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.

Cynthia Bastidas (she/her/ella) is a NYC-based bilingual Chicana actor and filmmaker from the California/Mexico border in the Imperial Valley. She founded Semillita Productions, a media arts company that centers the stories of the Femme Latinx experience in the United States. Her short film missguidance was awarded Outstanding Short at the XicanIndie Film Festival and Audience Award at the Topaz Film Festival. She is currently directing and producing I Feel Pretty, a feature length documentary film examining Anti-blackness in the US Latine community. Her TV acting credits include Ramy S2 E6, Homeland S6 E6 and theater credits include Don’t Look Back (Voyage Theater Company) PlayOn! Shakespeare Festival (Classic Stage Company), Original Sound (Cherry Lane Theatre) and Just Like Us (Denver Center Theatre). To learn more about Semillita Productions or Cynthia as an actor visit www.semillitaproductions.com and www.cynthiabastidas.com.

Reynaldo Piniella has co-hosted the Working Theater’s gala five years in a row! Broadway: Thoughts of a Colored Man and Trouble in Mind. His Off-Broadway acting credits include work at Signature Theatre Company, the Public, the Working Theater, TFANA and Rattlestick, regionally with Baltimore Center Stage, Syracuse Stage, Long Wharf, the O’Neill, Cleveland Playhouse, NY Stage & 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. Film: Madeline’s Madeline (Sundance Film Fest, Showtime), Shadows (HBO Max) and Broken City (20th Century FOX). www.reynaldopiniella.com

Jackie Rivera (they/them/elle) is an actor and theater maker of the Puerto Rican diaspora living on Lenape land in Brooklyn, NY. Their performance work has been seen at LaMama, New York Live Arts (opposite Judith Butler), The Brick, BricLab, New Georges, Target Margin Theater, and Latinx Playwrights Circle. They are a Core Member of eco theater Superhero Clubhouse, where they are Creative Director of The Ghost Bike Fellowship. They’ve toured the country on bikes with original, devised climate-themed plays, and continue to use their creative energy to fight for Safe Streets in NYC. BFA in Acting from New World School of the Arts and MFA in Performance and Performance Studies from Pratt Institute. Their thesis film, Tiny Dyke; Van Life, a queer-clown and puppetry exploration of their real-life journey living in their van @TheDolphVAN is available to watch at www.jackie-rivera.com 

Olivia Kurima (She/Her) is a queer, Japanese-American stage manager from Houston, Texas. A recent graduate from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA), she is excited to be back in NYC and working with TheaterWorks. She is passionate about telling diverse stories that uplift underrepresented groups in the theatrical industry, particularly stories that center around the Asian American experience. Select Credits Include: Tipi Tales From the Stoop (La Mama/Safe Harbors NYC), Slaylem: The Witch Trials (Heartbeat Opera), Mammelephant (Superhero Clubhouse), As You Like It (UNCSA), Passage (UNCSA)

Leonidus Gonzalez

Have you participated in TheaterWorks! before? If you have, how many times?
Leonidus will be joining theater works for the second time. His first debut at ‘We got the Power’ open mic performance.

Can you share a fun or interesting fact about yourself with us?
I am a trans artist dedicated to writing and creating work that showcase queer lives without bigotry. Freshly from Florida, I hope to connect and grow a career further.

What was a particularly memorable thing about our class or a way that you surprised yourself?
Being able to connect with other writers and really explore all avenues helped me break out of my own mind. It was so empowering to hear other stories and experiences from all walks of life.

What was the inspiration behind your writing?
My inspiration stemmed from my own survival in the now. I find more power and exploration in my personal freedom to move further with pride rather than shame. Especially when it comes to the conversation of what survival means.

What are you most looking forward to at the final performance?
I’m really looking forward to performing and also just recognizing how special the moment really is here.

Is there anyone in your life whom you’d like to thank/give a quick shout-out to?
A personal shout out to Alex Rodriguez and Amanda Norton for encouraging me to work more with Working Theater and INTAR and W.T itself for being the two foundation pillars at the start of this very special journey.

If you’d like to share, please include your union/local!
No union but officially a New York Local now 🙂

Jenny Karlsen

Have you participated in TheaterWorks! before? If you have, how many times?
No.

Can you share a fun or interesting fact about yourself with us?
I’m a Shakespeare enthusiast and I know every lyric to every Beatles song. I’m also a commercial painter and I’ve found painting walls to Sondheim is the best way to paint walls.

What was a particularly memorable thing about our class or a way that you surprised yourself?
I haven’t been creative at all in almost a decade, and it shocked me when in ten minutes I could write the way I did, as if it was all waiting there ready to burst. I just needed the right atmosphere.

What was the inspiration behind your writing?
The prompts that were given in class inspired me to write what I did. It was a very communal experience, and we all worked off of each other, it was so refreshing.

What are you most looking forward to at the final performance?
I’m most looking forward to performing with these wonderful people that I’ve met and I’m very fond of each of them.

Is there anyone in your life whom you’d like to thank/give a quick shout-out to?
Thanks to my family for their patience, thanks to Crystal Garcia for recommending this program to me!

If you’d like to share, please include your union/local!
IUPAT DC9, Local 20

Daniela Poveromo

Have you participated in TheaterWorks! before? If you have, how many times?
Yes, I’ve participated twice 

Can you share a fun or interesting fact about yourself with us?
I’m determined to be able to do pull-ups, so I’m working on it.

What was a particularly memorable thing about our class or a way that you surprised yourself?
Writing feels more natural and I’m surprised how inspired I felt during our free writing exercises.

What was the inspiration behind your writing?
My inspiration came from when I was a child, seeing snow at Nevado del Ruiz. When I returned years later, the snow was gone

What are you most looking forward to at the final performance?
I’m most looking forward to having fun!

Is there anyone in your life whom you’d like to thank/give a quick shout-out to?
Shout-out to my family and friends for always supporting me.

If you’d like to share, please include your union/local!
32BJ