STAFF
FOUNDING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Growing up in Kansas City, Missouri, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar earned her B.A. in dance from the University of Missouri at Kansas City and her M.F.A. in dance from Florida State University. In 1980 Jawole moved to New York City to study with Dianne McIntyre at Sounds in Motion. In 1984 Jawole founded Urban Bush Women (UBW) as a performance ensemble dedicated to exploring the use of cultural expression as a catalyst for social change.
jAWOLE wILLA jO zOLLAR
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Michele Kumi (久美) Baer (she/they) is an arts leader and social justice practitioner with expertise in process design, facilitation, curation, education, organizational change, coaching, and dance. Her career has been focused on igniting, kindling, and sustaining people’s knowledge and capacity to practice equity and liberation in their lives.
Michele Kumi Baer
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Lesley Hunter is an experienced musician, dancer, arts educator, arts manager, program creator, and project management with over twenty years of experience working in the area of performing arts, arts education, and management in both the profit and nonprofit industries. Her work with such organizations as the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Arts Administrators of Color Network, Black Curators Dance Performance, and Arts and Education Roundtable demonstrate her service to the arts community. She has served as an arts program curator, developer, manager, and administrator for programs throughout New York City.
LESLEY HUNTER
DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION, BOOKING & TOURING
Michelle has worked in the worlds of performing arts and independent film for more than two decades. Prior to joining UBW in 2017, she was Director of Booking at MAPP International Productions for 6+ years, overseeing booking and touring of all of MAPP’s multi-disciplinary projects. Artists included: Nora Chipaumire; Marc Bamuthi Joseph; Okwui Okpokwasili; Ralph Lemon; Samita Sinha; Dan Hurlin; Lars Jan; Gregory Maqoma/Vuyani Dance Theater; Emio Greco & Pieter C. Scholten (ICK Amsterdam).
MICHELLE COE
ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Cheri L. Stokes, a Brooklyn native, is a choreographer, performer, educator, and arts administrator whose work intersects Hip-Hop culture, African diaspora movement styles, and community-centered storytelling. She holds an M.F.A. in Choreography and Performance from Florida State University and a B.A. in Dance Studies with K-12 Dance Teaching Licensure from UNC Greensboro. Her choreography centers on social vernacular dance forms including Hip-Hop and Dancehall.
Cheri L. STokes
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Makeda Smith, born in Los Angeles, CA, is a versatile marketing professional with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Temple University (2013). Her journey from performer to digital marketing specialist began with a deep-rooted passion for the arts, which has evolved into a thriving career in marketing for the performance arts and nonprofit sectors. She has been honored to be part of the Urban Bush Women organization since 2018.
MAKEDA SMITH
REHEARSAL DIRECTOR & MOVEMENT COACH
Bennalldra Williams is a performer, facilitator, and passionate advocate for movement. Her belief in the body's wisdom and its storytelling power has led her to perform with renowned companies including Alabama Ballet, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, and the New York-based Urban Bush Women, where she began as a company member in 2006 and spent six seasons as part of the touring ensemble.
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Bennalldra Williams
OPERATIONS ASSOCIATE
Ameeya Singh is a choreographer, dancer, and arts administrator based in New York City. She has presented several choreographic works and performed throughout the boroughs, at venues such as Laguardia Performing Arts Center, Tishman Auditorium, and Arts on Site, and Nublu, with a focus on contemporary dance and dance theatre.
Ameeya Singh
MARKETING ASSISTANT
Yasmine Johnson (she/her) is a recent cum laude graduate from CUNY Hunter College, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with minors in African Studies and Business. She was first introduced to Urban Bush Women in September of 2023 when she joined the Bush as a Communications and Social Media Marketing intern through CUNY Cultural Corps.
YASMINE JOHNSON
INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT MANAGER
Brooke Ashley Rucker (she/her) is a Brooklyn-based dancer and arts administrator with a BFA in Dance from Florida State University. She joined Urban Bush Women in 2019 and works as the organization’s Institutional Advancement Manager. Outside of UBW, Brooke dances with The Metropolitan Opera and has worked with notable choreographers Camille A. Brown, Annie-B. Parson, Donna Uchizono, nia love, Sydnie L. Mosley, and Johnnie Cruise Mercer, among others.
BROOKE ASHLEY RUCKER
EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE
Elsie Neilson is a dancer, choreographer, and instructor originally from Philadelphia, PA, now based in Los Angeles, CA. She has performed professionally with Psychopomp Dance Theatre, Spector Dance Company, and Opus 1 Contemporary, and has worked as a freelance artist with numerous Los Angeles–based choreographers.
ELSIE NEILSON
BOLD COORDINATOR
Jaimé Yawa Dzandu is a choreographer, movement artist, community organizer, and facilitator with roots in Hampton, Virginia, and Wusuta-Anyigbe, Ghana. She creates movement-based art experiences that nurture restoration, social connection, and transformation. Currently, Jaimé is the Artistic Coordinator and facilitator for Urban Bush Women's BOLD Network (Builders, Organizers, and Leaders through Dance), supporting the growth of dancers and community leaders.
JAIMÉ YAWA DZANDU
PROJECT ARCHIVIST
Camille Lawrence is an archivist and curator deeply committed to preserving Black history through both physical preservation and web archiving. Camille’s work bridges the gap between traditional archival practices and the ever-evolving digital landscape, ensuring that history is not only remembered but also accessible for future generations. She has shared her expertise at national symposia, on academic panels, and in grassroots community conversations, where she explores the intersections of archiving ephemeral art forms and Black identity formation practices.