Haley Peters
Haley Peters is a Mashpee Wampanoag citizen invested in youth action, the arts, and education in New England. Graduating with a degree in ceramics from Rhode Island College in 2021, Peters has since completed an Education internship with the Tomaquag Museum focusing on Eastern Woodlands Indigenous arts and has maintained a residency at The Steel Yard as the 2022 Workshare Fellow and the 2023 Ceramics Merit Fellow. When they are not in the studio, they coordinate courses at The Steel Yard and work with Haus of Codec to ensure safe space and transitional housing for LGBTQIA+ Youth in Rhode Island.
Lisa Isom
Lisa has over 15 years working with inner-city youth in after-school as well as summer programs and possesses a high level of energy in her performance and passion for service to young people. Lisa has a strong work ethic and the ability to work collaboratively with staff, volunteers, and the community to deliver effective and important opportunities.
Leah Hopkins
Leah Hopkins, mother, educator, cultural worker, subsistence practitioner, and museum professional, is an enrolled member of the Narragansett Indian Tribe of Rhode Island. Leah works to develop and implement programs, curricula, and digital content for Indigenous and non-Indigenous audiences about Native history, culture, values, lifeways, and practices. She also works to ensure the cultural continuity of the area’s Indigenous peoples through programs, workshops and advocacy. She is a professional speaker, consultant, traditional dancer, and singer grounded in Narragansett land and sea-based practices. Leah works collaboratively with Indigenous and Tribal communities, museums, and other institutions to ensure best practices in programming and education initiatives that promote visibility and ensure the perspectives of Indigenous populations in New England.
Leah holds a BA in Anthropology from the University of Rhode Island and has a background in museum and tribal education that spans over 10 years, working at both the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), and with other regional institutions, organizations and tribal communities. Leah is currently the Manager of Museum Education and Programs t at the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology at Brown University. In her personal time, Leah enjoys playing with her son and taking him out on the land and the water to teach him about the traditional subsistence lifestyle and ensure that the next generation maintains cultural continuity.
Nada Samih-Rotondo
Nada Samih-Rotondo is a multi-genre Palestinian American writer, educator, and mother. A graduate of Rhode Island College, she earned degrees in English and Education and an MFA in creative writing from Lesley University. When she is not befriending trees or attuning to hidden stories, she is leading transformational educational experiences and addressing the social emotional needs of historically underserved and multilingual youth. She lives in Providence with her husband and three children and works as the manager of education at Brown University’s Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery & Justice. All Water Has Perfect Memory, her first book, is set to debut September 2023.