morten Group and Founder of Voice Share Inc. His professional practice focuses on transformative organizational change through inclusive leadership and effective communication. Prior to creating Voice Share in 2018, Greg was a teacher, arts educator, event producer, corporate trainer, and anti-discrimination facilitator.

Throughout his career, Greg has used his voice to create social change as an advocate, award-winning literary artist, and media commentator. Artistically, he published four poetry collections, contributed to three anthologies, edited AfriCANthology: Perspectives of Black Canadian Poets (2022), and released four full-length audio recordings, among many other achievements. He was also an on-air poetic commentator on Here and Now Toronto on CBC Radio One. In community, his leadership resulted in the overdue commemoration of Robert Sutherland, Canada’s first known university graduate of colour and first Black lawyer, at Queen’s University and across Canada. His words have been published in periodicals and poetry journals on three continents.

Greg is a former Canadian national poetry slam champion, an inaugural inductee to the VERSe Ottawa Hall of Honour, and past poet laureate of the International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership. He served on the boards of Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization and Tropicana Community Services (Toronto), currently serves on the Prince’s Trust Canada board of directors, and chairs the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) Advisory Council at Abilities Centre in Whitby, Ontario. Greg has left a lasting impact at his alma mater, Queen’s University, as its first Black student government president, former student senator and ex-officio trustee, and long-serving current member of the University Council. He graduated from Queen’s in 1999 with Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education degrees, earned concurrently, and is a member of the National Communication Coaching Association, League of Canadian Poets, and the Ontario College of Teachers. 

Julie Ganey (she/her)
Consultant

Julie joined Morten Group in 2019 as a facilitator for the Equity Institute. She has worked as an actor and solo performer in Chicago for over 25 years, in venues across the city. As a writer, she works with 2nd Story, a collective of story-makers who believe in the power of well-told, crafted stories as a catalyst for social change. She is the Education Director at Lifeline Theatre in Rogers Park, and as a teaching artist, creates performance pieces with collaborators from all backgrounds, ages 5 to 85. Her bullying prevention program, Stand Up on the Schoolyard, has been facilitated within CPS and in schools across the country. She brings deep experience partnering with communities and institutions to create art pieces that inspire public conversation around topics such as racial justice, gentrification, education, and ethics.

The best advice I ever received was given by a long-time family friend on my wedding day: “Do what love requires.” She was speaking in terms of marriage, of course, but over the years the phrase has become meaningful to me in every important relationship I engage in - with friends, students, communities. I think of these words at least once a week, and they inspire me to ask myself not what I feel like doing, but what is necessary for a relationship at any given moment.

Donna Gary (they/she)
Tech Facilitator

Donna "Dante" Marie Gary joined Morten Group LLC as a Technical Facilitator for Knowledge Building Opportunities in April 2021. Donna is also the part-time Operations Manager at Free Street Theatre. They are a passionate organizer that privileges accessibility and care work in every collaboration. Donna loves the work they do and living in the greatest city on earth: Chicago. They are a proud alumnus of Whitney M Young and the first Goodman Theater Poetry Slam team. They graduated in 2019 from NYU Gallatin's School of Individualized Study cum laude with a cross-school Disability Studies minor and Bachelor of Arts degree in Poetics of Embodiment: Study of the Ways Marginalized Folks Re-ImagineTheir Value.

Their connection to poetry, storytelling and oral history deeply inform their contributions to the world. Their poetry has been published by Lacunae: Vassars' 1st Undergraduate Journal for Queer of Color Critique, Sycamore Review, BOAAT Press, and elsewhere. In 2019 their poem "Mouth," was nominated for a Pushcart Prize by Sycamore Review, and they attended the Tin House Summer Workshop as a Poet Scholar mentored by Samiya Bashir. They are a long-time member of the Support Ho(s)e Collective and a new organizer with the Midwest Perzine Festival. They are currently working on a zine commissioned by Support Ho(s)e about their political journey entitled Behind Every Poem Is A World, featuring narrative essays, original poems, and hand-drawn images.

Lisa Gilmore, LCPC, M.Ed. (they/she)
Senior Consultant

Lisa joined Morten Group as the Project Manager for “Your Voice! Your Health!,” a UChicago research study on shared decision-making between BIPOC LGBT individuals and their healthcare providers. Currently, Lisa lends her expertise in the facilitation of READI training and workshops as a Senior Consultant.

Previously, Lisa served as Director of Education & Victim Advocacy at Center on Halsted, Chicago’s LGBTQ community center. While at the Center from 2005 – 2013, Lisa provided victim services and guided the work of the Anti-Violence Project; the Legal Program; professional training and technical assistance; and the implementation of the Center’s formal systems-level advocacy efforts—all aimed at reducing the impact of bias in the lives of LGBTQ people. Lisa has served on the Governance Committee of the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs since 2010.

Jessica Kadish-Hernández, MFA (she/her)
Consultant

Jessica serves as a Consultant with Morten Group. She co-facilitates knowledge-building opportunities and listening sessions with the firm’s Equity Institute; provides data analysis and writing services for READI (racial equity, access, diversity, & inclusion) organizational assessments; and supports equity action planning.

She joined Morten Group in 2011 as the firm’s project coordinator for the Chicago LGBT Community Needs Assessment under the research leadership of Dr. Keisha Farmer-Smith and later managed the second iteration of the project in 2018-2019. As a project manager, she also supported a wide variety of client initiatives including strategic planning, executive searches, and board development.

She’s also an actor, writer, and teaching artist. She's a company member with Aguijón Theater (Chicago’s longest-running Spanish-language theater company) and the storytelling collective 2nd Story (here’s one about privilege and love called “Where Is She?” that comes with a study guide). As a teaching artist, she has taught in college, community, and K-12 contexts for over fifteen years, including with 2nd Story, Roosevelt University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Goodman Theatre, Chicago Public Schools, and more in the US and Argentina. She holds a BA from the University of Chicago and an MFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She's fluent in Spanish; she's not Latina.

If I could witness any historical event, I'd travel to Berlin in 1907 to watch the world premiere of Jewish writer Sholem Asch's play "God of Vengeance" and listen to the audience's reactions afterwards. Written in Yiddish, this incredible drama featured a romantic storyline between two women -- and was shut down on Broadway in 1923 because of it. My own family lost our Yiddish several generations ago, but for the sake of this thought experiment let's pretend I can understand it.

If I could witness any historical event, I'd travel to Berlin in 1907 to watch the world premiere of Jewish writer Sholem Asch's play "God of Vengeance" and listen to the audience's reactions afterwards. Written in Yiddish, this incredible drama featured a romantic storyline between two women -- and was shut down on Broadway in 1923 because of it. My own family lost our Yiddish several generations ago, but for the sake of this thought experiment let's pretend I can understand it.

Anedra Kerr, MS (she/her)
Senior Consultant

Anedra joins Morten Group as an organizational development executive with a proven track record of harnessing exceptional leadership skills to stabilize and develop teams, mobilize staff, volunteers, and management teams alike in the advancement of organizational mission. Anedra most recently served as the Chief Advancement Officer at Francis W. Parker School in Chicago, one of the country’s leading independent schools.

Prior to Parker, Anedra served as Chief Development Officer at After School Matters, where she led development efforts and launched the largest fundraising effort in the history of ASM. During the course of the prior 16 years, Anedra worked in several different executive-level positions at the charitable foundation of Advocate Health Care.

She has significant experience in strategic and long-term planning; project management; designing, planning, and implementing major fundraisers; managing complex relationships, and fostering staff and leadership development. Anedra has a B.S. in marketing from Hampton University and an M.S. in communications from Northwestern University.

Cece Lobin (she/her)
Senior Consultant

Cece is a senior consultant with Morten Group, where her work focuses on racial equity facilitation, board development, organizational assessments and diversity, racial equity, and inclusion integration with client partners.

As a long-time Chicago activist and organizer, she’s worked in partnership with organizations, institutions, coalitions, and corporations on issues of equity and justice. The focus of her public policy and programming efforts include domestic violence, reproductive rights, welfare reform, homelessness and housing, economic development, and progress for women and girls.

Cece consulting firm has worked with non-profit organizations and government agencies on strategic planning and communications, program and board development, and event coordination. As a business and personal coach, her work centers on the whole person, creative change, and transformation.

Cece served as Executive Director of the Advisory Council on Women for the City of Chicago. As a mayoral appointee, she was the liaison between the women’s community and the city administration. In that capacity, Cece represented the City at the NGO Forum of the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China. Additionally, she facilitated symposiums at a global women’s conference in Kiev, Ukraine.

She has served on several Boards of Directors, including the Illinois Women’s Agenda, Illinois Pro-Choice Alliance, The Work Welfare and Family Coalition, Commission on Women’s Equality for the American Jewish Congress, Chicago Foundation for Women, and the United Way’s Discrimination Priority Grants Committee.

Cece has her Master’s Degree in Journalism from Northwestern University and her Bachelors from the University of Michigan.

If I could witness one historical event it would be the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Together, with an enormous, engaged, and diverse crowd, I’d behold astonishing spoken-word wisdom, unrivaled entertainment, and a small piece of history, which has inspired radical equity and justice work throughout modern times.

Sarah Menke (she/her)
Client Relations and Project Management Director

Sarah joined Morten Group in 2017 as the Administrative Coordinator. Now as the Client and Project Relations Manager, she provides project management and client services support. Sarah fields inquiries for new work and oversees the onboarding of new client partners. She offers particular focus around proposal writing and data analysis and assessment writing for both organizational and READI processes.

Sarah was integral in managing recent searches for Forefront, Woods Fund Chicago, Ms. Foundation for Women, Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County, and the Pride Foundation, coordinating logistics and scheduling for the Search Committee, while simultaneously fostering communicative and caring relationships with candidates.

Sarah has worked with Halcyon Theatre, Goodman Theatre and Seattle Repertory Theatre. As a freelance teaching artist, Sarah has taught classes throughout Chicago and Bloomington-Normal, IL. She received her B.A. in Theatre Arts with Research Honors from Illinois Wesleyan University. Sarah is a current member of the Chicago Foundation for Women’s Young Women’s Giving Council.

The best advice I’ve recently come across is from the renowned activist, scholar, and educator, Angela Davis who said: “You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.” To me, this advice means that transformation must begin with the notion of possibility and we must be relentless in our pursuit of it.

Odell Mitchell III, Esq. (he/him)
Consulting Associate

Odell is a thought-provoking keynote speaker, gifted entertainment attorney, and recognized expert in leadership, DEIB, change management, and values-based performance. He excels in helping audiences understand their values, make sense of change, and create an equitable culture committed to achieving results through relationships.

With over a decade of experience as a professional trainer, public speaker, and educator, Odell has addressed hundreds of audiences around the world, from large corporate gatherings to intimate top management retreats. Odell’s participants appreciate his engaging storytelling, calm demeanor, and effusive enthusiasm. Odell uses these strengths to bring simplicity to complex human characteristics and to create lasting organizational results by designing strategies, workshops, and programs that leaders to create diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplaces.

At his core, Odell believes that we are all here to see and be seen by one another. Through his thoughtful work, Odell connects people in ways that influence organizations and empower individuals to change the world by changing behavior.

Vince Pagán-Hill (he/him)
Operations and Media Strategy Director

Vince began his journey at Morten Group in 2012 as a Project Assistant, steadily advancing through various roles across the company. Prior to his current position as Operations and Media Strategy Director, he was Morten Group's Project Director, overseeing office administration and systems infrastructure, and supported clients in areas including operations, strategic planning, and READI integration. Most recently, Vince worked with the City of Bozeman to create their Racial Equity Action Plan, for the whole of Bozeman, MT and the surrounding Gallatin Valley.

In his current role, Vince draws upon his extensive experience to support internal operations and systems at Morten Group. Additionally, he guides the firm's marketing and communications efforts, and holds producer roles for key media projects like the "Gathering Ground" podcast and Mary Morten’s full-length feature film, “Woke Up Black.”

Vince's early career focused on theatre and storytelling (currently a Company and Board Member of 2nd Story Chicago), where he honed his skills as a facilitator, performer, and community-builder. He also brings valuable experience from his recent work as a development professional and fundraising event planner. Vince holds a BA in Theatre Studies from Ithaca College and is fluent in Spanish.

Michael Rohd (he/him)
Senior Consultant

Michael is a theatre-maker, educator, process designer, writer and facilitator. His research and creative practice is focused on civic imagination. He has a 30+ year history of projects across sectors bringing cultural activity to the work of public engagement, community planning and cross-sector coalition building. In 1992 in Washington DC, Michael co-founded Hope Is Vital, an arts & public health program that, over 8 years, helped start up theatre-based public engagement/HIV prevention coalitions in over 80 communities around the US.

In 1999, Michael co founded Sojourn Theatre and served as artistic director for 20 years, co-creating & directing nearly 30 devised, often site-specific and participatory theatre works. In 2012, he co-founded the Center for Performance and Civic Practice, a collective of nine artist/facilitators who work with organizations and agencies around the country on community research, transformational process and system change.

He is currently Civic Collaborations Director for One Nation One Project, a national arts/municipality/public health project & research cohort in partnership with National League of Cities and he is co-designer/ co-facilitator for Art-Train, a virtual national technical assistance program in partnership with Springboard for the Arts. He recently founded the Co-Lab for Civic Imagination at the University of Montana, and he is author of the book Theatre for Community, Conflict and Dialogue (Heinemann Press).

Norma L. Seledon, PhD (she/her)
Senior Consultant

Norma Seledon has served as a senior consultant with Morten Group since 2015. She is a Mexican immigrant and has been a resident of Chicago for over 50 years. She has over 30 years of professional commitment to community and grassroots development around issues of women’s and youth leadership, education attainment by underrepresented groups, domestic violence, sexual assault, substance abuse, cultural sensitivity, and environmental health.

She is a former director of community-based organization Mujeres Latinas en Acción and has served on various non-profit and government advisory committees including the Mayor’s Advisory council on Women’s Affairs, Latino Affairs, the Governor’s advisory on violence prevention, and co-directed Amigas Latinas, an affinity group for Latina Lesbians.

Norma has a 30-year history of developing grassroots leadership development programs for women, youth, and Latino communities. She is presently employed by the Family & Community Engagement Office of Chicago Public Schools, sits on various non-profit boards, and also provides workshops on topics of minority access to higher education, domestic violence prevention, anti-racism, homophobia and cultural sensitivity, organizational conflict resolution, as well as non-profit management and board development.

Norma holds a BS from Loyola University, an MA from Northeastern University, and a Ph.D. from the Community Psychology Program at National Louis University. Her research projects centered around women’s leadership development, grassroots organizational wellness, and maximizing Brown/Black relationships.

"Be a woman of your word." was advice received from Mujeres Latinas en Accion founder, Maria (Hines) Mangual. Having received this as a young professional those words reverberate until today. Maria reminded me that a core Mexican value is being of service, the downside in this cultural practice, especially for women, is that we may often overextend, a detriment to our health. She advised me to be aware of my capacity but, that once I had made a commitment, I should move hell and high water to follow through.

Chris Smith, Ph.D. (she/her)
Senior Consultant

Chris returns to Morten Group after a sabbatical to complete her doctoral studies. At Morten Group, she leads strategic planning, board development, and is a facilitator for DEI engagements.

Chris has a broad range of experience within nonprofit and community-based organizations in the advancement of the race, gender, LGBTQ, economic justice, and mental health parity. Her professional career has been centered on issues of access, equity, and justice-related to race, gender identity and expression, sexual identity, and economics within a diverse range of systems, collaborations, initiatives, and community-based organizations.

Chris has been on leave from Morten Group as of April 2020.

Willa J. Taylor (she/her)
Consulting Partner

An accomplished leader in the field of arts-based education and community engagement, Willa has a rich history of creating transformative programs. Formerly the Walter Director of Education and Community Engagement at Goodman Theatre, she has collaborated with educators and community partners to drive equitable systemic change through the use of arts-based strategies. Willa's extensive experience also includes work with Lincoln Center, New Victory, Arena Stage, and teaching at DePaul University, where she shares her expertise in theater and social change. She has contributed significantly to various organizations, serving on the boards of Pedagogy and Theater of the Oppressed Inc., the Association of Theatre in Higher Education, the National LGBTQ Taskforce, and Season of Concern.

Willa has received numerous awards recognizing her commitment to the arts and education, including the Exemplar Award from the August Wilson Society, the Equity in Arts Education Award from Chicago's Ingenuity, the Michael Leppen Award from About Face Theatre, and the 2021 Leadership in Community-Based Theater and Civic Engagement Award from the Association of Theatre in Higher Education. As a practitioner of Theatre of the Oppressed, she studied under the mentorship of Augusto and Julian Boal, and has authored works on the use of Theatre of the Oppressed for Youth. Her contributions have been published in notable publications such as "Arts Integration in Education: Teachers and Teaching Artists as Agents of Change," "Applied Theater With Youth: Education, Engagement, Activism," and "Amazon all-stars: Thirteen lesbian plays."

Her insights on "Designing August Wilson" can be found in the forthcoming "August Wilson in Context," published by Cambridge University Press. Beyond her distinguished career, Willa is a U.S. Navy veteran and a talented storyteller, having performed for various platforms such as OUTSPOKEN, This Much is True, Serving the Sentence, and Do Not Submit.

Walter Watson Swift, MPH (he/him)
Consultant

Walter is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago where he received his Master of Public Health degree with a specialization in Community Health Sciences. As an undergraduate, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. For  more than  15 years,  he  has combined his experience in television, journalism, theatre, and  social science research. He has conducted studies  that include combating methamphetamine addiction in the gay community, homelessness in Chicago’s transgender community, and using improvisational theatre games as an intervention for anxiety and depression. Additionally, he has extensive experience as both a focus  group facilitator, qualitative research analyst, and DEI trainer.

If I could witness any historical event, it would be the Stonewall riots in New York City. The gay community fought back against homophobia, transphobia, and the injustices committed against them in a strong and powerful way. This was a pivotal moment in the gay liberation movement that spearheaded many of the changes we celebrate today. While there is still work to be done, it would have been great to be on the frontlines back in 1969.