Lead Collective

Visioning Collective

  • Janelle Cooper is a multi-award winning interdisciplinary Performer and Director, and a Founder of Ellipsis Tree Collective (ETC) - Alberta's first Black led and Black focused professional theatre company. Janelle’s expertise is in the excavation of lived experience through devising and multi-genre storytelling, IBPOC artistic mentorship, and EDID education and consultation for organizations like The University of Calgary's SCPA EDIAD Community Advisory Board. 


  • Sedina Fiati is a multi award winning, Toronto based performer, producer, director, creator and activist for stage and screen. Proudly Black, queer and femme, Sedina is deeply invested in artistic work that explores the intersection between art and activism, either in form or structure or ideally both. Sedina holds a BFA in Music Theatre from the University of Windsor and is a proud graduate of Etobicoke School of the Arts. Favourite and recent artistic projects: The World Goes ‘Round (Nightwood Theatre, director), Peace Camp (Children’s Peace Theatre, director 2019 - 2021, 2023), Every Day She Rose (Nightwood Theatre, co-director), Switch: The Village (collective member, QTBIPOC street performance, SummerWorks 2020 - 2023), Feminist Fuck It Festival (multidisciplinary festival, co-creator and co-producer), Tokens (performer, web series, Canadian Screen Award Winner - Best Supporting Performance). Sedina recently completed 2.5 years as Artist-Activist in Residence at Nightwood Theatre. Upcoming projects: Last Dance (a web series).

    Photo credit: Robert Obumselu

  • Georgia is a multi-discipline artist who was born and now works in the GTA area. Proud and excited to work with Black Pledge Collective.

  • Tamara Jones is an arts worker based in Tkaronto (Toronto) and Yelamu (San Francisco) whose video art uses experimental docu-fiction and sculpture to explore bureaucratic architecture and the politics of public space. Their work has been programmed by the Black Experimental Film Festival, Artspace Gallery, Pleasure Dome, and Images Festival. Their writing has been published by The Local, Spring Magazine, and The Globe and Mail.

    Photo credit: Selasi Dorkenoo


  • Dayjan Lesmond is a director, lyricist, musician, performer, playwright, and producer.

  • a.k.a. burlesque icon Coco Framboise) is a multidisciplinary artist, cultural designer, and producer based in Toronto. Using storytelling, somatic practices, curiosity and play as entry points, her installations and activations are designed to help us recognize bits of ourselves in the stories of others and reacquaint ourselves with the abiding magic of being alive and in community. At Black Pledge, she'll help facilitate and deliver programming during the Year of Black Performance.


  • Alicia Richardson is an actor/writer, and vocal coach from Boynton Beach, Florida. She graduated from York University’s MFA Acting & Diploma of Voice Teaching Programs. Now a Permanent Resident of Canada, Alicia calls Toronto her home. Her body of work spans television, film, theatre, and voice-over. She's spent time as a professor of voice, speech, and dialects and as a dialect coach on various theatre productions throughout Canada. In 2019, she became a founding member of Counterbalance Collective: a female-led indie film collective. She continues writing and producing her own work and is most likely dreaming up the next project as you read this. Alicia is PUMPED to have the world premiere of her Theatre for Young Audiences play, Sweeter, a co-pro from Cahoots Theatre and Roseneath Theatre slated for production in December 2023 in Toronto. Follow her adventures on social: IG / Twitter @LeeSheeLovesYou


  • Diane Roberts is an accomplished director, dramaturge, writer and cultural animator, who has collaborated with innovative theatre visionaries and interdisciplinary artists for the past 30 years. 

    She is the founder of the Arrivals Legacy Project and has been the lead workshop facilitator for the past 16 years. The roots of storytelling and multi-disciplinary art forms drive her arts practice as a director, dramaturg and cultural animator. Her working methodology draws out and establishes a common vocabulary amongst Indigenous and diverse artists, our ways of working and our sense of ourselves as artists in a global society. 

    She is a PhD candidate in Interdisciplinary Studies at Concordia University in Montreal, a 2019 Pierre Elliott Trudeau Scholar and a 2020 Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship award holder.

    Photo credit: Marc Bourcier


  • Born and raised in Hamilton, ON, Samantha Walkes, is an artist in Theatre, TV and Film. She has always aspired to play roles that break the racial barrier, challenge cultural stereotypes and has worked to expand the imagination of her audience. Productions where she played Cinderella in Neptune Theatre’s Cinderella and the only Black candidate in the Top 20 for the search for Maria in CBC & Mirvish’s How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? are highlights of her career.

    She was living in New York City, working on Book of Mormon on Broadway, when the pandemic hit. Since April 2020, she has relocated back to Canada and has been finding a new voice. One that includes passion projects like The Black Pledge, writing spoken word poetry tying our social & political climate together with spiritual revelation and reflection.  

    Photo credit: Haui (Howard J. Davis)


  • Velvet Wells (they/them) is an award-winning producer-creator living in Ottawa, the unceded and unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg. In the last few years, they've produced-performed "All Request Radio", "(Re)Tired Magical Black Man", "Djinn Joint", and "Personal Demon Hunter". They are currently writing "Anansi Discovers His Reflection" They are the 2023 IBPOC Emerging Artist laureate (Ottawa Arts Council), winning awards for their creativity and accessibility advocacy. In addition to facilitating workshops worldwide, they’ve mentored producer-creators through the Youth Infringement Festival and Toronto Fringe Festival. Most recently lauded as the Emerging IBPOC Artist by the Ottawa Arts Council for their accessibility advocacy, Velvet is a proud Black Pledge Collective and International Theatresports Institute member and a returning mentor for Ottawa's Youth Infringement Festival.

    Photo credit: Curtis Perry

  • (a.k.a. afrakaren) is a creative/writer/thinker/storyteller/artist based in Toronto. She is a critical thinker and contemporary philosopher, focused on the language of narrative, who is deeply invested in claiming spaces of healing and rest for the Black body politic. At Black Pledge, she'll lead efforts to expand and deepen our relationships with Black-led and focused arts organizations, creating opportunities for artistic and professional development.


  • Joella Crichton is an actor for stage and screen. She holds a BFA in Acting from York University. Joella is passionate about her Caribbean heritage and is the nine-time Queen of Carnival here in Toronto. She has been nominated for her work on stage and loves the theatre!

    Alongside her many years experience in theatre, film and television, Joella also works to develop equality, diversity and inclusivity in these fields. She has created and worked on initiatives such as the Bechdel Bill and Share The Screen.

    Photo credit: Andrew Johnson


  • Naomi Bain is a multifaceted artist, blending activism, writing, performance, community education, futurism, and textile design into a vibrant tapestry of creative expression. Naomi’s artistic journey was nurtured at the renowned Watah Theater during the Black Box Season, where they honed their craft under the mentorship of the esteemed actor and creator, d’bi young anitafrika. With an unwavering commitment to community, Naomi found their purpose within the Sherbourne Health Center’s Supporting Our Youth (SOY) initiative. Here, they became an integral part of the Human Equity Access Team, acquiring invaluable experience in addressing LGBTQ+ issues within diverse communities. Beyond their artistic and LGBTQ+ advocacy roles, Naomi is a dedicated educator and facilitator at Freedom School Toronto. Through this program, they passionately champion the rights and advancement of Black students within the educational landscape. At the core of Naomi’s being lies an unshakable dedication to effecting positive change, not only within their immediate communities but also on a global scale. With an unapologetic spirit, Naomi continues to be a driving force for transformation and empowerment.

  • Giselle has roots in the theatre community and holds a B.F.A. Hons in Theatre from York University. Recent stage management credits include working with Presentation House Theatre on Cat Killer, Jack and the Bean, Where the Wild Things Are, Baking Time and So, How Should I Be?; CanStage/Volcano Theatre on the acclaimed Another Africa and The NAC/YPT production of i think i can. She has worked with Carousel Theatre, Goh Ballet, SoulPepper and Opera Atelier to name a few. Now a resident of Vancouver, she was recently nominated for a Jessie award for her work in Stage Management. She is also a Board member of Nova Dance.