Dr. Lucia Alcántara has been engaged in developing adults’ competencies in workplace settings, universities and communities since 1993. She has taught leadership development, management, effective communication skills and experiential learning in communities, as well as colleges and universities. Through her company, Futures Today consulting, Lucia provides workplace learning, curricula design and development, capacity building and strategic planning to NGO’s, government, and nonprofits.

Lucia teaches leaders, executives and managers how to adapt to, and grow from change. Currently, she teaches management and supervisory skills, leadership development, effective communication skills, organizational behavior and strategic planning, to name a few. Drawn into education, by its power for transformation, Lucia dedicates her talents to developing, and collaborating with colleagues and clients who are committed to co-creating innovative solutions for sustainable change both in the US and abroad. As a Rotary International Peace Fellow, her practices engage a deep systems perspective that contributes to her ability to readily engage and co-design liberating structures that support client growth and learning which in turn lead to performance improvement.”

Lucia holds a doctorate in Organization and Leadership from Columbia University, a Master’s in Public Administration, from Baruch College, a Bachelor of Arts from the Maxwell School of Public Affairs and Citizenship at Syracuse University and a Certificate in Peace and Conflict Studies from Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. A self-proclaimed foodie, Lucia has worked on four continents and is fluent in English, Spanish and French.

Dr. Barbara Edington, Director of the Center of Excellence in Project Management, is a Professor in the department of Management and Information Technology at St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights, NY and an adjunct professor of project management at the CUNY School of Professional Studies.

Prior to her career in academics, Barbara spent 20 years in the investment industry where she managed major investment and operational projects. She worked in various firms in Philadelphia and New York where she was responsible for domestic and global projects.

Barbara has also managed projects for Goldman Sachs in both the New York and London offices where, as an Executive Director, she was involved in projects such as the euro conversion and offshore fund development. As a facilitator, she has worked with multi-disciplinary groups to develop new marketing directions, solve business process issues and improve rapport between divisions.

Barbara’s doctoral research was in the interdisciplinary area of management and technology where she proved a qualitative approach to assessing the business value of IT based on project implementation. She holds a DPS in Computer Science and Information Systems from Pace University, an MBA in Finance from Temple University and a BS in Psychobiology from Albright College. Barbara has been a PMP (Project Management Professional) since 2005.

Priscilla Flores, a native New Yorker, currently participates in creating and delivering CUNY Creative Arts Team (CAT) programs for college students, incarcerated adolescents at Riker’s Island, and parents and families in social service agencies and shelters. She began her journey at CAT as a Scheduling Assistant, became Scheduling Coordinator, and then served for two years as both an Afterschool Actor-Teacher and a Program Manager, supporting the High School and College/Adult Programs. Priscilla has performed Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway, in productions at Theatre for the New City (The Fake History of George the Last, Brunch at the Luthers, Bread and Puppet Theatre’s Divine Reality Comedy); Bronx Hispanic Festival (Tomando Café), NYC Fringe Festival (Evangeline); and others. She joined CAT in 2004.

Sara Gillen has over 25 years of experience in nonprofit and healthcare senior leadership and executive positions, where she has built and grown innovative programs, turned failing projects into thriving initiatives, identified and instituted best practices and developed staff along the way.

Sara holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from Yale University’s School of Management and a master’s degree Public Health from Hunter College. Sara is presently employed by New York City Health and Hospitals as the Chief Operating Officer in Correctional Health Services and a founding principal of Partners for Nonprofits, LLC.

Shamilia McBean is an applied theatre practitioner, facilitator, herbalist and vocalist using her mediums to co-create liberatory community spaces. She believes in art-making to inspire learning, spark movement, preserve culture and build community. In her practice, she supports and trains artists, educators and community workers with drama to develop engaging, holistic methods within their practices. She focuses on immersive, participatory engagement with stories of transition, transgression, healing, love and liberation in marginalized communities.

In addition to her work as a Project Director with the CUNY Creative Arts Team, Shamilia has collaboratively developed and facilitated work at the Apollo Theater, Two River Theatre, Brooklyn Museum, Allied Media Conference, #BlackLivesMatter National Leadership Retreat, and the Movement for Black Lives National Convening. She occasionally sings with BRAATA Folk Singers, a Jamaican folk music ensemble, and provides support and leadership with Harriet’s Apothecary, an intergenerational collective of Black, Indigenous, People of Color healers.

Shamilia attended CUNY’s MA in Applied Theatre program. She is an alum of Urban Bush Women’s Summer Leadership Institute (2014), a recipient of the National Association of Black Storytellers’ Cowtail Switch Award (2015) and was a 2016 Laundromat Project Create Change Fellow.