Jamie Saunders
Jamie Saunders is proud to be a part of this powerful production. She has been working with Girl Be Heard since 2015 and has since performed in NYC, Washington DC, and Portland, Oregon. Jamie has her BA in Acting from Pace University with minors in Peace & Justice Studies and Creative Writing. Much love to the entire team.
Jordan Sanchez
Jordan Alexandra Sanchez joined Girl Be Heard in 2017 after her Godmother introduced her to it several years prior. She is a 16-year-old junior at the Bronx High School of Science who can’t wait to pursue neuroscience and politics in the future. Ever since she was young, Jordan has always loved the stage and making change. This motivated her to join Girl Be Heard and compete in beauty pageants around the nation, representing her home state of New York. Her heart for service and improvement in American society have led her to start her platform Partnered, where she has spoken to over 1,000 middle and high schoolers about building confidence and being the best possible version of themselves. When she’s not changing the world, you can find her rapping tracks from Kanye’s latest album, belting out High School Musical lyrics, or practicing her Mandarin. See you on stage!
Christiana Kallon
Christiana Kadiatu (Ya Kaday) Kallon is 17 years old, and joined Girl Be Heard in the spring of 2017. She is the youngest of 5 children from the late Albert Kallon Sr., and Mballu Princess Kallon. Christiana immigrated to America from Sierra Leone, West Africa at the age of 9. Attending school at the Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics in East Harlem, and having learned the value of education from an early age, she is hard-working and passionate about gaining knowledge. Whether it is pursuing a career in medicine to help people in developing countries and aiming to end health disparities, or becoming an ambassador for the United Nations to diplomatically work with other people to solve global issues, Christiana is extremely excited for what her future holds. She looks forward to learning, growing, and giving back to her community.
Shenny de Los Angeles
Shenny de Los Angeles is a recent graduate of Pace University receiving her BFA in Acting. She first joined Girl Be Heard back in 2015. She can’t thank the power of art enough for creating a safe space for her heart. With this show, she dares you to open your heart and mind to young women’s truth. May you hold on to these stories and let them move you forward.
Allie Marotta
Allie Marotta is a Brooklyn-based collaborative theatre maker and teaching artist focused on devised ensemble work. She holds a double degree in BA Acting, BA Directing under the International Performance Ensemble program at Pace University, School of Performing Arts and earned a MA Contemporary Performance Practices at Royal Holloway University of London. Allie’s academic research is focused on analyzing the hierarchy and democracy of contemporary theater, and her practical work aims to investigate and define immersive and site-specific performance. She is the co-founder and executive director of Sitting Shotgun, an equitable and intersectional theatre production company for emerging artists, and is the lead artist of devising community ensemble, Cucumber Dogs. www.allie-marotta.com
Nicoleta Mensah
Telé Nicoleta Florentine Mensah is 16 years old and joined Girl Be Heard in the spring of 2017. At the age of one, she immigrated to the United States from Togo, West Africa along with her parents and brother in 2002. Nicoleta attends an all girls school in the Bronx and has taken many leadership roles such as being school president her freshman year of high school. When Nicoleta was nine, she and her brother organized a fundraiser for the children of Somalia at their church. Nicoleta has always been passionate about pursuing a career in music and knows how to play three instruments along with the ability to sing, act, and dance. Although she wants to pursue a career in music, Nicoleta expresses a strong interest in medicine and hopes to one day become a surgeon for kids all around the world.
Laura Olivier
Laura Olivier, 17, joined Girl Be Heard in 2015. She is now a senior in high school studying fashion and business and plans to attend school in the fall to study Fashion Business & Writing. Laura is a writer, activist, aspiring fashion designer, stylist, director, and an all-around creative.
Aastha Jain
Aastha Jain, 19, has been a Company Member and Feminist-in-Residence with Girl Be Heard for 3 years. She is currently a student at Barnard College of Columbia University. Aastha is passionate about intersectional feminism, animal welfare and environmental justice and hopes to continues to explore avenues of combining these three distinct activisms. At Barnard, she on the board of the South Asian Feminism(s) Alliance and is involved with several sustainability projects. When not studying or performing, Aastha can be found finding more ways to reduce our CO2 footprint and creating more spaces to engage in important conversation.