2006

Laura Guzman

Laura played Hermia in the Summer Shakespeare’s first production of Midsummer Night's Dream in 2006. Laura was one of the first official scholarship recipients who went from Adler Youth to Evening Conservatory. Today she has several film and regional theater credits, and is celebrating her newest role of mama to a beautiful little boy. She is a proud member of Actor's Equity and SAG-AFTRA.

2007

Andira Rodriguez

After studying in the Adler Youth program for two years from 2007-2009, Andira asked for support in applying to colleges, something she hadn’t thought seriously about before. Not only did Andira get accepted to SUNY Purchase, but she also became a leader in the theater department, learned her fourth language, French (in addition to English, Spanish and ASL) and travelled abroad before graduating with honors

2008

Lorenzo Jackson

Lorenzo made a lasting impression in his Adler Youth audition in 2008. There, he discovered his interest in Shakespeare in a production of Julius Caesar. “The fault, dear Brutus is not in our stars but in ourselves that we are underlings”. He draws back to this motivation despite the circumstance. Lorenzo is a 2019 graduate of the Juilliard Drama Group 48 and has since made his Off-Broadway debut in The Acting Company’s Native Son and Measure for Measure and Broadway debut in A Soldier’s Play.

Suzy Petcheam

Suzy set a new standard for leadership with Arts Justice. She was one of the first students in our partnership with Phoenix House in 2011. She distinguished herself as a leader of the group and came on board first as an intern and then as an associate. Now as Director of Field Programs, she leads several innovative projects including the large program at Rikers Island Correctional Facility and her brain child, the Outside/In reentry company.

Maurice Geddie

Maurice joined Adler Youth in 2011, but it was in Outside/In where he really grew up and flourished. Maurice dropped out of Adler Youth and spent a number of years soul-searching until he returned to the studio with a drive, need and desperation to re-discover himself. He came to an early Outside/In workshop. Maurice began as a student, and soon developed into a writer, director and producer with his own production company. He is also an ambassador, a volunteer in several of our New York City public schools and Phoenix House programs. Maurice wholeheartedly believes that Arts Justice helped him on his path to self-discovery.

Jason Gray

Jason was the second leader of the Adler Youth and Summer Shakespeare programs. He took the reins in 2012 and built a diverse staff and curriculum, bringing the Black Arts movement into the program’s heart. Jason is currently in a joint degree MFA/MBA program at Yale, ensuring that his vision and leadership will continue to benefit the national art and theater landscape.

William Gallagher

Since we met Will as a resident at Phoenix House in 2012 he has been an anchor of vital field programs. Will's many roles include being a founding member of the Outside/In ensemble, an ambassador in every single Arts Justice program, a leader, role model and mentor. Will uses his experience and innate sense of strength and hope to serve students at drug and alcohol treatment centers, underserved NYC public classrooms and on Rikers Island. Will credits the Arts Justice Division for helping save his life and has shared his story in many places including the studio's annual gala, Stella by Starlight. While Will has been an active participant in the Arts Justice Community for almost 8 years, his next career goal is to use his experience and knowledge to become a Peer Educator via Art, Drama, and Music Therapy. Will is deeply committed to being an instrument of change in the recovery community.

Latanya Jones

Latanya was one of the first women we met at Rose M. Singer Center on Rikers Island in 2014. She was a founding student in the women's program and a vital ensemble member whose commitment helped to form the foundation for a strong program on the island. When she came home, Latanya joined the Outside/In ensemble. Today she is building her own not-for-profit, All Things Art, that aims to serve at-risk youth via creative and performing arts in Boston, MA.

Lisette Bamenga

Lisette was a founding student in the program at Rose M. Singer Center on Rikers Island in 2014. Today Lisette is an Academic Coordinator at Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison where she provides college level programming for incarcerated people in New York State. She is also an advocate for awareness and reform around issues of incarceration with a special focus on women in jail and prisons. When she came home, Lisette joined the first women's cohort of Ritual 4 Return. Because this was such a transformational and healing experience in her re-entry journey, Lisette decided to stay involved and assist other participants returning to the community by being the Education Specialist for R4R.

2015

Christina Colon

We first met Christina at Rose M. Singer Center in 2015 after she saw the Circle Project. She was a force from the very beginning and participated in every class and project she could on Rikers Island. Christina joined Outside/In as soon as she came home and participated in several projects throughout the years. She has successfully re-entered society and is a positive, contributing member as well as a wonderful mother. She continues to seek out and participate in arts related and social justice activities. Christina is committed to working on herself and creating a better life for herself and her children.

2016

Andrea Abello

Andrea Abello broke the mold of tour actors when she articulated the impact of the 2016 Two Gentlemen of Verona tour in this blog post. Since then Andrea has been busy acting at Soho Rep, Repertory Theater of St. Louis, New York Theater Workshop, Repertorio Español, The New Group and more and changing the world for the better with every project. She can next be seen in Lisey's Story on Apple TV+ written by Stephen King and produced by J.J. Abrams.

Reilly Hilbert

Reilly was a fourth-year NYU student actor in the Company Tour production of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Arts Justice has taken center stage in her life. Reilly just finished her position as an Arts Associate and Resident Teaching Artist with the New York City Department of Correction, where she spent the past year deepening the work she started on the tour. She is headed to Grad School in January to pursue her MFA in International Theater Practice and Performance, solidifying how Art and Activism will continue to be at work in her life and her art.

Lennier McLeod

Lennier was a vital ensemble member at Rose M. Singer Center since we met her there in 2017. Today Lennier is enjoying a renewed connection with her family and engagement with her continued education. She is working toward her certification in Occupational Safety Health Administration which will position her to inspect buildings and their safety systems. Lennier is also a volunteer for Joanne Edelman's remote classes for incarcerated women; she will appear as a student in recorded classes that will be recorded and launched during the pandemic.

Eric Geller

Eric was a resident at Educational Alliance: Center for Recovery and Wellness when he became a very important ensemble member of Outside/In. At the time, in 2018, Eric was recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, and dealing with some major mental health challenges. He found true healing in acting and writing and has really held on to the Outside/In community for support and fellowship, which he refers to us as his family. Today Eric is a Peer Educator and works for a community organization called New York Harm Reduction Educators. Eric is literally on the front lines everyday, helping others with their own recovery. Eric is committed to his own ongoing growth and evolution and has dedicated his life to serving others. His next plan is to go to school to become an Emergency Medical Technician.

Kevin Bott

Kevin had been working as a college administrator for a decade but harboring dreams of finding a partner willing to take a chance on a passion project called Ritual4Return (R4R), which he created as an NYU doctoral student from 2008-2010. He was introduced to Tom and Nina in 2018 through former board chair, Colin Greer, and together they produced two powerful rites of passage in 2019, one for formerly incarcerated men and the very first one for formerly incarcerated women. Kevin is currently the director of the Arts Justice division, helping to raise funds, align and coordinate programming, and elevate the work of the unit's expanding roster of activities.

Alex Anderson

"As a formerly incarcerated person, I have committed my life to helping individuals’ transition from prison back to society. I joined Ritual4Return as a participant in 2009. At the time, I was seeking healing from the trauma I experienced due to my incarceration, which often triggered emotional distress in my life, despite my being out of prison for almost a decade. During the process of creating a rite of passage, I was able to heal from the trauma I experienced and step fully into being a positive and productive person. In 2018, I returned to Ritual4Return as the social worker and later director of programs. I believe it is important for me to share this space with others to receive the healing and restoration that I experienced.”

Anette Burwell

Anette came to the Ritual 4 Return program as a student in 2019 and quickly emerged as a leader. Anette is a Licensed Master Social Worker and Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor. Her clinical background includes 25 years of extensive experience in providing therapeutic interventions in the arena of substance abuse and mental health. Anette is a senior leader in her field, providing supervision on a clinical level to the staff and overseeing the day-to-day operations at an adult men and women Homeless shelter- Safe Haven II, Comunilife, Inc. Anette is a graduate of the first R4R women’s cohort, where she became empowered to tell the story of her of incarceration in a therapeutic and healing arts environment. After experiencing a powerful transformation of change and healing while going through her rite of passage, she became inspired to join the leadership of Ritual4Return in order to help continue the fight to reduce recidivism and to build a healthy and productive community among all people returning home from prison. Today she is Director of Social Work and Ritual Elder for R4R and her work at the studio also bridges to the Adler Youth program.