Hailing from Cameroon, Benjamin MAMBOU is a dynamic jazz musician, composer, and vocalist. Leading the acclaimed jazz band ANGWA, his debut album Finally Free ranked among the top 100 jazz albums of 2022. Benjamin has collaborated with Grammy winners Arturo O'Farrill and Wynton Marsalis in Musicians for Justice and performed at top U.S. venues like Rockwood Music Hall. Recently, he delivered a powerful set at the Juneteenth Festival, where his performance was a standout moment, drawing a captivated audience and receiving high praise.
Passionate about music education, he attended NAMM Show 2025, working with the O Guitar family from Argentina. His latest single, Born To Shine, continues his mission of spreading love and unity through music. He is now gearing up for his debut solo album release this year.
Beyond music, Benjamin is also making waves in fashion with his brand OSSU Wear, featuring original, sustainable, and unique designs that he creates and prints in Cameroon. The brand gained significant attention at the Juneteenth Festival, further solidifying his artistic influence.
Prepare to be inspired by Benjamin MAMBOU’s soulful melodies, heartfelt lyrics, and distinctive fashion.
Dale Hobson writes in and about the Adirondack North Country of New York State. Previous publications include the chapbooks Nickelodeon, Second Growth and The Water I Carry. A Drop of Ink, 2012, was his first full-length collection of poetry. His second full-length collection, Light Year, illustrated by Suzanne Langelier-Lebeda, was released in August 2019. A third full-length collection, The Other Village, making the rounds in search of a publisher.
He shares a home on Sugar Island Flow in Potsdam, New York with his wife, Terry de la Vega. They have a daughter, Elena, living in Boston, MA.
JESSICA AMMIRATI (she/her) is a theater/film artist focusing on female driven work. In 2008 she created Going to Tahiti Productions (GTTP), a company dedicated to providing more opportunities for women in entertainment. Through GTTP, Jessica has directed / produced numerous original works (mostly world premieres) including: SKIN. FLESH. BONE., IN THE EBB, JANE AUSTEN'S PERSUASION, and BELLA'S DREAM, at venues all over NYC. Two of her productions: DREAMERS OF THE DAY and WITHIN ARM’S REACH started as novels (by Mary Doria Russell and Ann Napolitano, respectively) which Jessica adapted for the stage. Along with her theater work, Jessica has also directed / produced two podcasts: TAHITI DISPATCHES and COMFORT MEASURES, a music video: THE BALLAD OF CHICKEN MCGANN, a short film: SKIN. FLESH. BONE., a web series: THE JANE GAMES, and an hour long independent dramatic television pilot: FARM STORY. Her work has earned a Puffin Foundation grant, a spot in the 2012 NY International Fringe Festival, two NY Innovative Theater Award nominations, and nominations at the DC and NYC WebFests. After the one-two punch of her father passing and the Coronavirus shutting down the world, Jessica started writing a new play, PHYSICS FROM MY FATHER as a way to connect with her beloved physicist dad. She hopes to mount a full production of it in 2026. Jessica is currently working on the short film, MEET CUTE IN THE CCU which started as a scene in PHYSICS FROM MY FATHER that she cut and then just couldn’t let go of. You can keep up to date with Jessica at: http://goingtotahitiproductions.com/ and https://www.jessicaammirati.com/.
Kelley Martin is a writer, arts leader, and community strategist whose work bridges traditional music, dance, writing, and cultural engagement. With more than two decades of experience across the Mid Atlantic and Appalachian regions, she has curated, promoted, and produced hundreds of events—from intimate youth workshops to large scale festivals featuring national artists such as Béla Fleck, Altan, Mary Black, and Dr. Ralph Stanley presented at institutions including the North Carolina Museum of Art, the North Carolina Museum of History, and North Carolina State University.
Kelley’s artistic practice is rooted in cultural preservation and creative innovation. As a writer, she explores her upbringing in rural West Virginia and the ways that leaving—and returning to—remote landscapes shapes identity, memory, and belonging. Now based in the Adirondack–Tug Hill region, she is committed to building an arts ecosystem where collaboration, mutual support, and regional storytelling thrive. This vision led her to found the Tug Hill Artist Network, a collaborative hub for artists working across the North Country.Her passion for inclusive, intergenerational arts experiences has guided her work in education and community programming. As Education Director at the Arts Centre in Martinsburg, West Virginia, she developed puppetry, folklore, and dance programs for children ages 6–12. She has partnered with Johns Hopkins University, North Carolina State University, and the Maryland State Department of Education to design curriculum, lead professional development, and build digital platforms that support arts learning and early childhood development.
Kelley’s leadership in community outreach includes rebranding festivals, coordinating Main Street initiatives for the City of Westminster, Maryland, and developing youth poetry and writing programs for at risk teens in Durham, North Carolina. She has served as a board member, grant writer, and communications strategist for organizations such as Carolina Wren Press, Carolina Ballet, and the Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities. A skilled web designer and editor, she has led cross functional teams to build accessible, content rich educational websites for the Maryland State Department of Education.
Across every role, Kelley champions the transformative power of the arts—celebrating heritage, amplifying diverse voices, and cultivating vibrant, connected communities through creative collaboration.
She holds an MFA in Creative Writing & Publishing Arts from the University of Baltimore, an MA in English from North Carolina State University, and a BA in Liberal Arts/Journalism from St. Andrews University.
For more information, visit the Tug Hill Artist Network.
Rivka Eckert is an educator, mother/artist, scholar activist, and abolitionist theatre-maker. She received her M.F.A in Theatre for Youth and Communities from Arizona State University and her B.A. in Theatre Education and Writing, Literature and Publishing from Emerson College. Eckert has taught Theatre and English in colleges and universities, prisons, high schools, and middle schools and worked with the Peace Corps in Samoa and Liberia. Her last book project, Into Abolitionist Theatre: A Guidebook for Liberatory Theatre-making, explores theatre-making as disruption to capitalism and highlights theatre projects/programs in prisons, higher education, secondary education, and with marginalized youth.