Initiatives

Diamond Jones

Chris Noth

Theatre Credits: Broadway: That Championship Season Gore Vidal’s The Best Man (Theatre World Award). Off Broadway/regional: Faustus (Classic Stage Company) Farragut North(Atlantic Theatre); What Didn’t Happen (Playwright’s Horizons); Arms and the Man (Roundabout Theatre); American Buffalo (Berkshire Theatre Festival). TV: Manhunt: Unabomber(Netflix/Discovery), The Good Wife (Golden Globe nom.), Law and Order, Sex and the City (Golden Globe nom.), Gone. Film: Lovelace, Elsa & Fred, Sex and the City 1 & 2 and Mr. 3000, White Girls and Chronically Metropolitan.

Jumaane Williams

Jumaane Williams has served as the New York City Public Advocate since 2019. He formerly served as a member of the New York City Council from the 45th district.

Willie Woodmore

Marjolaine Goldsmith

Credits Include

Compromise

Afterwords

Henry IV

Chad Coleman

TV & Film credits include
The Wire
Boldly Going Nowhere
The Green Hornet

Amy Ryan

TV & Film credits include:
Win, Win
Gone Baby Gone (Academy Award Nomination)
The Wire
The Office

Obi Abili

Obi Abili was recently seen in a recurring role on the third season of the Showtime Series Billions and will soon be in the upcoming film Faraway Eyes. He recently finished starring in the Irish Rep’s production of The Emperor Jones and just had a lead role in the new Sky comedy miniseries Delicious with Dawn French, which premiered on New Years’ Day overseas.

He just starred opposite Juliette Binoche in Ivo van Hove’s production of Antigone at BAM. He also has a major supporting role in the upcoming feature London Fields opposite Amber Heard, Billy Bob Thornton and Theo James, which just premiered at Toronto. He had a leading role in the feature Tula: The Revolt opposite Danny Glover and was also seen opposite Colin Firth and Cameron Diaz in Gambit. He was a regular on the UK minis The Take with Tom Hardy, Injustice with James Purefoy, Moses Jones with Eamonn Walker and The Nativity with Tatiana Maslany.

He has guest starred on the Cinemax series Strike Back and BBC’s Foyle’s War. Screen International named him a “Star of Tomorrow” in 2010 and IndieWire called him “an actor to watch."

Zach Grenier

Selected credits: Broadway: 33 Variations, A Man For All Seasons; Off-Broadway: A Question of Mercy, The Fiery Furnace, and, at the Public Theatre, Stuff Happens, Woyzeck, Talk Radio. Regional: the title roles in Uncle Vanya and Tartuffe at Yale Repertory, the latter also at Princeton’s McCarter Theatre, and Yvan in Art in Chicago. Films include Tommy Boy, Twister, Ride With The Devil, Fight Club and Zodiac. On television, series regular on C16:FBI and Touching Evil; featured on Deadwood, 24, and The Good Wife.

Linda Powell

Theater credits include:
On Golden Pond (Broadway)
Wilder, Wilder, Wilder(Broadway)
The Overwhelming(Roundabout)
TV & Film credits include:
American Gangster
Morning Glory
The Good Wife

John Doman

Film and Television credits:

Blue Valentine

Mystic River

The Wire

Borgia

Josh Hamilton

Theater credits include:
Three Sisters (Classic Stage)
The Coast of Utopia (Lincoln Center Theater)
Proof (Broadway)
TV & Film credits include:
Ten Stories Tall
Away We Go
Mercy

Harris Yulin

Hedda Gabler
The Price
The Diary of Anne Frank
The Visit
A Lesson from Aloe
Watch on the Rhine

Chinaza Uche

Chinaza Uche just closed "Sugar In Our Wounds" at Manhattan Theatre Club and appeared last season in the critically acclaimed "Sojourners/Her Portmanteau" at New York Theatre Workshop, a NYT Critics Pick. He has also performed in productions with Playwright’s Realm, Transport Group, La Mama, The National Black Theater and regionally at Seattle Rep and Everyman Theatre in Baltimore. He has also appeared on television in “Golden Boy” (CBS), “Deception” (NBC), and “Blue Bloods” (CBS), and in the films "Mother of George" (Sundance), Terry Richardson’s "Last Hours" (Cannes), and "Shookum Hills," and stars in the feature film "Nigerian Prince" which premiered this year at the Tribeca Film Festival and will be in theatres this Fall.

David Strathairn

TV & Film credits include:
Nomadland

Lincoln
Temple Grandin (Emmy Award)
Good Night & Good Luck(Academy Award Nomination)
The Uninvited
The Bourne Ultimatum

David Zayas

TV & Film credits include:
Gotham
Dexter
Oz

Dominic Dupont

Community Liaison

Dominic J. Dupont is a Native New Yorker born and raised in the neighborhood of Flatbush, Brooklyn. At the young age of nineteen Dominic was arrested, charged and ultimately convicted of murder. He was subsequently sentenced to a prison term of 25 years to life. In prison Dominic Learned the value of good programming and saw the benefits others were reaping from it. With this understanding and a goal of changing his perception and behavior Dominic immersed himself in a myriad of programs that helped him embrace the values of leadership, mentorship, empathy, compassion, and integrity. During his incarceration Dominic has held the titles of director, coordinator, facilitator, educator, and mentor.

After serving 20 years, 7 months, and 18 days in the New York State Prison system, Dominic was granted an executive clemency in December 2017, by NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo based on Dominic’s leadership and positive impact with the prison system. Dominic was released on January 22, 2018, and immediately began implementing what he had learned during his incarceration to make himself an asset and resource to his community.

Since his release Dominic has shared his story, experiences, and analysis across multiple venues and to a variety of audiences, including Vice and HBO’s documentary titled “Raised in the System”. He continues to live the mantra, “A setback is a setup for a comeback,” and has continued to engage communities across the country to find ways to learn from his story.

In conjunction with his various accomplishments, Dominic also holds an Associates in Psychology from Ashworth College.

All inquiries can be sent to jassendupont@gmail.com

De-Andrea Blaylock-Johnson

LCSW and Sex Therapist, St. Louis, MO

De-Andrea Blaylock-Johnson is licensed in the state of Missouri as a Clinical Social Worker and has worked in the field of mental health since 2004. She is passionate about helping others achieve their goals and live as whole persons.

She is a graduate of both Saint Louis University and Washington University in St. Louis, and endeavors to positively impact all those with whom she interacts. As the owner of Sankofa Sex Therapy, LLC, she helps individuals and those in all types of relationships reach their goals.

She conducts workshops about sexuality and intimacy building and is an Executive Committee Member of the Women of Color Sexual Health Network.

Hailey Nolasco

Hailey Nolasco is a first generation Brooklyn resident of immigrants from the Dominican Republic. She is a public servant dedicated to advancing the ideals of integrity and social cohesion to increase public safety. Ms. Nolasco is a criminal justice reform advocate that focuses on furthering the advancement of women of color, reducing mass incarceration, ending gun violence, increasing youth empowerment, and creating safer, healthier, and more resilient communities.

In both her personal and professional life, she has worked on coalition building, policy analysis, strategic planning, program implementation and evaluation in public and not-for profit sectors at federal, municipal, and grassroot levels. Hailey is a results-driven leader with the proven ability to conceptualize and execute innovative, sustainable program initiatives. She has worked on creating interventions targeting domestic violence and gun violence and has developed and spearheaded programs to mentor and empower young women throughout the City.

Recently, Hailey has founded Civically Engaged, a community-based organization to
address the challenges and enhance the lives of young women of color who have been disproportionately affected by systemic oppression and help them recognize that CIVIC ENGAGEMENT is POWER! Having experienced adversity throughout her years as ayouth and as an adult, Hailey knows the importance of relatable positive influencers in the lives of young people to help get them back on track.

Hailey holds a Master’s of Public Administration from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, specializing in both Management and Operations, and Criminal Justice Administration, and has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the College of Staten Island. Hailey is also an adjunct lecturer at CUNY Brooklyn College.