Special Event! Arts + Civic Power

WHO IS THIS EVENT IDEAL FOR?

• Artists and arts organizations who want to support civic engagement,
• Organizations that want to work with artists and other creatives, and
• Funders who know that arts and culture are critical to social change work, especially this election year.

WHAT WILL I GAIN?

• Specific insights on how artists, arts organizations, and civic engagement campaigns can collaborate for maximum impact
• Tools and resources to help you in your creative campaigns this year and beyond

Erika L. Anthony

Co-Founder and Executive Director of Cleveland VOTES

Erika L. Anthony, a native New Yorker, is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Cleveland VOTES. Cleveland VOTES is a nonpartisan, democracy-building movement that works to reconstruct and strengthen power through active participation of our collective partners. Erika has held executive and senior positions with the Ohio Transformation Fund, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, and Oriana House, Inc. She also serves on a number of boards and commissions in Cleveland. Erika holds a B.S. in Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University and a Masters of Public Administration from the Maxine G. Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University.

Rebecca DeHart

CEO of Fair Count

Rebecca DeHart is the CEO at Fair Count, a nonprofit organization in Georgia working to build long-term power in communities that have been undercounted in the decennial census, underrepresented at the polls, and torn apart in redistricting. Leading a team of 70 employees at its height, Rebecca has stewarded Fair Count’s on-the-ground organizing, advocacy, and media campaigns to achieve a record self-participation rate in the 2020 Census and unprecedented turnout in the Georgia 2020 General and the 2021 Runoff Elections. A social worker by training, and a recovering partisan campaign wonk, Rebecca is committed to developing innovative strategies and operationalizing big ideas to achieve long, overdue equity in civic engagement.

Margaret Faliano

Campaign Manager of Illuminative, Chippewa Cree

Margaret Faliano (she/her) is a citizen of the Chippewa Cree Tribe and is currently a Campaign Manager at IllumiNative: a Native women-led nonprofit that builds power for Indian Country by uplifting Native stories, voices, and issues on a national scale. For years, Margaret has led numerous narrative change and narrative strategy initiatives to advance the equity and self-determination of Native peoples. As an urban Native, Margaret has always yearned to see accurate and contemporary Indigenous representation in society, especially in politics, media, and fashion. She currently resides on the traditional homelands of the Mohican and Munsee Lenape peoples in the NYC Metropolitan Area and graduated from the University of Oregon with a B.A. in Business Administration and a B.S. in International Studies.

Aisha Goss

Chief Development and Operating Officer of the Center for Cultural Power

Aisha Goss (she/her) joined The Center for Cultural Power in January 2022 as Chief Development and Operating Officer. For more than 20 years, Aisha has served as a fundraising and operations professional to a variety of non-profit organizations. Her expertise has aided multiple organizations in building sustainable infrastructure and has reached more than $25 million in annual funding goals. She has dedicated her career to power building the organizations and communities that create lasting change. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Aisha is a Howard University alum, an avid reader, crafter, and bourbon whiskey collector and enthusiast.

Mark Kendall

Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of CoolCoolCool Productions

Mark Kendall is an award-winning comedian, filmmaker, and educator. Along with his production partner, Bill Worley, he is the co-founder of CoolCoolCool Productions, where they use comedy to encourage civic engagement. Last year, he was an Unstoppable Voters Fellow with the Center for Artistic Activism. While studying film at Northwestern University, he completed the Comedy Central Chris Rock Summer School Program, where he pitched jokes at “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report.” Mark was named best Professional Funnyman by Creative Loafing Atlanta in 2015 and was the Readers Pick for Best Comedian in Creative Loafing Atlanta in 2019.

Alexis R. Posey

Chief Campaigns Officer, Center for Cultural Power and the Cultural Engagement Lab

Alexis R. Posey is the Chief Campaigns Officer at the Center for Cultural Power and the Cultural Engagement Lab. Posey is a social justice advocate with over fifteen years of experience in political strategy and advocacy. Alexis has worked on multiple issue areas, identifying the intersections between drug policy, HIV/AIDS, poverty, reproductive justice, and criminalization through a liberation lens.

Alexis is the former Chief Program Officer at the National Institute of Reproductive Health, where she led the state and local strategy for abortion rights and reproductive justice. Prior to that, she was the Director of Policy at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Center for Health Equity, where she worked to eradicate racially charged health inequities such as maternal morbidity for Black women and harm reduction strategies for people who use drugs.

Bill Worley

Co-Founder of CoolCoolCool Productions

Bill Worley (he/him) is a comedian, writer, and filmmaker who’s been performing, directing and teaching comedy since 2008. He co-founded CoolCoolCool Productions in 2020, creating comedy videos advocating for progressive social issues and collaborating with folks like Fair Count, The New Georgia Project, and the EP of The Daily Show, Steve Bodow. His internet videos have garnered 100+ million views. In 2021, Bill and his business partner Mark Kendall’s CoolCoolCool sketches were named “Best reason to Laugh” by Atlanta Magazine. Bill also taught improv on VH1’s “T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle.” If only laughter grew hair on Bill’s bald head.