Facilitator
Dr. Sheriden M. Booker
Dr. Sheriden M. Booker is a cultural strategist and educator, who combines an academic background in African Diasporic, Caribbean, and racial equity studies with 20 years’ experience in the nonprofit and philanthropic sector, working the last ten of these as an arts management consultant with P.S. 314: A Matchmaking Agency for Social Change and her own company, WURArts Consulting.
Booker began her career in film and television production at Walt Disney Studios as a Fellow of the Emma L. Bowen Foundation for Minorities in Media before going on to pursue doctoral studies in Sociocultural Anthropology. With the support of a Ford Foundation Fellowship, her dissertation thesis explored transformations in artistic production and race in post-Special Period Cuba.
Her current consulting work bridges her passion for research with a desire to mobilize information and knowledge toward practical applications and solutions that empower people and underserved communities. Working with a diverse range of clients in the arts, media, education, and public sectors, she designs strategic partnerships, fundraising plans, and organizational and programmatic blueprints that integrate social justice and racial equity objectives.
Since 2020, she has taught at the City College of New York and served as the Director of the Beyond Identity Program within the Colin Powell School for Global and Civic Leadership, working with women-identified and queer students of color to develop their own scholar activist agendas and projects.
She holds a doctorate in Sociocultural Anthropology and African American Studies from Yale University, as well as a Professional Certificate in Arts Administration from New York University She is a proud alumna of the first cohort of CCCADI’s ICA Fellowship.
Presenters
Jerron Herman
Jerron Herman is a disabled dancer and writer who creates works to facilitate welcoming. Jerron regularly writes on art and culture and currently serves on the Board of Trustees at Dance/USA as Vice Chair. He’s currently a member of disability arts collective Kinetic Light. His awards include a 2020 Disability Futures Fellowship by the Ford and Mellon Foundations respectively, as well as the Grants to Artists Award from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts and a Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship from the Jerome Foundation, both in 2021. His play, 3 Bodies, will be published in Theater Magazine May/June 2022. Jerronherman.com
Candice Fortin
Candice Fortin is a political organizer, producer and consultant. Her political work is centered around racial justice & equity. She has worked on over 30 electoral campaigns all over the U.S. centering progressive candidates. Candice has also organized on various issue based work around environmental justice, criminal justice, housing and immigration. She has also worked as a media and event producer having collaborated with Marie Claire, Vice, Women's March, OkayAfrica, and The Grammys. Candice is also a co-founder of Haven, a collective space for BIPOC women and non-binary folks rooted towards abolition and liberation. Currently, she serves as the Associate Director of Experiential for The Soze Agency where she weaves art and storytelling to create dynamic community experiences focused on social impact.
Dr. Jabani Bennett
As a visual artist and arts advocate, Dr. Jabani Bennett is committed to increased visibility for underrepresented creative professionals in the American Midwest. Dr. Bennett is an artist-researcher and strategist with a research focus in cultural equity. Dr. Bennett’s career as an award-winning arts educator in New York City and Louisville public schools informs her current projects in arts & culture. Based in Kentucky, Dr. Bennett has provided strategic planning support for arts organizations. With a history of building strong relationships with diverse families in New York City and Louisville, KY, she believes in the power of asset-based approaches in community development for systemic change in the arts. Her latest project is leading the Center for Health Equity CREATE (Centering Reimagined Equity & Transformative Empowerment) photo book directory project - a citywide initiative for underserved arts professionals in Louisville.