Veteran arts administrator, master practitioner, community advocate, and experienced fundraiser, Keesha Dixon has become one of the most respected and revered leaders in the arts community of Indianapolis and throughout the nation. With 40+ years of experience in executive leadership, management and supervisory positions within a federally funded employment and training agency, the United States Air Force Reserves and the Asante Art Institute, Dixon is a trailblazer whose unmistakable touch has been felt by countless arts patrons and families alike. She has been a teaching/performing artist for the past 19 years and the former Executive Director of Asante Art Institute.

D. Del Reverda-Jennings is an Alaskan Native, Midwest-based, self-taught artist whose interdisciplinary practice draws from a kaleidoscope of cultural nuance, insight and connection with extensive experience in the fine arts. She holds longstanding relationships with the Indianapolis arts community, artists of all disciplines, and major arts entities. Over twenty-five years ago, she founded the annual FLAVA FRESH ! Juried Exhibition Presentation Series of Contemporary Fine Art. Her artworks have been exhibited and are held in several private and corporate collections internationally.

Roland Smith is an Indianapolis Indiana native who earned his bachelor’s degree at Tennessee State University in Commercial Music and Performance. Before becoming a leader in arts administration, Smith performed with various organizations throughout Chicago such as Deeply Rooted Dance Theatre and Endure Productions. Since his return to Indianapolis in 2018, he assumed the role of the Director of Community Engagement for Keep Indianapolis Beautiful and Chief Program Officer for iibada Dance Company. Smith has always gone by the motto, “Where Ever God Leads Me.” His journey has brought him full circle as he now serves as President & CEO for iibada Dance Company. 

Rob Dixon is an adjunct professor at IUPUI and is the artistic director for Indy Jazz Fest. He mentors the Jazz Futures, an Indianapolis Jazz foundation sponsored ensemble comprised of talented high school students. Dixon also continues to perform and tour frequently in the United States and abroad. He has collaborated, performed and recorded with numerous national and Indianapolis based groups including Illinois Jacquet, Rufus Reid, Composer Bill Lee, The Count Basie Orchestra, Weldon Irving, and many more.

Born and raised in Indianapolis, Jeffery Thomas II was quickly placed in settings where his leadership skills were utilized to encourage and motivate others. His skillsets have afforded him countless opportunities to pursue his music aspirations on multiple platforms within the music industry. He serves as a lead pastor at The Bridge Indy. Thomas is founder and leader of Thomas and The Situation, a group of singers and musicians from Indianapolis and surrounding cities in the Midwest. The group aspires to inspire and move the souls of people with their funky renditions of gospel and soul classics.

Angelita Hampton is a self-taught, mixed media visual artist, art educator, writer, and activist. Native to Indianapolis, she returned to her hometown 6 years ago and now resides on the Near Eastside where she centers her artistic practice and community work. Her studies in Psychology and African American Studies at Earlham College and The Ohio State University, along with her time living abroad in Mexico, deeply inform her creative-activist work. Hampton is the founder of Collective Liberation Arts, with a mission to create and share affordable and accessible art. 

Devon Ginn (he/him/they/them) stewards the inclusion and community partnership initiatives at the Indiana Repertory Theatre. Ginn is a licensed 200-hour yoga and meditation teacher, a sound alchemist with Invoke Studio & Aura Self & Soul Care, and a published poet. As a freelance artist and meditation practitioner, Ginn’s practice examines the psychogeographies of the built environment through the lens of defiant joy and mindfulness.