In the marrow of my being, in the quiet recesses of my soul, I believe every human being carries the divine right to live fully—to love, to create, to become. Not equally, but equitably. With resources shaped to their individual truths, with opportunities that meet them where they are and lift them to where they dream.
True democracy begins where equity lives—in the daily practice of fairness, inclusion, and justice for all.
My life has been shaped by an unwavering faith in artistry, equity, and democracy. To lead Harlem Stage, rooted in the cultural richness and unparalleled legacy of Harlem, is an honor beyond measure. But this moment—this charged, complex, and uncertain now—calls us to something deeper.
We are living through the unraveling of truths we once thought unshakable. Demagoguery rises. Lies dress themselves in headlines. And yet, here stand the artists. Here rise the cultural institutions. First responders. Frontline workers. Dreaming and building the future the world so desperately needs.
And still, the inequities persist. The disinvestments continue. A Helicon Collaborative study in 2017 revealed what we know too well: Of 41,000 cultural organizations, just 2% received 60% of contributed income—funneled into institutions centered on Western European traditions and affluent white audiences. Meanwhile, institutions led by the Global Majority—85% of the world’s people—were left with only 10%. TEN PERCENT!
This is not an accident. This is a structure. A structure that demands to be dismantled.
And yet—despite centuries of exclusion—artists and institutions of the Global Majority remain steadfast. We are the pulse. We are the possibility. We carry the ancestral memory and future vision of a world yet to be born.
Harlem Stage continues, after 42 years, to stand firm in that vision. We are poised to unleash across the world all that has been “whispered, silenced, erased, and ignored.”
Harlem Stage is the stage to set untold stories free. Only forward,
Dr. Indira Etwaroo | CEO & Artistic Director | Harlem Stage
JOY HARJO
Joy Harjo is an internationally renowned performer and writer of the Muscogee Nation. She served three terms as the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States from 2019-2022 and is winner of the Poetry Society of America’s 2024 Frost Medal, Yale’s 2023 Bollingen Prize for American Poetry, and was recently honored with a National Humanities Medal.
The author of eleven books of poetry, including the highly acclaimed, Weaving Sundown in a Scarlet Light: Fifty Poems for Fifty Years, several plays, children’s books, and non-fiction works, and two memoirs, Crazy Brave and Poet Warrior, her many honors include the National Book Critics Circle Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award, the Ruth Lily Prize for Lifetime Achievement from the Poetry Foundation, the Academy of American Poets Wallace Stevens Award, and a Guggenheim Fellowship.
As a musician and performer, Harjo has produced seven award-winning music albums including her newest, I Pray for My Enemies. She has edited three anthologies of Native literature, including When the Light of the World was Sub dued, Our Songs Came Through — A Nor ton Anthology of Native Nations Poet ry, Reinventing the Enemy’s Language, and Living Nations, Living Words: An Anthology of First Peoples Poetry, the companion anthology to her signature Poet Laureate project.
Cloud Runner, Harjo’s twelfth book of poetry, will be published by W.W. Norton in Fall of 2026, following a book of short essays, Girl Warrior: On Coming of Age (Fall of 2025) and her new album, Insomnia and Seven Steps to Grace, co-produced with esperanza spaulding (Spring 2026 from Folkways).
Harjo holds the Ruth Yellowhawk Fellowship from the Kettering Foundation, and is the inaugural Artist-in-Residence for the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She lives on the Muscogee Nation Reservation in Oklahoma.
Dr. Indira Etwaroo is an award-winning producer, scholar, educator, and non-profit arts leader whose career has spanned some of the nation’s most influential cultural institutions. She currently serves as CEO & Artistic Director of Harlem Stage, where she stewards its mission
A visionary arts executive, Dr. Etwaroo has held transformative leadership roles. As the Inaugural Director of Apple’s Steve Jobs Theater, she oversaw the venue’s multiplatform programming and produced global events. As Executive Artistic Director of RestorationART and The Billie Holiday Theater, she helped guide a $4.1M renovation, build world-class dance studios, launched the Black Arts Institute in collaboration with luminaries such as Sonia Sanchez, Phylicia Rashad, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Michele Shay, and Stephen McKinley Henderson, and more than doubled audiences during a period in which the theatre received
Earlier, Dr. Etwaroo was tapped to create The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at New York Public Radio, transforming a ground floor space into a groundbreaking live, digital, and broadcast venue. There, she conceptualized and produced landmark projects including the first-ever recordings of August Wilson’s American Century Cycle, the American Radio narrated by Phylicia Rashad, and the breakout Battle of the Boroughs showcase. She later joined NPR as Founding Executive Producer of NPR Presents, designing a national live events strategy and tours in collaboration with Tony Award-winner Kenny Leon.
Her directing and producing work spans institutions such as The Billie Holiday Theatre, Apple’s Steve Jobs Theater, NPR, WNYC, and the WACO Theater Center in Los Angeles. Among her most notable credits, she served as Associate Director with Kenny Leon on the historic all-Black Shakespeare in the Park production of Much Ado About Nothing at The Public Theater and on Broadway’s A Soldier’s Play, which won the Tony Award for Best Revival.
As a scholar and educator, Dr. Etwaroo has contributed to critical publications, including Dance Rooted in the Movements of Bedford-Stuyvesant (University of Illinois Press, 2019), and designed and created “Leading Performing Arts Institutions in the 21st Century” as an adjunct faculty at NYU’s School of Professional Studies.
Her leadership has been recognized with honors including the Larry Leon Hamlin Producer’s Award (National Black Theatre Festival), the Legacy Award (Black Theatre Network), the Inaugural Advocacy Award (Black Theatre United), and recognition as one of the nation’s “40 Under 40” leaders by The Network Journal. As a Fulbright Scholar, she conducted fieldwork in Ethiopia with Somali women displaced by conflict—research that continues to shape her vision of the intersections between art, culture, and social justice.
Through every role, Dr. Etwaroo has sought to lift up artists, strengthen communities, and build sustainable models for cultural institutions—redefining, with purpose, what it means to create and share stories in the 21st century.
Land Acknowledgement
The Harlem Stage Gatehouse sits on land that was stewarded by the Lenape Tribes and violently overtaken, leading to the death and displacement of countless original inhabitants and stewards of this land. The colonial initiative of the United States of America not only invaded the land stewarded by Indigenous tribes, it also enslaved and exploited millions of Africans stolen from their land to build a free labor force under barbaric conditions that included the separation of families, brutal beatings, rape, and lynching. Harlem Stage seeks to partner with all communities, artists, and institutions of the Global Majority in the struggle for true equity and freedom.
Harlem Stage encourages all people to see this acknowledgment as an urgent call to stand against the deliberate erasure of history, to refuse to let voices of truth be silenced, and to join our efforts to set untold stories free.
Our Commitment to the Planet
Harlem Stage’s values are rooted in ensuring a sustainable planet. Because we see climate change as one of the most pressing issues of our time—an issue that disproportionately impacts Black and Brown communities across the globe—we will continue to honor environmental initiatives both in our operations and programming. Our efforts in using less paper, transitioning to LEDs in our tech and operational spaces, and leaning into digital communications, we have reduced our carbon footprint by 2.5 tons in the 2024 – 2025 season alone.
HARLEM STAGE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Courtney F. Lee Mitchell – President
Mark Thomas – Vice President
Larry McRae – Treasurer and Chair, Finance and Audit Committee
Michael Young – Secretary
Ronald K. Alexander
Angela Glover Blackwell – Chair, Development Committee
Jamila Ponton Bragg
JoAnn K. Chase
Hugh Dancy and Claire Danes
Dr. Indira Etwaroo
Channing Martin
Rebecca Robertson
Tamara Tunie
Heather Wagoner
Blair Washington – Chair, Nominating and Governance Committee
Alisha Johnson Wilder and Todd Wilder
HARLEM STAGE TEAM
Dr. Indira Etwaroo, CEO & Artistic Director
CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE
DEVELOPMENT TEAM
Karlvy Smith, Institutional Strategist & Development Lead
Julianna Friedman, Associate Director of Development
Ebony Devereaux, Development Administrator
Margaret Hunt, Development Consultant
Dwight Johnson Design, Gala Consultant
FINANCE TEAM
Martha Samuel, Director of Finance
Denzel Fields, Manager of Administration & Partnerships
MARKETING TEAM
Deirdre May, Chief Marketing Officer
Theodora Kuslan, Senior Director of Marketing
Lamont Askins, Senior Manager of Internal Comms and Customer Support
Katie Burk, Graphic Designer
Nina Flowers, Public Relations
Squire Media & Management, Public Relations
Walker International Communications Group
OPERATIONS TEAM
Jelani Buckner, Director of Business Management & Operations
Acey Anderson, Manager of The Gatehouse Facility
Jordan Morales, Facilities & Maintenance Associate
Das IT
Lutz & Carr/Chris Bellando, Accountants
Aon/Albert G. Ruben Company (NY)/Claudia Kaufman, Insurance
G&A Partners, Human Resources
Madison Consulting Group, Matt Lawrence
Madison Consulting Group, Matt Lawrence
PEOPLE & PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Shawna Bean, Director
PROGRAMMING & PRODUCTION TEAM
Bethany Cintron, Manager of Education & Community Outreach
Zenzele Daniels, Programming & Production Manager
Devin Cameron, Light & Projections Designer
HARLEM STAGE FAMILY OF SUPPORTERS
Endowment
The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation
The Leonard and Sophie Davis Fund
Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Public Support
New York State Council on the Arts—Chair, Katherine Nicholls
The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs—Mayor Eric Adams and Commissioner Laurie Cumbo
The New York City Council—Councilmember Shaun Abreu and Councilmember Yusef Salaam
New York City Tourism Foundataion
Manhattan Borough President—Mark Levine
Manhattan Community Board Program
Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone
Foundations
Altman Foundation
Bard of Pittsburgh US
Black Theatre United
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS
Columbia Community Service
Doris Duke Foundation
The Diana King Memorial Fund Presented by the Charles and Lucille King
Family Foundation
The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation
Francena T. Harrison Foundation Trust
Ford Foundation
Harkness Foundation for Dance
The Hearst Foundations
Howard Gilman Foundation
The Hyde and Watson Foundation
The Jerome Foundation
(Foundations continued)
Jewish Communal Fund
Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts
Lambent Foundation/Tides Foundation
The Leonard and Robert Weintraub Family Foundation
The Leonard and Sophie Davis Fund
Lucille Lortel Foundation
MacMillan Family Foundation
Mertz Gilmore Foundation
Metzger-Price Fund
Miranda Family Fund
The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation
Pilot House
Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Ruth Foundation for the Arts
The Scherman Foundation, Inc.
SHS Foundation
Spinrad Charitable Trust Fund
Stavros Niarchos Foundation
Theatre Development Fund
The Thompson Family Foundation
Corporations
Bloomberg LP
JoAnn Chase Company
Consolidated Edison Company
The Interpublic Group of Companies
Manhattan Beer Distributors
SESAC
Warner Bros. Discovery
West Harlem Development Corporation
William Morris Endeavor
Ziffren Brittenham LLP
Major Gifts
Altman Foundation
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Ford Foundation
The Hearst Foundations
Barbara and Amost Hostetter
Howard Gilman Foundation
Jewish Communal Fund
The Diana King Memorial Fund Presented by the Charles and Lucille King
Family Foundation
Lambent Foundation/Tides Foundation
The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation
Pilot House
The Thompson Family Foundation
The Leonard and Robert Weintraub Family Foundation
Education Funders
Columbia Community Service
Department of Cultural Affairs
Manhattan Community Award Program
Miranda Family Fund
The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation
The Weintraub Family Foundation
The above list reflects gifts of $100,000 and above. Donations under $99,999 are greatly appreciated but not classified as a Major Gift at Harlem Stage. If your name has been omitted or misprinted, please accept our apologies and contact, Associate Director of Development, Julianna Friedman at jfriedman@harlemstage.org
Individual Support
Anonymous
Randy Adams
Ashley Adjaye
Ronald Alexander*
Lisa Arrindell
Stephany and Simon Bergson
Robert D. Bielecki
Angela Glover Blackwell*
Randy Bryant
Richard Buery
Giselle Byrd
Gayle Capozzalo
Drs. George and Mary Campbell
Geoffrey Canada
Joann Chase*
Christine Choi
Robin Coles
Vicki Corman
Hugh Dancy* and Claire Danes*
Sally and John Draper
Dr. Indira Etwaroo*
Susan Frost
Lisa Garcia
Stuart and Karen Gelwarg
Thelma Golden
Jessica Golden and Scott Lippstreu
*Board Members
Laura Greer
Agnes Gund
Monique Hanson
Drew Hawkins
Kinshasha Holman
Conwill
Russell Hornsby
Margaret Hunt
Lisa Jackson
Debra James
Dwight Johnson
Terria Joseph
John Josephson and Carolina Zapf
Jenette Kahn
Michael Kenny
Steven Kirkpatrick
Brad Learmonth and Jon Gilman
Courtney Lee-Mitchell*
Kenny Leon
Channing Martin*
Frank H. McCourt, Jr.
Gay McDougall
Lawrence McRae*
Sherman and Chris Meloni
Lynn Nottage
Noreen O’Loughlin
Stan Ponte
Terri Prettyman Bowles
Toby Rappaport
LaTanya Richardson
Jackson
Rebecca Robertson*
Rick Rosen
Calvin Royal III and Jacek Mysinksi
Elizabeth Smith and Richard Cotton
Shadawn Smith
Mark Thomas*
Tamara Tunie*
Erwin Underwood
Courtney P. Vance and Angela Bassett
Reginald Van Lee
Laura Walker and Bert Wells
Donna Walker Kuhne
Blair Washington*
Carrie Mae Weems
Alisha Johnson Wilder* and Todd Wilder*
Greg Williamson
Carol Wood Moore
Michael Young*
Alfred and Patricia Zollar
The above list reflects gifts received between July 1, 2024 and September 10, 2025. Donations under $1,000 are greatly appreciated but not acknowledged publicly. If your name has been omitted or misprinted, please accept our apologies and contact Associate Director of Individual and Foundational Giving, Julianna Friedman at jfriedman@harlemstage.org
