Angelique C-Dina is a first-generation Afro-Indigenous embodied theatrical storyteller. Her studies include Africana studies, anthropology, and theatre. She is a Ph.D. student at Northeastern University focusing on Black femme narratives in embodied theatrical practices. She has performed and studied at Trinity Repertory Company, GAMM Theatre, Shakespeare and Company, Eugene O’Neil, Double Edge Theatre, and more. Accolades include KCACTF finalist, National Young Playwright semi-finalist, McNair scholar, and Lin-Manuel Miranda family fellow. She thanks God, her ancestors, and her Black and Brown community for guiding her journey.

Clareese Hill is an Assistant Professor of XR and Immersive Technologies in the Department of Art and Design.  As a practice-based researcher, Clareese explores the validity of the word “identity” from her perspective as an Afro-Caribbean American woman through using emerging technology. She was also a 2020 Rapid Response for a Better Digital Future fellow (Phase One). Clareese has published academic essays in various peer-reviewed journals. Clareese holds an MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a practice-based research Ph.D. from Goldsmiths, University of London. 

Maiy El-Wakeel is a versatile Egyptian creative with over 18 years of experience as a concept artist, interior and scenic designer, and researcher in Alexandria and was trained in art and scenography. El-Wakeel has collaborated with industry veterans and contributed to game design at Nezal Entertainment. She co-founded Wasalet, a graphic facilitation team serving prestigious organizations. Influenced by mentorships with former Disney Imagineers, her work spans digital and physical mediums, embodying a deep commitment to impactful artistic expression. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Design and Media at Northeastern University.

Ahmad Saqfalhait is a designer and educator with experience across Jordan, the Gulf, and Egypt, emphasizing the social role of design. Trained in Japanese Teaism, he applies Japanese aesthetics and design philosophy to his work, including graphics, experience, and game design. He holds an MFA in graphic design from Tama Art University, Tokyo, Japan. He is currently Associate Professor of Practice and Associate Chair at the Department of the Arts at the American University in Cairo, where he launched a game design minor connecting academia with the gaming industry to foster social impact.

Karim Aboul-Enein is a technical director, game designer, and co-founder at Largelabs, a game studio based in Egypt and France. He is focused on the emergence of purpose-driven gaming. From designing pixel art games to educating on workplace hazards for arcade cabinets to shedding light on untold Egyptian stories on PC and consoles, Karim and his team are all about “Games for Impact.” Karim wears many hats. However, at his core, he is a passionate gamer who advocates leveraging games for real-world impact.

Mahmoud Hemeda is the CEO/Co-founder of Samaka Studio, is a visionary in the Egyptian animation industry with 15 years of experience. A graduate of the High Cinema Institute, his work, including “Hateer” (2012) and “Farkha Wa Laken” (2013), reflects his commitment to Egyptian visual culture. In 2018, he co-founded Samaka Studio to promote Egyptian and African animation globally. Additionally, Hemeda helped establish Animatex, Egypt’s largest animation festival, fostering a community for animation enthusiasts and professionals to connect and grow within the industry.

akua naru is a Hip Hop artist, poet, producer, lecturer, and activist named the “Toni Morrison of Hip Hop” by Dr. Cornel West for the unique and layered ways she inscribes and expands the possibilities and nuances of language within hip hop. Naru has performed hundreds of shows across five continents with her band. Towards a larger vision of empowerment, Naru has lectured at several universities and has hosted workshops, healing circles, lectures, and more exploration of African spiritualities in relation to Hip Hop and sexism in the Hip Hop industry.

Cloteal Lee Horne is committed to collaborative processes that illuminate humanity through the craft of storytelling. Her work uproots classics and tethers itself to immersive ceremonies and rituals that center blackness, black-femininity. She dedicates her practice to community, honest liberation, and building more just and joyous futures; a product of her grandmother’s prayers + her ancestors’ wildest dreams. Glory be. Cloteal has appeared in numerous television shows and theatre productions. Has taught at Yale School of Drama, Brown University, and more. She has an MFA in Acting from Brown University/Trinity.

Ural Grant is an award-winning theater artist and educator specializing in theater for young audiences. and is the winner of the 2021 Next Wave Initiative Black Excellence Impact Award and was a 2021 New York City Children’s Theater Leadership Fellow. He believes an ongoing process marked by exploration, inquiry, and a willingness to embrace the unknown converges to create a rich, collaborative, and transformative learning experience for students and teachers. Ural is an MFA Acting Candidate in the Department of Theatre at Michigan State University.

MaryAnn Talavera is a respected creative technologist, filmmaker, and educator devoted to storytelling born in the Dominican Republic and now resides in New York City. MaryAnn studied XR and virtual production at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and now serves as Assistant Director at the Martin Scorsese Center for Virtual Production. Founder of Rolos Productions, she champions underrepresented voices, earning a HEAR US Award for her project “Root.” Currently, MaryAnn spearheads the ORIXA Project, celebrating the African diaspora. She holds an MA in Latin American & Caribbean Studies from NYU.

Cristóbal Cea is a Chilean artist working across mediums from 3D animation to sculpture and drawing, motivated by a need to fill the gaps that separate us from complex historical events, often haunting, ideologically loaded, and abundant in human contradictions. In addition to several solo presentations at museums and galleries, his work has been exhibited in group shows at Lunds Konsthall (Sweden), Alcalá 31 (Spain), National Museum of Fine Arts (Chile), and Kunsthal Charlottenborg (Denmark). He teaches at The School of The Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University.

Karmisha Reeb is a 21-year military veteran turned immersive experience designer who builds engaging, interactive learning environments for STEM fields. As the owner of Exit Lab Houston, Karmisha was at the forefront of the escape game, a puzzle-solving phenomenon. As the Director of Experience Design for Exit Lab, Houston, Karmisha continues to challenge people through immersive gameplay, building a seminal escape room specifically designed to address issues of the museum’s role in colonialism, theft, and repatriation. Karishma is an Interdisciplinary Design and Media PhD candidate at Northeastern University.

Celia Pearce is a game designer, artist, curator, author, and Professor of Games at Northeastern University. Her books include IndieCade: A History—The interdependence of independents (2020) and Communities of Play: Emergent cultures in multiplayer games and virtual worlds (2009). Before entering academia, she worked in the theme park industry, where she learned the craft of spatial storytelling and her recent creative and scholarly work applies her theme park and online game knowledge to playable theatre.

David Tamés is a documentary media maker working in traditional and immersive media forms. His current research is focused on media co-creation and immersive media design methodology. He recently completed Reality’s Fugue: Genesis,  a virtual reality experience exhibited at New Hope Arts, in New Hope, Pennsylvania. He is co-authoring a book on Immersive Experience Design to be published by Focal Press in 2024 and is a Teaching Professor of Art + Design at Northeastern University.