Since January 2019 Tsugumi has been the COO of the Institute of Contemporary Art, where she works to strengthen the institutional infrastructure of the museum - the staff, facility, business development and data systems. Tsugumi comes to the ICA from the Davis Museum at Wellesley College, where she served as Associate Director of Operations and Collections Management since March 2015.

A Boston-based non-profit, Abilities Dance works to disrupt ableist beliefs and disseminate the value of inclusion through dance.

Jason Lujan is originally from Marfa, Texas and has lived in New York City since 2001. His current work creates layered connections using cultural, commercial, and political design, often utilizing visual signifiers rooted in Asia and North America. Previous exhibitions and performances include the Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ; the National Museum of the American Indian, NY, NY; the Curibita Biennial in Brazil; Continental de Artes Indígenas Contemporáneas at the Museo Nacional de Culturas Populares, Mexico City, and solo installation, Summer Burial, at the Museum of Contemporary Native Art in Santa Fe. Together with his wife Maria Hiupfield he administers Native Art Department International, a collaborative arts project that has exhibited or appeared at Artists Space, the Kitchen, the Drawing Center, Stamps Gallery, and Galerie SE Konst in Sweden. Jason occasionally curates and co-organizes exhibitions in New York City; he is a board chair with the downtown arts non-profit ABC No Rio.

Hyppolite Ntigurirwa identifies as an everyday-peace artist. His work focuses on using arts to prevent the intergenerational transmission of hate. He uses theatre as an advocacy, healing, educating and uniting tool for post-conflict generations and oppressed communities. While on residency with ACI in Boston, USA in 2016, Hyppolite explored theatre and artistic techniques that can act as resilience mechanisms to express the witnessing of horrific, oppressive and unjust experiences. Hyppolite’s artistic interests and practices explore the individual & systemic roles in both oppressing and restoring humanity. For the last two years Hyppolite has been managing the British Council’s East Africa Arts programme in Rwanda where his focus has been on the intersection of art and disability.

Kaisha is the Co-Founder and Founding Director of Women of Color in the Arts (WOCA), a national service organization dedicated to creating racial and cultural equity in the performing arts field. As a staunch advocate for racial and cultural equity on and off the stage, Kaisha S. Johnson co-founded WOCA to help amplify the voices of arts administrators of color with the intent of cultivating a diverse and inclusive field, as varied in voice and perspective as the communities it serves. Most recent to her position at WOCA, Ms. Johnson served for over a decade as a program director at the Center for Traditional Music and Dance, a non-profit dedicated to building cross- cultural awareness by nurturing and presenting the performing arts traditions of New York’s immigrant communities. Having traveled extensively throughout Latin America and The African Diaspora working with arts organizations and artists, Ms. Johnson has created a niche in the performing arts world. Ms. Johnson holds a Bachelor’s degree in music from Hampton University, a Master’s in music business administration from New York University and has done post-graduate work in ethnomusicology at Hunter College at the City University of New York.

Joseph Samuel Quisol, aka QUISOL, is an artist and cultural organizer with an M.Ed. from Harvard, based in Oakland by way of Charlotte, NC. He released a 3-song EP entitled 'The World Keeps Turning' in February 2018 as a meditation on the cycles of love, life, and social movements. This past summer Quisol and Luke Martinez released The Cards, a soulful reggaeton duet with accompanying music video projecting a liberated queer future and intimacy with the ancestors.

QUISOL is set to release their debut album REVELATIONS at the Arts Equity Summit Kick-Off. Follow Quisol’s work through: QUISOL, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, & Spotify.

Kara, The Chief of Arts & Culture for the City of Boston is an urban planner in the arts focusing on the role of arts and creativity in the built environment and community development. Prior to becoming the Chief of Arts and Culture, she served as the Director of Policy and Planning, where she worked on implementing Boston Creates, Boston’s ten-year cultural plan. She also worked at the intersection of arts and planning around the City, including supporting cultural districts, creative placemaking, and the development of cultural spaces for artists. Originally from Providence, Rhode Island, Kara received her bachelor’s from the University of Chicago and her Master in City Planning from MIT. Prior to the City of Boston, she worked with MIT’s Community Innovators Lab in a community ownership plan for Project Row Houses in Houston, and served as the Media and Communications Editor for the Society of Architectural Historians. Some of her past research includes an analysis of the local impact of artists and art production in Detroit following the 2008 recession, and the role of urban designers in complex problem solving in the Rebuild by Design Hurricane Sandy Design Competition. A resident of Roxbury with an affinity for music, Kara spends much of her free time attending local shows, reading, and drawing.

Paine the Poet served eight years in the Virginia prison system. While incarcerated he used his poetic talents to impact prison programs and re-entry. Continuing this work after his release, Paine frequently conducts workshops at youth facilities and high schools and travels the country performing poetry in the name of justice.

Ny'lasia is a Sophomore at Match High School and has been working with ACI as a Youth United Artist throughout the 18-19 school year. Ny'lasia, amongst her many talents, is an exceptionally gifted spoken word artist.

Ally is a queer poet of color based in Boston. Ally's work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Bettering American Poetry, and has been published in Nepantla, The Shade Journal, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, and elsewhere. Find Ally at allysonang.com.