YOUTH
EMPOWERMENT
PERFORMANCE
PROJECT
Board of Directors
Allie Stephens
Board Co-Chair
Allie Stephens is a nationally recognized composer, music producer, singer and songwriter who has composed music for over 500 national TV commercials and 100 feature length documentaries and independent films. As an Adjunct Assistant Professor at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, their days are spent exploring the intersection of music & film, with an emphasis on the cultural role of music. This fascination has led to their current work as a founding member of the Chicago Podcast Collective. Allie identifies as trans-feminine and ‘gender-mobile.’
Tony Alvarado-Rivera
Tony is a multi-issue community builder working and living within an anti-oppression and harm reduction framework. Most recently, Alvarado-Rivera completed his tenure at Broadway Youth Center as the Mentor Program Coordinator. Additional experience includes work with the groundbreaking About Face Youth Theatre and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in New York. Tony is currently working as the Coordinator of Youth Programs at Chicago Freedom School.
Charles Long
Charles Long is a Chicago based multi-disciplinary artist, activist and Black liberationist. He has worked in communities across the United States with poor, disabled, young, LGBT, currently/formerly active drug users and formerly homeless folk. Charles has worked in all realms of the social justice arena doing everything from; direct service provision, lobbying, development, communications and direct action. He uses that background to inform both his artistic and movement work with a particular lens of Black, Queer Feminist perspectives that naturally create space for growth rooted in true freedom. He is currently the Resource Table Coordinator for the Movement for Black Lives.
Vincent Wiggins
Secretary
Dr. Vincent Wiggins is the Director of the Center for Faculty Development and Excellence at Southern California University of Health Sciences. Previously, he served as Dean of Career and Continuing Education Programs at Harry S. Truman College and Dean of Instruction at Harold Washington College in Chicago, where he worked with faculty and staff to support students’ academic success. Dr. Wiggins completed his Doctorate of Education in Curriculum Design at DePaul University. His research focuses on students’ academic success in higher education by using instructional technology and self-directed learning taking a holistic approach.
Dr. Wiggins is certified in Adult Education, Professional Leadership Training, IT Project Management, and Six Sigma. As a Master Online Teacher (MOT), Quality Matters Peer Reviewer, and Certified Online Learning Administrator (COLA), Dr. Wiggins’ commitment to education includes researching multiple delivery modes for learning that include hybrid and online learning. In his roles in management and as an educator, he has developed various training programs and facilitated workshops for students, faculty, and staff. His presentations include his passion for the importance of an all inclusive environment. He has presented on pedagogy, andragogy, and technology at professional conferences.