Our Advisory Committee of Artists from All Over the Globe
Richard Byrne (DC) is an award-winning playwright based in Washington DC and his most recent play, the rock musical, Nero/Pseudo, blew DC away in 2014. He is the editor of UMBC magazine and blogs at Balkans via Bohemia.
Adity Chakravarti (Lucknow, India) is a internationally-renowned painter who has had exhibits in India, Romania, China, Ireland and Tanzania. She is a cultural diplomat and the creative force behind her husband who, as a career diplomat, served as the Indian ambassador to four countries.
Michelle Chatman (DC) is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of the District of Columbia. She is also a singer in the DC Afro-beats jazz band BlackNotes and the MC of the OpenStage New Works showcase produced by Star Johnson.
Mark Gitenstein (Brussels) is the current Biden appointee to Ambassador to the European Union and served as a recent American ambassador to Romania, appointed by President Obama. He is a lawyer at Mayer Brown in DC and the proud father of Chicago director, playwright and actress Sarah Gitenstein.
Leslie Hawke (Romania) is the Founder and Director of OvidiuRom and the Alex Fund, two charities that support education for all underprivileged children in Romania. She came to Romania first as a Peace Corps volunteer and the actor, writer and director Ethan Hawke is lucky to have her as his supportive and simply amazing mom.
Virgil Nemoianu (DC) is a legendary and extremely well-respected Romanian philosopher of culture and a Professor of Literature at Catholic University. Originally from Romania, he came to the USA in 1975 and has made significant global contributions to neo-Kantian theory, particularly by advocating for the importance of autonomy and aesthetics.
Baņuta Rubess (Toronto) is an internationally-acclaimed theatre director and writer and is one of the first women to win the Rhodes Scholarship. In Riga, Latvia from 1998 - 2012 she participated in the development of her family's country of origin's new democracy as an artist and an activist and she currently teaches Drama at the University of Toronto.
Blair Ruble (DC) is currently Vice President for Programs at the Wilson Center, and Director of the Program’s Urban Policy Laboratory. He is a specialist in urban culture and history and is the author of Washington's U St. A Biography, Creating Diversity Capital and numerous other books.