The Climate Jobs Institute (CJI) at Cornell University’s Industrial and Labor Relations School is guiding New York’s and the nation’s transition to a strong, equitable, and resilient clean energy economy by tackling the climate crisis; creating high-quality union jobs; confronting race and gender inequality; and building a skilled and diverse workforce.

Through cutting-edge policy studies, deep relationships with on-the-ground partners, and innovative training and education programs, CJI provides information that policymakers, the labor and environmental movements, industry leaders, and others need to navigate this historic transition to a zero-carbon economy.

Soph Metcalf* (they / them / theirs) is a New York-based actor, singer, musician, and physical theatre artist. Recent credits include: Machinal at NYCC, Else and Emma Went’s Three Sisters, Slaughter City at ART NY, King Lear (Santa Cruz Shakespeare), Twelfth Night (The Acting Company). On-screen: I Am No Longer Here (Netflix), Mean Girl Murders (HBO), and the award-winning short film What Are We?. They recently wrote, produced, and starred in the anti-AI short film After (filming April 2026). New works collaborations include: The Public, Tectonic Theatre Project, Prospect Musicals, The Village, and Maker’s Ensemble. MFA – UC Irvine. IG @sophmetcalf. www.sophmetcalf.com

Katherine O’Sullivan: Is a New York based actor, originally from Dublin, Ireland. She has appeared in many plays; Finnegan’s Farewell, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Footfalls, Antigone, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Uncle Vanya, Native Son, Julius Caesar, The Comedy of Errors, Under Milk Wood, The Lady of Larkspur Lotion, Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, Harvey and The 8th , Pilgrim by Kate Gill and The Holy Ground by Dermot Bolger (both one-person plays). Other original works include Rip Cord, False Positive with Honor Moser, Can I Help You? With Catharine Dill, Supernatural Break Room, Girl Adventure and Arrow-in with Nina Morrison. She also sang and danced in 70, Girls, 70 and Hair.

Film and TV work includes The Artist (on thenetwork.stream), An Chathair Mhór, Birdman, The Emperor’s Club, Kinsey, Hungry Hearts, Mineville, I’ll Bury You Tomorrow, The Blood Shed and A Far Cry from Home,

Reynaldo Piniella  In 2021, he was in the acting company of two Broadway shows at the same time: Thoughts of a Colored Man and Trouble in Mind. His Off-Broadway acting credits include work at Signature Theatre Company, The Public Theater, the Working Theater, Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA), and Rattlestick Theater, regionally with Baltimore Center Stage, Syracuse Stage, Long Wharf Theatre, the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Cleveland Play House, NY Stage and Film, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, and Actors Theatre of Louisville, and internationally with the Sundance Theatre Lab in Morocco and NEAP Fest in Rio de Janeiro. TV credits include Reservation Dogs, Sneaky Pete, Law & Order: SVU, The Carrie Diaries,  Flesh & Bone, Blue Bloods, Greenleaf, Louie, NYC 22, Us & Them, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. @ReynaldoRey. www.reynaldopiniella.com

Campbell Anidjar (he/they) is a transmasculine New York City-based stage manager. Recent credits include CATS: THE JELLICLE BALL; MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG (New York Theatre Workshop); A CHRISTMAS CAROL (Hartford Stage); THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS National Tour; THAÏS, THE SONG OF ROME (Spoleto Festival USA). Campbell has also worked on developmental readings with Manhattan Theatre Club, the Working Theater, New York Stage and Film, Ars Nova, Newport NewWorks, and Breaking the Binary Theater. He is a graduate of Marymount Manhattan College with a BA in Theatre Arts and a concentration in Producing & Management. For all the trans folks who came before, and for all who will come after.

Lanxing Fu is a Chinese-American, multidisciplinary theater artist rooted in social practice. She is a writer, producer, performer, and educator, and Co-Director of HERE Arts Center. She is also former Co-Director and current Board Member of Future River, an interdisciplinary collective creating theater for climate justice. Her artistic work has been seen throughout NYC in hotel rooms, parks, townhouses, and spaces such as The Public Theater, LaMaMa ETC, Brick Theater, LaGuardia PAC, and Baryshnikov Arts Center, and developed with institutions nationally and internationally. Previously, she was Producing Associate with SITI Company, guest lecturer at Skidmore College and is currently a guest director at Pace University. She has been a speaker and facilitator with Theatre Communications Group, The New School, Virginia Tech, Columbia University, and more. Her writing on theater, climate arts, and intersectional justice have been published across a variety of platforms.

Constance Gemson

Have you participated in TheaterWorks! before? If you have, how many times?

This is my sixth time participating in the Working Theater shows.

Can you share a fun or interesting fact about yourself with us?

My first published writing was a poem in my high school yearbook.

What was a particularly memorable thing about our class or a way that you surprised yourself?

I value the varied backgrounds and experiences of everyone in the class.

What was the inspiration behind your writing?

My parents and my creative writing teachers in high school and college have encouraged my writing. I have been active in writing classes since I was fifteen.

What are you most looking forward to at the final performance?

I look forward to sharing the performance with my friends and family.

Is there anyone in your life whom you’d like to thank/give a quick shout-out to?

Many people have provided hope and support. Thank you!

If you’d like to share, please include your union/local!

I am an active member of the Professional Staff Congress.