Staff
Amanda McDowall
Co-Founder
Co-Executive Director
She/Her
A Queens, NY native, Amanda has been involved in the arts scene all of her life. From attending Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria Queens to attending the University at Buffalo where she received her BFA in Theatre Performance. Since returning to NYC some of her most notable credits are New York Theatre Workshop, 54 Below and NJPAC. In addition to being a performer Amanda has worked as a Costume Supervisor at venues such as the Juilliard, the New York Philharmonic and The Met Museum’s Live Arts Series to name a few. Amanda has been a teaching artist for many years working at Harlem School of the Arts and Red Bull Theatre. She is currently working on her MA in Arts Administration at Baruch College.
Jacqueline Raymond Wegman Co-Founder
Co-Executive Director
She/Her
Originally from upstate New York, Jacqueline began performing at 8 years old. Growing up theatre and music served as her greatest outlet and led her to pursue a life in the arts. Jacqueline holds an MSEd in Educational Theatre from The City College of New York and a BFA in Theatre Performance from SUNY Buffalo. She has studied at The Neighborhood Playhouse, The Barrow Group, UCB, and with top acting teachers Deborah Hedwall and Bob Krakower. Jacqueline is a member of both AEA and SAG-AFTRA. As a teaching artist and acting coach Jacqueline has taught for AMDA, Opening Act, Community Word project and more. As an arts advocate; she is Co-Chair of Programs at NYC Arts in Education Roundtable and volunteers with The 52nd Street Project.
Michelle Jervis-White LCSW
Social Worker
She/Her
A Licensed Clinical Social Worker Michelle Jervis-White has been practicing in New York City for over 20 years, and has worked in substance abuse, aging and mental health. She has worked as a crisis social worker at NYC Department of Education for over 15 years,running her mental health private practice for over 7 years and founder of Girls Mentor Girls in 2019. This came after creating the young women’s sisterhood program, The Girls’ Circle in a Bronx middle school, which continues to be in existence for the past 16 years, Michelle has received the Mentor Coordinator of the Year Award and was accepted into the MENTOR NY Changemaker Fellows program because of her relationship with Mentor NY. which she completed in April of 2020. Michelle also received the UFT (United Federation of Teachers) SRP (School Related Professional) Leadership award for her work with parents and families in NYC public schools.
Danielle Aucion | Teaching Artist | They/Them
Danielle Aucoin (they/them) is a performing artist and arts educator residing in NYC. They earned a BA in Theatre Arts and an MSed in Educational Theatre. They have performed in various venues throughout NYC and New England and have worked as a teaching artist with various organizations including Treasure Trunk Theatre, The Leadership Program and Brooklyn Acting Lab. Danielle is thrilled to be a part of the International Girls Ensemble team!
Maria Castillo | Teaching Artist | She/Her
Maria Isabel Castillo (she/her) is a Dominican-American artist who earned her BA from Muhlenberg College, where she double majored in Theatre and English-Passionate about the arts, she focuses on acting, modeling, teaching, activism, and creative writing, while using fashion as a form of self-expression. More recently, Maria Isabel was a part of Spotify's 2023 Wrapped Ad Campaign and has gone on to work as a Teaching Artist/Internship Coordinator for Apollo Theater and Assistant Teaching Artist for Ping Chong & Company. Maria Isabel graduated from Harlem School of the Arts Conservatory Theater Prep in 2020 and has trained with The Barrow Group. In addition to her extensive performance work, Maria Isabel feels content to be working with IGE and looks forward to collaborating with young minds to create work that builds confidence through the power of storytelling in the arts!
IG @themariaisabel
LaTrisa Harper | Choreographer and Movement Specialist | She/Her
Broadway: Color Purple (u/s Nettie, Squeak) , Lion King (Cheetah). 1st National Tours: Motown (Mary Wells, Gwen Gordy), Color Purple (u/s Nettie, Squeak) Regional: Matilda The Musical (Miss. Honey), Smokey Joe’s Cafe(Brenda),The Wiz, Center Stage; A.R.T. Witness Uganda, Off Broadway: Invisible Thread, 2nd Stage, Plays: On Strivers Row (Cobina). Workshops: Beehive on Broadway with Debbie Allen. Short Films: Staying Power, What Happened to Girls Night. Was a member of Ailey II. B.F.A. Towson State University.
Elana Hershman | Teaching Artist | She/Her
Elana Hershman (she/her) is a performing artist and theater-maker from the San Francisco Bay Area, now living in New York City. She has a big spot in her heart for art and people and believes that theater is an important tool for building bridges between communities and creating empathy. She has an artistic home at Fuse Theatre, where she devises and produces issue-driven and community-centered art and events. She is also a teaching artist and has served a diverse range of students in a variety of settings, including school classrooms, summer conservatories, and online workshops. She is currently working with New York City students through Broadway Bound Kids and Treasure Trunk Theater. She is driven to create a safe and empowering space in the arts for creatives of all ages, and she carries her commitment to accessibility and social equity through all her work.
Traci Jai | Teaching Artist | She/Her
Traci is an actor, director, choreographer and educator currently residing in NYC. She is a former company member and resident choreographer of the Classical Theatre of Harlem and founding director of The Legacy Arts Ensemble (LAE) , a West African storytelling, drum and dance troupe. In 2015, Traci was able to trace her ancestral roots to the Temne people living in Sierra Leone, her journey has led her to start LAE. Choreography & theatre Credits include: Legend of Igbo Landing, Living Legacy, Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe, The Black Nativity, Hip Hop Monologues, Sweet Sweetbacks Baad Aaaasssss Song The Musical, Romeo and Juliet, Aint Supposed to Die A Natural Death, Macbeth, Best of Both Worlds ; American Reparatory Theatre, Aint Nothin' But The Blues; New Haarlem Arts Theatre, The Stronger; Gabrielle Lansner Productions and The Man Who Ate Michael Rockefeller; Dog Run Rep.
Cherise James | Teaching Artist | She/Her
Cherise K James is a performing artist; Actor, Singer, Dancer, and Writer from Miami, FL. She has been teaching in various areas of Performing Arts for about 10 years. She received her Bachelors in Fine Arts for Acting from University of Central Florida and currently receiving her MFA at NYU! James has been performing with various companies throughout New York, Florida, Georgia, and Virgina in classical, modern, contemporary, and musical performances. She is an artist who loves to share light and truth through storytelling.
www.cherisekimoy.com or IG @cherisekimoy_theartist.
Trisha Jeffrey | Teaching Artist | She/Her
Trisha has been a teaching artist in NYC since pursuing her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre at Lehman College, CUNY. Fresh off the boat from singing Scott Bradlee’s PostModern Jukebox via Holland America Line, Trisha is thrilled to join the fantastic team at International Girls Ensemble. As an actress and singer, her performance credits include Broadway’s Motown The Musical, Rent, All Shook Up, and the OBC of Little Shop of Horrors. She was most recently seen as “Lisa” in the short film An Anomalous Love, “Sam” in the new play Antoinette: Lost In A Changing World, and “LaReine Beausoleil” in the world premiere of the new musical Loveless Texas. It is Trisha’s pure joy to help engage the minds of young people, building their knowledge and self-esteem through the arts.
www.trishajeffrey.com @trishajeffrey
Marion Lopez | Teaching Artist | She/Her
Marion Lopez is a native New York theater educator, performer and director- creating and collaborating for over fifteen years. Most recently, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for the webseries Tradecraft: On The Run at the 2024 LA WebFest. As a teaching artist, she has worked with the Creative Arts Team, Drama Club, Opening Act, People’s Theatre Project and the New York City Children’s Theatre. She is currently the full-time Performing Arts teacher at Harlem Prep Elementary. She holds a MA in Applied Theater from the CUNY School of Professional Studies and K-12 Educational Theatre certification through City College. She is over the moon to be joining the IGE community!u tell your story online can make all the difference.
Natalia Peguero | Teaching Artist | She/Her
Natalia has earned both a BA in Theatre arts and MS.ED in Educational Theatre, from The City College of New York. She’s performed in numerous theatre and musical theatre productions and is a founding member of the Harlem Repertory Theatre Company, recently Adelco nominated for best musical revival, for Lin- Manuel Miranda’s Tony award winning musical In The Heights. Her most recent theater credits include: In the Heights (Vanessa), The Colored Museum (Ms. Pat), Ain’t Misbehvin’ (Various), West Side Story (Anita), Dream Girls (Deena), The Life (Queen), Hair (Sheila), For Colored Girls Who’ve Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enough (Lady Red), including the off Broadway hit, I Like It like That. Natalia also Participated in the first season of Telemundo’s “ Yo Soy El Arista”
Alicia Thomas | Teaching Artist | She/Her
Alicia is a Detroit native and now NYC is home too. She's a performing and teaching artist. She has worked as a teaching artist with Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit, heal.be.live, FunikiJam, and ENACT. As a performing artist- actor, dancer and singer, some selected regional theatre productions Alicia has appeared in are Dreamgirls, A Lion in Winter, The Producers, and A Raisin in the Sun. She has received a BS in Theatre at Bradley University. Her early roots come from the dance world and the start of her acting training was at Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit. Alicia is always willing to throw herself into learning something new and keep involving/growing as a person and with her career. She's excited to be on the IGE team!
