I was born in Hartford CT to Polish, Irish, French and Italian Catholics in 1969. I was raised in Olathe, Kansas, the town where Dick and Perry stopped in before they went on the kill the Clutters.  I was the first of my family linage to get a college degree.

Arthur Aviles, an award-winning New York-Rican dancer/choreographer, was born in Queens and raised in Long Island and the South Bronx. He studied theatre with Peter Vercillo and Edward M. Fourrey. His physical training included swimming, diving, wrestling and gymnastics. He received his B.A. from Bard College where he studied dance with Lenore Latimer, Jean Churchill, Albert Reid and Aileen Passloff.

Avram Finkelstein is an artist and writer living in Brooklyn.

Finkelstein is a founding member of the Silence=Death collective and the art collective, Gran Fury, with whom he collaborated on public art projects for The Whitney Museum, The Venice Biennale, Artforum, LAMOCA, The New Museum, Creative Time, and The Public Art Fund. The collective has work in the permanent collections of The Whitney, MoMA, and The New Museum.

Jaime Manrique is a Colombian-born novelist, poet, essayist, and translator who has written both in English and Spanish, and whose work has been translated into fifteen languages.

Sarah Schulman is the author of 17 books including the novel THE COSMOPOLITANS, forthcoming from The Feminist Press in 2016.  Her new movie “Jason and Shirley”, co-written with Jack Waters and director Stephen Winter, will premiere in spring 2015.

Shannon Michael Cane is a writer, curator, collector and publisher from Melbourne, Australia. After publishing and editing the seminal queer art journal THEY SHOOT HOMO’S DON’T THEY? for five years, he moved to NYC in 2008 to work at the world’s largest non-profit specializing in artists’ books; Printed Matter, Inc. Currently working as the curator of fairs and editions he is responsible for staging the NY and LA Art Book Fairs.

Silas Howard began his career as a founding member of the legendary queer punk band Tribe8. His first feature film, By Hook or By Crook, was a Sundance Film Festival premiere and five-time Best Feature winner. His documentary, What I Love About Dying, premiered at Sundance and played festivals internationally. His short films, music videos and web series have aired on MTV, Logo, Showtime and the Sundance Channel. His second feature, Sunset Stories, premiered at SXSW in 2012 and was picked up for distribution by Film Buff.

Stacie Passon is an American film director and screenwriter, whose debut film Concussion premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, and subsequently won a Teddy Award Jury Prize at the 2013 Berlin International Film Festival.

Talvin Wilks is a playwright, director and dramaturg. His plays include Tod, the boy, Tod, The Trial of Uncle S&M, Bread of Heaven, and An American Triptych.

Thomas Allen Harris is the founder and President Chimpanzee Productions, a company dedicated to producing unique audio-visual experiences that illuminate the Human Condition and the search for identity, family, and spirituality.