GIRL Project Program Coordinator
Shaunnah Ray is committed to expression and working toward social justice and liberation through artistic means. Shaunnah has curated a lifelong relationship with utilizing art to commune and love. Literary, visual, and performing arts- including creative writing, theater, spoken word, dance, radio production, sculpture, costume design, and tech production are some of the tools of creation that have served as running threads in Shaunnah’s life.
Shaunnah has moved through the arts working in radio production at KPFA, Free Speech Radio News, and Making Contact Radio where Shaunnah was able to nurture a calling to lend her voice to work that serves the function of being a beacon for the cultural health of the community.
Shaunnah has worked with youth as an art mentor, has been inspired as a tech producer, and a lighting technician for live theater offerings, and is also a writer, director, and filmmaker.
Regardless of the medium- resting at the heart of Shaunnah’s art is that the work provides space for the community to create its own vision. The spotlight is always on self-determination and connection. These are the elements that Shaunnah finds herself fortunate enough to give her skills and energy to, and it is this work that she considers thrilling and will always advocate for.
Admin
Born and raised in the diversely rich community of Oakland, California, Malkia Chionesu found her purpose of helping to illuminate the lives of others. With over 13 years of experience working with community-based organizations, educational institutions and businesses, Malkia discovered that she could deeply and intuitively understand the intricacies of these places. This inherently gave her the opportunities to educate, serve, and work congruently and nationally with a variety of populations. She received her master’s degree in Organizational Psychology and continues as a life-long student. Malkia leads her own consultancy, M.CHIO, supporting non-profits, creatives, and government agencies with strategy, business development and overall transformative alignment. As a multi-faceted connector, Malkia desires to transform the lives of the people she works with, to empower them to shift their corners of the world.
Ellie Kerwin was born and raised in Oakland, California where she grew up surrounded by music and dance. Since the age of three she has danced at Danspace Studio, mainly focused in ballet, modern, and choreography, although she loves to experience all types of dance. She started performing with dNaga Dance Co. in 2014, where she was introduced to intergenerational work with youth as well as dancers with Parkinson’s disease. She is continually driven and inspired by creating art as political and social resistance. Currently she is pursuing a BFA in Dance at the University of Oregon. Ellie is eternally grateful to have been a part of the communities of creative dancers, teachers, and artists at dNaga and Danspace, who have furthered her passion for dance.
Erin Landers is a Brooklyn based dancer, choreographer, and teacher. In addition to dancing with dNaga, she is a founding member of ECHOensemble, an improvising group of musicians and dancers, and was a co-founder of A-Y/dancers, a Hudson-Valley based repertory company. Erin is influenced by her upbringing in a musical household and study of many dance forms including modern, contemporary, ballet, Zimbabwean, Irish, and Balkan Dance as well as mime. As a professional, Erin has performed works by José Limón, Merce Cunningham, Doug Varone, Bill T. Jones, and Hannah Garner. Erin teaches dance to children, teens, and adults in New York City, Westchester, and online. As a teacher, she supports students in cultivating dance technique in a way that facilitates deepening enjoyment and expressivity
Leila Massoudi is a Bay Area freelance dancer, born in Berkeley, California and is trained in Modern/Contemporary, Ballet, Jazz, and Persian dance. Leila is half Kurdish/Iranian and through the local Iranian community she had her earliest dance experiences in Persian Dance, training with the Shahrzad Dance Academy. She later joined dNaga Dance Company based in Oakland (2018). Leila has since been involved in numerous projects with dNaga including performing at the World Parkinson’s Congress in Portland, Oregon (2016), Kyoto, Japan (2019) and Barcelona, Spain (2023). In training & professionally she has worked with Nicole Duffy & Davis Robertson from the New York Dance Project, Natasha Diamond-Walker, Michael Nickerson-Rossi, Jamila Glass, Clarence Brooks, Meg Madorin, and Stephanie Liapis. Recently graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a BA in Dance, she is continuing her training in the Bay Area & involved in various freelance dance projects. Leila remains passionate and committed to showing how beneficial movement and dance is for individuals beyond the artistic community.