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Andrea Ambam (she/her, Moderator) is a Brooklyn-based actress and playwright whose roots sprout from Cameroon. As a politically engaged storyteller who believes in the art’s potential for movement building and transformative justice, Andrea best intersects spaces where community, performance, and truth-telling pulsate. Currently, she is a Brooklyn Arts Exchange Artist-In-Residence developing a one-woman show and serves as a Lead Facilitator for Broadway Advocacy Coalition's Reiminaging Equitable Productions workshop, addressing racial equity within broadway, off-broadway, and touring theatre companies. She has developed her practice as an Inaugural Artivism Fellow with Broadway Advocacy Coalition, an Artist-in-Residence for Anna Deavere Smith, an EmergeNYC Fellow at the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics, and as a competitive public speaker/performer where she has been awarded 10 national championships including "Top Speaker in the Nation" three times and gone on to debate conservative pundits on live TV. As a performer, writer, and facilitator, she’s worked with Classical Theatre of Harlem/Playbill, gal-dem, Abrons Arts Center, NYU Prison Education Program, Artists’ Literacies Institute, Centre for Social Innovation, and others. She is in the core acting ensemble of the NYU Verbatim Performance Lab. Andrea has a master’s degree in Art & Public Policy from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

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Selina Filinger (she/her) Original plays include SOMETHING CLEAN; FACELESS; and ARMOR PLAYS: CINCHED/STRAPPED. Upcoming work includes THE COLLAPSE, and the Broadway debut of her farce, POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE.Her plays have been developed at Roundabout Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, McCarter Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Old Globe Theatre, Alley Theatre, St. Louis Repertory Theatre, and Northlight Theatre.She’s currently commissioned at South Coast Repertory, Roundabout, and Williamstown. She was a Hawthornden Fellow and a resident of McCarter’s Sallie B. Goodman Artist’s Retreat; SOMETHING CLEAN is the recipient of the 2019 Laurents/Hatcher Award and CINCHED/STRAPPED received the 2019 Williamstown Theatre Festival’s L. Arnold Weissberger New Play Award. POTUS was on the 2019 Kilroys List.Selina currently writes for the third season of Apple TV’s THE MORNING SHOW, and is developing a feature for Chernin/Netflix.

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Jamia Wilson (she/her) is an award-winning feminist activist, writer, speaker, and podcaster. She joined Random House as vice president and executive editor in 2021. As the former director of the Feminist Press at the City University of New York and the former VP of programs at the Women’s Media Center, Jamia has been a leading voice on women’s rights issues for over a decade. Her work has appeared in numerous outlets, including the New York Times, the Today Show, CNN, Elle, BBC, Rookie, Refinery 29, Glamour, Teen Vogue, and The Washington Post. She is the author of This Book Is Feminist, Young, Gifted, and Black, the introduction and oral history in Together We Rise: Behind the Scenes at the Protest Heard Around the World, Step Into Your Power: 23 Lessons on How to Live Your Best Life, Big Ideas for Young Thinkers, ABC's of AOC, and the co-author of Roadmap for Revolutionaries: Resistance, Advocacy, and Activism for All.  Jamia is passionate about mission-driven organizations and serves on the Omega Institute, Feminist.com and Center for Reproductive Rights boards, and the St. Timothy’s School Advisory Council. She is also the co-host of the second season of the Anthem Award-winning podcast, Ordinary Equality.

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Gloria Steinem (she/her) is a writer, political activist, and feminist organizer. She was a founder of New York and Ms. magazines, and is the author of The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off, My Life on the Road, Moving Beyond Words, Revolution from Within, and Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions, all published in the United States, and in India, As If Women Matter. She co-founded the National Women’s Political Caucus, the Ms. Foundation for Women, the Free to Be Foundation, and the Women’s Media Center in the United States. As links to other countries, she helped found Equality Now, Donor Direct Action, and Direct Impact Africa. For her writing, Steinem has received the Penney-Missouri Journalism Award, the Front Page and Clarion awards, the National Magazine Award, the Lifetime Achievement in Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Society of Writers Award from the United Nations, and the University of Missouri School of Journalism Award for Distinguished Service in Journalism. In 1993, her concern with child abuse led her to co-produce an Emmy Award–winning TV documentary for HBO, Multiple Personalities: The Search for Deadly Memories. She and Amy Richards co-produced a series of eight documentaries on violence against women around the world for VICELAND in 2016. In 2013, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama. In 2019, she received the Freedom Award from the National Civil Rights Museum. She is the subject of Julie Taymor’s recent biopic, The Glorias, released in Fall 2020.

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Suzy Nakamura is from Chicago. She was the first Asian American female to be hired at The Second City, where she worked in the touring company and then opened The Second City Detroit. On television, she is best known for her recurring roles on “The West Wing”, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, “Modern Family”, “Black-ish”, “Veep”, and “The Goldbergs”. Suzy starred in “Dr. Ken” and season 4 of “Snowfall”, and currently can be seen in the HBO comedy series “Avenue 5” and Netflix’s “Dead to Me”. She has voiced many characters on projects such as “Bob’s Burgers”, “Close Enough”,” Inside Job”, and the upcoming animated feature Luck. Film credits include Horrible Bosses 2, Afternoon Delight, American Zombie, and Dodgeball.

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Aimee Allison is a writer, democratic innovator, and visionary champion of racial and gender justice. She is the Founder and President of She the People, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to an America redefined and inspired by women of color. Renowned for her national efforts to build inclusive, multiracial coalitions, Allison organized and moderated the nation’s first presidential forum for women of color, attended by Presidential candidates and more than 1000 women from across the country, garnering major national press.

At She the People, Allison leverages media, research and analysis to show the power of the women of color electorate, increase voter engagement, and advocate for racial, economic and gender justice. In her writings in The New York Times, Newsweek, The Washington Post, and Essence Magazine, Allison has made the definitive case that women of color are the saving graces of our American democracy.

Her early experience growing up in a multiracial family and searching for belonging in mostly white communities honed her ability to build bridges with others often marginalized and dismissed. Her work is firmly grounded in finding shared history and a common vision to create new political and cultural pathways to change.

Allison holds a B.A. in History and M.A in Education from Stanford University. In the early 1990’s, Allison earned a rare honorable discharge from the U.S. Army as a conscientious objector, launching 30 years of efforts to build communities and launch campaigns grounded in love, justice, and belonging. She is at work on several groundbreaking media projects highlighting the legacy and history-making impact of women of color as the vanguards for multiracial solidarity and democracy.

And as she told Diablo Magazine recently, her belief in multiracial democracy [is] “my whole life’s work. ... I have stepped into a very powerful legacy and will do my part to prepare the next generation.”

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Maya Contreras is an artist and lifelong anti-poverty advocate. She hails from four generations of artists and advocates including her grandfather, Belisario Contreras, who was just posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his service as an artist during WWII in the formally classified, Ghost Army.

Contreras is a federal policy expert and political narrative strategist who has held intersectional anti-racist policy and messaging clinics for leading members of legacy media, Congress, and U.S. Democratic Senators’ social media teams. As a former Democratic Congressional Candidate, Maya met with countless constituents, progressive organizations, and government officials. She maintains important relationships with non-profits that conduct justice work and Local, Federal, and Global elected leaders.

For almost a decade, Maya has conducted Voting Rights workshops and lectures across the U.S. from the Brennan Center for Justice to the University of San Francisco School of Law. Contreras testified in support of the New York State John Lewis Voting Rights Act in the New York Senate on March 3, 2020.

Contreras formally chaired the All Women’s Progress Policy Center (AWP), an intersectional anti-racist policy institute dedicated to improving the lives of women and marginalized groups through research and education. AWP workshops included lectures from Dr. Ibram X Kendi (Director of Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research), Kristen Clarke (Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ), Shannon Watts (Founder of Mom’s Demand), Rebecca Cokley (U.S. Disability Rights Program Officer for the Ford Foundation), Tarana Burke (Founder of #MeToo).

Maya has a BA in Comparative Religion & Philosophy, and MA in Art & Public Policy from NYU. In 2020, she was selected as Progressive Women's Voice by The Women's Media Center. Maya is an award-winning policy researcher and currently chairs Manhattan's Community 03 Neighborhood Advisory Board.

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Lisa Helmi Johanson (Standby Chris, Dusty, Stephanie) To debut with these incredible women and play is more than I could have ever dreamed. Boundless gratitude to Stro, Selina, Taylor, Rochel and HCKR. I write, produce, and play instruments! Check out my original works at lisahelmijohanson.com. All for my J&J. Elevate marginalized voices. Micah 6:8

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Liuba Grechen Shirley is the Founder and CEO of Vote Mama, the nation’s first Political Action Committee dedicated to electing progressive moms up and down the ballot, as well as the Founder and CEO of Vote Mama Foundation, the leading source of research and analysis about the political participation of mothers in the United States. Vote Mama Foundation is working toward gender equity by breaking the barriers mothers face running for office, normalizing mothers of young children running for office, and enabling legislators to pass family-friendly policies.

In 2018, Liuba ran a historic congressional campaign to represent New York’s 2nd District in the U.S. House of Representatives. She received the highest vote share of any Democrat to run against the incumbent in 25 years. Liuba raised over $2 million with no corporate PAC money and built a grassroots movement of volunteers that knocked over 250,000 doors. She petitioned the Federal Election Commission and became the first woman in history to receive federal approval to spend Campaign Funds on Childcare.

Throughout her career, Liuba has forged strategic partnerships between public, private, and nonprofit sector organizations to tackle issues including economic development, access to health care, and paid family leave. Together with UN Women, she launched the #IAmParent campaign for Parental Leave and was selected as a Global Champion for Women’s Economic Empowerment.

In 2019 and 2020, Liuba was selected as one of Long Island’s 100 Most Powerful People by City & State and was named to the Long Island Business News 40 Under 40 list. She has appeared on CNN, The Today Show, and MSNBC and featured in The Washington Post, TIME Magazine, and Huffington Post. Liuba holds an MBA with specializations in Management and Economics from the NYU Stern School of Business, and a BA in Politics and Russian from NYU. She lives on Long Island with her husband Christopher and children, Mila, Nicholas, and Andrew.

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Françoise Olivas is a small business owner and working mom. She is an artist, avid environmentalist, vocal community organizer, and proud Judicial Delegate. A New Yorker for 30 years, Olivas is running for State Senate so that every one of us has a seat at the table.

Olivas is committed to New York.

In the aftermath of 9/11, she volunteered with the Red Cross next to The Pit at Ground Zero. When Superstorm Sandy devastated the Rockaways, Françoise was on-site working clean-up. As each ravaging wave of the pandemic tore through our city, Françoise has been on the frontlines, with her community.

Commitment is more than just a word for Olivas. She volunteers in food insecurity, works in eldercare, and advocates for small businesses. She has witnessed firsthand the failure of our social safety nets. Françoise believes every human being has the right to a safe place called home, and to clean air and water. Every senior citizen has earned a place of dignity in our community. Every child has the right to an equitable education. Every New Yorker has the right to prosperity and healthcare.

Born in El Paso, Texas, Olivas learned early the value of public service. One of her first memories is watching her mother wade across the Rio Grande into Juarez, to provide diapers and formula to women in need. Many years later, as a long-time resident of New York City with her husband and child, Olivas is running to bring that same sense of purpose to the New York State Senate and to provide an example to her own daughter.

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Vanessa Williams is one of the most respected and multi-faceted performers, whose work in film, recordings, TV, and theatre have earned her four Emmy nominations, eleven Grammy nominations, a Tony nomination, three SAG award nominations, seven NAACP Image Awards, three Satellite Awards and a star on the Hollywood Walk-Of-Fame. Her autobiography, You Have No Idea, co-written with her mother Helen Williams, was a NY Times Bestseller. Broadway credits include: The Trip to Bountiful, After Midnight, Sondheim on Sondheim, Into The Woods, and Kiss Of The Spider Woman; with special engagements in Hey, Look Me Over at NY City Center, the recent Anyone Can Whistle at Carnegie Hall, and the West End revival of City of Angels. One of the world’s most accomplished concert artists, Vanessa appears regularly with prestigious symphony orchestras, including The Kennedy Center’s National Symphony Orchestra. She supports various organizations including Black Theatre United (Co-Founder), Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, Special Olympics, and Broadway Cares-Equity Fights AIDS.

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LaTosha Brown is an award-winning visionary thought leader, institution builder, Cultural Activist and Artist, and Connector. She is a nationally recognized, “go-to” expert in Black Voting Rights and Voter Suppression, Black Women’s Empowerment, and Philanthropy.

Her voice is the nexus between the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Power Movement, and Black Lives Matter.

“There is power in my voice! It is a divine gift that I use to connect different worlds. I bridge the philanthropy world to the grassroots community, traditional politics to grassroots politics, and practitioners to the scholarship of movement building.”

LaTosha is the Co-Founder of Black Voters Matter Fund and Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute. These initiatives are designed to boost Black voter registration and turnout, as well as increase power in marginalized, predominantly Black communities.

LaTosha is also the Visionary, Founder and Co-Anchor of a regional network called the Southern Black Girls & Women’s Consortium. This is $100 million, 10-year initiative to invest in organizations that serve Black women and girls. The goal of the consortium is to create a new approach to philanthropy by allowing every component of the program, inception to execution, to be created by Black girls and women in the South.

In 2021 LaTosha Brown was named one of Glamour Magazine's " Women of the Year" after inspiring voter turnout, mobilizing hundreds of thousands of citizens and notched three historic wins for the Democratic Party in the state of Georgia.

Ms. Brown is also the 2020 Hauser Leader at the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School, the 2020 Leader in Practice at Harvard Kennedy School’s Women and Public Policy Program, and a 2020-2021 American Democracy fellow at the Charles Warren Center at Harvard.

What’s Next?
LaTosha has worked in 23 different countries to include Kenya, Guyana, and Brazil. Her next mission involves resourcing and empowering women across the Diaspora. “I don’t want women to be seen as victims; they are the problem solvers for the world. I am convinced that Black Women are going to liberate the world!”

In the Media
Ms. Brown has received numerous awards and accolades for her work. She has been featured on ABC, CBS, CNN, Democracy Now, and PBS. Her Op-Eds have been showcased in the New York Times, Politico and Essence. Her work has also been highlighted in several docuseries: What’s Eating America?,  American Swamp, and Finding Justice. To learn more about LaTosha, please visit www.mslatoshabrown.com

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Lea Delaria was the first openly gay comic on television in America, and is an accomplished Jazz performer who has performed in concert venues all over the world. She is best known as ‘Big Boo’ from “Orange is the New Black” (3 SAG Awards). Lea can currently be seen in the feature film Potato Dreams of America, and in the upcoming Indigo Girls jukebox feature film, Glitter & Doom. TV credits include “The Blacklist”, “Physical”, “Reprisal”, “Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness”, “Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts”, “Shameless”, and “Broad City”. Film credits include Cars 3, Support The Girls, and First Wives Club. Broadway credits, The Rocky Horror Show (Eddie/Dr. Scott) and On The Town (Hildy), Obie and Theatre World Awards. @realleadelaria www.leadelaria.com

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Zakiya Thomas is a change agent; helping businesses, nonprofits, and political campaigns transform. For over 10 years she has worked with organizations in transition to execute and achieve their goals. Whether leading a nonprofit through its next phase, managing a political campaign to victory, or consulting with a start-up company, Zakiya helps organizations chart their course to success. She is an adept campaign manager and strategist with a proven record of helping candidates surpass expectations and win. Zakiya founded a consulting firm on the premise of doing well while doing good to help organizations grow, adapt, and thrive. She is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown Law teaching a nonpartisan course on how to run for political office. A licensed social worker, Zakiya volunteers as a group facilitator for a parenting education program, working with parents and children. She is also on the Board of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia. Zakiya received a Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Science from the College of William and Mary.

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Carol Jenkins is the President and CEO of the ERA Coalition and the Fund for Women’s Equality, sister organizations dedicated to the adoption of the Equal Rights Amendment. She is also founding president of The Women’s Media Center, and former chair and current board member of Amref Health Africa USA. As a pioneering African American television reporter, Jenkins was an anchor and correspondent for WNBC TV in New York for nearly 25 years. Ms. Jenkins is also an author, the three-time NY Emmy-nominated host of Black America on CUNY TV, the executive producer, writer and documentary correspondent of an award-winning film, a podcast host, and co-anchor of CUNY TV’s live election night coverage.

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Charlotte Clymer is the former press secretary for rapid response at the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest civil rights organization dedicated to advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) equality. Her day-to-day work involves running the organization’s messaging in response to the White House and federal policy.

She also serves on the D.C. Commission for Persons with Disabilities, the Board for the Center for Law and Military Policy, the Military and Veterans Advisory Council for Outserve-SLDN (Servicemember’s Legal Defense Network), and the Advisory Councils for Running Start and the Lone Star Parity Project, organizations working toward gender parity in elected office.

She is also a Political Partner in the Class of 2019 at the Truman National Security Project, which works to bring together leaders with national security backgrounds to deliver concrete solutions to pressing global challenges for leaders at the local, state, and national levels.

Her commentary has been quoted by the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, the Guardian, TIME, Newsweek, and numerous other publications. Her work has been published in the Washington Post, NBC News, GQ, the Independent, Quartz, Dame Magazine, and others.

She is a 2019 40 under 40 Queer Women of D.C. Honoree and graduate of Georgetown University, and one of Fortune Magazine’s 40 under 40 (2020).

She is a Texan, military veteran and proud transgender woman, currently based in Washington, D.C.

★ Streaming live from HENRIETTA HUDSON in New York City. ★

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LEA
DELARIA
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THOMAS
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Introducing the
POTUS Coalition

The POTUS Coalition is a group of non-partisan, women-led non-profit organizations fighting for greater representation, fair elections, and accessible voter registration throughout the country at federal, state, and local levels.

Get to know the organizations advancing a more representative and participatory democracy for all

Cue up the B*tch Beats, strike a power pose, and get ready to dig into the themes of POTUS with the magnificent seven.

Let's do this

Life, Liberty, and the chance to see it one more time.

See POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive again! Tickets starting at $39 with code ROUNDTWO. Offer valid on performances through 8/28/22. Subject to availability. Blackout dates may apply.

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