Staff and Board

Our Staff

Niegel Smith

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

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Niegel Smith

Niegel (he/him) is a Bessie Award winning theater director and performance artist. He is the Artistic Director of NYC’s Obie Award winning theater, The Flea guiding the organization through its refounding as a hub for experimental art by Black, brown and queer artists. He is also a board member of A.R.T./New York and was a ringleader of Willing Participant, an artistic activist organization that whips up urgent poetic responses to crazy shit that happens.

He was recently sainted by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence for his contributions to queer artistry and community, and his current directing projects include The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist, a multi-media opera and community ritual for Eric and Erica Garner, The Bark of Millions - Taylor Mac and Matt Ray’s rock opera celebrating queer icons throughout all of human history, and The Great Thirst - Justin Tranter’s post-apocalyptic alt-pop musical about a family trying to do more than survive a very thirsty new world. His theater work has been produced at The Alley Theater, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Barbican, Classical Theatre of Harlem, The Flea, The Goodman Theatre, HERE Arts Center, Hip Hop Theatre Festival, The Invisible Dog, Lincoln Center, Luna Stage, The Melbourne Festival, Magic Theatre, Mixed Blood, the National Black Theatre, New York Fringe Festival, New York Live Arts, Phoenix Theatre Ensemble, Playwrights Horizons, Pomegranate Arts, The Public Theater, St. Ann’s Warehouse, Summer Play Festival, The Sydney Opera House, and Under the Radar, and his participatory walks and performances have been produced by Abrons Arts Center, American Realness, The Brooklyn Museum, Dartmouth College, Elastic City, The Flea, The Invisible Dog, Jack, The New Museum, Prelude Festival, PS 122, the Van Alen Institute and Visual AIDS. He often collaborates with playwright/performer Taylor Mac.

Niegel recently directed the wildly popular and critically-acclaimed jazz opera The Hang. For this work, he was nominated for a Drama League Award in best direction. He has also collaborated with some of the world’s most celebrated musicians including En Vogue and Jon Batiste at New York City’s Park Avenue Armory. Smith is co-director of the critically acclaimed ‘A 24-Decade History of Popular Music’, winner of the Kennedy Prize in Drama, Bessie Award, the Edwin Booth Award and a Pulitzer Prize finalist. He associate directed the Tony Award winning musical FELA! – restaging that production in London, Lagos and its world tour, and he assistant directed the original Broadway and off-Broadway productions of Tony Kushner’s Caroline, or Change. He has worked on the artistic staffs of The Public Theater, Trinity Repertory Company and Providence Black Rep.

Contact Niegel at niegels@theflea.org.

Dr. Lauren Britt-Elmore

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

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Dr. Lauren Britt-Elmore

Lauren (she/her) has the good fortune to have spent her entire career working in and with the theater. She is an arts management practitioner with more than 20 years experience leading teams. Lauren has worked as a manager and coalition builder, crafting policy, implementing strategic plans, and leading programs. Before joining The Flea, she served as the Director of Academic Administration of the Theatre Program at the prestigious Columbia University School of the Arts for seven years. Prior to her tenure at Columbia, she worked in academic administration at the New School for Drama, helped produce the first online course from Harvard’s Education School, served as a Literary Associate at Helen Merrill, Ltd., and earned a distinguished Allen Lee Hughes Fellowship at Arena Stage. She has dramaturged work in various settings including the Cherry Lane Theater, and directed plays in New York and Boston by Kirsten Greenidge, Catherine Filloux, and Angela Tucker. Dr. Elmore is a graduate of Wesleyan University (BA), Columbia University School of the Arts (MFA), and Harvard Graduate School of Education (EdD).

Contact Lauren at laurenbe@theflea.org.

Martin Meccouri

PRODUCING DIRECTOR

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Martin Meccouri

Martin (he/him) likes to make beautiful things that ask genuine questions of an audience.

He is an arts producer who has worked in various artistic organizations in NYC over the last 15 years. As an independent producer, he has worked in theater, opera, media, and their intersections and has realized national and internal tours of new work. He has been with The Flea since 2020 and currently serves as Producing Director. He thinks The Flea is really cool.

Martin believes in strengths-based leadership and teams and is a Gallup-certified organizational consultant in the CliftonStrengths(c) model as well as a certified Appreciative Inquiry facilitator. His consulting clients have included staff and senior leadership at Miami Dade College, CUNY, Orchestra St. Luke’s, The Flea, Page 73 Productions, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and Human Rights Campaign. Since 2023, he has worked with the New York Foundation for the Arts as a consultant for their learning cohorts of established and emerging leaders in the arts and culture sector of New York.

Martin is a member of CIPA (Creative and Independent Producers Alliance). He holds a BFA from Emerson College (summa cum laude), an MA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and an MFA from UCSD. Martin likes astrology, cooking, and hanging with his dog, Chucho.

Contact Martin at martinm@theflea.org.

Amanda K. Ringger

DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION

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Amanda K. Ringger

Mandy (she/her) grew up on St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands, where she was first pulled into theater production in the 5th grade. What started as a quiet place to hide backstage soon developed into a deep and lasting passion for the craft of technical production and design. For more than 25 years, she has worked professionally in NYC with organizations including Danspace Project, Dance New Amsterdam, Gibney Dance, and Harlem Stage. As a lighting designer, Mandy has collaborated on dance works presented locally, nationally, and internationally with artists such as Faye Driscoll, Cynthia Oliver, Doug Elkins, Leslie Cuyjet, Molly Poerstel, Ivy Baldwin, Laura Peterson, Darrah Carr, cakeface, and many others. She received a Bessie (a New York Dance and Performance Award) for her collaboration on Driscoll’s 837 Venice Boulevard. Mandy holds a BA from Goucher College in Baltimore, MD and an MFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

Contact Mandy at mandyr@theflea.org.

Elijah Bullard

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

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Elijah Bullard

Elijah Bullard is a native New Yorker born and bred. Growing up in the Harlem and Bronx regions of the city he holds true to his neighborhood roots as an artist, one of few who branch themselves out and offer service as technicians in the industry as well. A product of the tradition and workmanship developed at the Apollo Theatre, Elijah has offered his service to various projects and entities such as Rolling Loud, The Flea, Frieze Art Fair, and countless more endeavors over his time as a technician. As an artist, Elijah's music is available where he is and he often operates as an organizer and producer collaborating with organizations such as LMCC, putting on independent shows and answering to creative opportunities whenever possible.

Contact Elijah at elijahb@theflea.org.

Maimouna Camara

ASSOCIATE GENERAL MANAGER

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Maimouna Camara

Maimouna (she/her) is a performing arts producer and manager with an M.A in Performing Arts Administration from NYU. In New York, she has held roles such as Finance and Operations Fellow at New York Theatre Workshop and Assistant Program Coordinator for NYU Production Lab's Creative Careers Accelerator. In Los Angeles, she worked as a producer and sound/video designer at Towne Street Theater and contributed to productions at Leimert Park Theater Consortium and The Inner City Cultural Center. Maimouna has co-produced the short film The Nest, collaborated on photography books like I Can’t Breathe and has worked on independent modeling projects. Recently, she's jumped in as a co-producer for the Black femme theater collective The Archive, and stage managed Zora Howard's The Master's Tools at Wiener Festwochen Theater Festival in Vienna.

Contact Maimouna at maimounac@theflea.org.

Raven Cotton

VENUE HOST

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Raven Cotton

Raven (she/her) is an award-winning artist from the South. She received her BFA in Acting from The University of Alabama. Raven has been involved with many companies in production, collaboration, and storytelling. With inspiration and Southern comfort, Raven strives to be a voice for the unheard. She thanks God for all her answered prayers. She is excited to expand on her knowledge, and talents while serving as Venue Host for The Flea. Tell a story, change a life.

Kyra Davis

VENUE HOST

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Kyra Davis

Kyra (she/her) is a dedicated, determined, and driven artist with a B.A. in Theater and Communication from the University of Alabama. She's worked with various theater companies in box office management, house management, and production. She traded in southern hospitality to take on the city that never sleeps to further her career in acting, writing, and creating. She's been a Venue Host and House Manager at The Flea for three years and looks forward to expanding her knowledge in theater through practice. Her passion is creating theater for underrepresented voices and advancing their opportunities in the workforce.

Esra Dayani

DEVELOPMENT LIAISON

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Esra Dayani

Esra (she/her) is a Chicago-born, Turkiye & Malaysia-raised, fluent in Turkish, Spanish, (and some Hebrew). Esra is a Turkish-Ashkenazi-American actor, writer, producer, and community organizer with 20+ years of experience in all corners of the NYC arts world. Her storytelling work centers women's voices & her multi-cultural heritage; and has been performed with Visible Theatre Co., The Nuyorican Poets Cafe, the SWANA Writer's Co-Op at New York Theatre Workshop; and she conceived/produced/co-directed 12 Fiery Women (Ohio Theatre). Selected Acting Credits: In The Stillness of Night (dir. Shadi Ghaheri, NYC Women Fund recipient, The Tank), Three Tall Persian Women (dir. Dalia Ashurina, Shakespeare & Co), Getting the Guns Over There: A Play In Four Short Acts (dir. Tracy Cameron Francis, Noor Theatre Company, The Lark; CYCLE (dir. Nicole Denise White, Big Apple Film Festival Selection, FilmShortage premiere) and critically-acclaimed webseries "Downsized" (dir. Daryn Strauss, Official Selection Film Festival Cologne, Clicker.com Best Web Comedy Nominee). Recent New Play Readings/Workshops at Rattlestick, Wild Project, Urban Stages and with La Mama, The Parsnip Ship, and Long Wharf.

Non-Profit Work: Marketing & Audience Development (The Public), Fundraising Consultant (The Builders Association), Grant Research Assistant (Frontera Project/New Feet Productions), and Fundraising Events Consultant (Housing & Services Inc.). Esra is an avid reader in a 24-years-and-running book club and a public school PTA member planning Teacher Appreciation Breakfasts & chaperoning school dances while attempting to balance a Brooklyn homelife with her husband and teen/tween daughters who (mostly) appreciate their actress/writer/non-profit arts admin maven mom! @esradayani IG esradayani@gmail.com

Contact Esra at esrad@theflea.org.

Yordhy Herrera

FACILITIES MANAGER/
ASSISTANT TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

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Yordhy Herrera

Yordhy (he/him) joined The Flea in 2022 as Facilities Manager after more than four years of operations and technical experience. He studied mechanical engineering, automotive repair and service, and holds certifications in construction safety, scaffolding, and automotive service excellence. Yordhy is passionate about visual design, solving challenging problems, fixing hardware, and cooking (try his patacón!). Yordhy lives in Queens with his dog, Joey.

Contact Yordhy at yordhyh@theflea.org.

Christian Kenoly

VENUE HOST

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Christian Kenoly

Christian (they/she) is a lifetime performer and passionate hostess from Texas. They express themselves through dance, theater, music, and whatever combines those mediums. They are proud to call The Flea home along with so many passionate creatives.

Erica Laird

GENERAL MANAGER

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Erica Laird

Erica (she/her) provides general management and/or financial services to various non-profit organizations including Target Margin Theater, Caborca, and Sweet Paws Rescue. She is the Producing Director for the american vicarious, and on the Board of Directors for The Builders Association.

Contact Erica at erical@theflea.org.

VENUE HOST

Trinity Posey

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Trinity Posey

Trinity (she/her) is originally from Kalamazoo, MI (yes, it's a real place) and moved to NYC in 2019 to pursue her creative career. Her artistic endeavor is, “to bring humanity to the forefront.” She aims to do that in her acting, songwriting, and the many other creative passions she has. She was most recently seen across the country in the Broadway National Tour of The Book of Mormon. While on the road, she missed The Flea and its staff, and is grateful to always have somewhere that lets her come home.

Adrienne Wells

VENUE HOST

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Adrienne Wells

Bio coming soon!

Our Board

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CO-CHAIR

Rufaro Makanda

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Rufaro Makanda

Rufaro (she/her) is the Chief of Staff to the CEO at Fero Labs, an industrial process optimization software company. Prior to this role, she spent six years in Investment Banking, primarily at Bank of America where she mostly worked with private equity clients on acquisition financings, M&A, and IPOs across a broad spectrum of industries. Rufaro started her career in wealth management at AllianceBernstein, serving high net worth individuals. Outside of work, Rufaro serves on the Steering Committee of Alvin Ailey American DanceTheatre and the National Cathedral School Alumnae Advisory Group. Previous board and junior board commitments include Eyebeam (Treasurer), the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Eastern MetroRegion, Dartmouth Club of New York, FC Harlem, and Indego Africa. Rufaro received a B.A. from Dartmouth College, majoring in Intellectual History, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

william bryant miles

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CO-CHAIR

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william bryant miles

william bryant miles (he/him) is a multi-hyphenate creative professional with a commitment to provocative storytelling, innovation, and Black voices. His career includes artistic and managerial roles with artists and organizations throughout the USA and London. WBM is also an Assistant Professor of Theater and Performance at SUNY Purchase and a Senior Consultant at CJAM Consulting. As a consultant with CJAM, WBM has worked with organizations including 651 ARTS, Apollo Theater, August Wilson House, Bessie Smith Cultural Center, Dwyer Cultural Center, and Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh. Prior to CJAM, WBM worked on commercial theater productions and at organizations including Shakespeare Theatre Company (DC), Hip-Hop Theater Festival, Old Vic New Voices (London), and the Creative Arts Team in residence at the City University of New York.

Jorge I. Montalvo

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VICE CHAIR

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Jorge I. Montalvo

Jorge (he/him) is a distinguished senior executive with a proven track record in private, not-for-profit, and public sector leadership. With extensive experience in organizational strategy, policy development, growth and innovation, Jorge has championed initiatives that enhance healthcare access, economic mobility, and immigrant integration. He has previously served in significant roles including his work as the Chief Operating Officer for the Physician Affiliate Group of New York, New York Deputy Secretary of State for Economic Opportunity and Founding Executive Director of the New York State Office for New Americans. Known for his visionary leadership and operational excellence, Jorge brings a wealth of expertise in financial management, fundraising, and partnership building to the Flea Theater. His commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, coupled with his passion for leveraging arts and culture for social impact, drives his directorship. Jorge graduated from Dartmouth College, majoring in Chemistry and a minor in Environmental Science.

Peter Goldstein

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SECRETARY

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Peter Goldstein

Peter (he/him) currently serves as Managing Director at Steadfast Capital’s Risk and Quantitative Research department, responsible for overseeing a variety of data-driven research projects and communicating risk-related portfolio insights with investors and senior management. He was nominated to the firm’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) committee where he promoted the integration of ESG risks and adoption of good sustainable practices for both the firm and the firm’s investments. After graduating top of his class from Cornell University with degrees in Mathematics and Philosophy, Peter has spent his career at a variety of investment firms in San Francisco and New York. While in San Francisco, he was passionate about his volunteer work at San Quentin Prison, teaching math to inmates as they worked towards their Associates Degree through Mount Tamalpais College (formerly the Prison University Project). Peter now lives with his wife in Crown Heights, where his hobbies include cycling, gardening, and attending live music, improv comedy, and theater.

Maja Janko

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TREASURER

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Maja Janko

Maja (she/her) is a Director with the Morse, Towey & White Group at Hightower. She works closely with the firm’s clients to address financial planning needs, from establishing budgets and retirement plans to determining asset allocations. Maja also plays an important role in managing the firm’s discretionary portfolio of securities: she tracks and trades options, monitors existing positions and ensures that new accounts are properly allocated. After growing up in Europe and graduating from Tufts University in Boston with a degree in history, Maja’s interest in global affairs and desire to work in a dynamic and intellectually challenging environment led her to the financial industry. Prior to joining the Morse, Towey & White team, she spent two years with a firm that specialized in retail foreign exchange trading. Maja holds her FINRA Series 3, 7, and 66 licenses.

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Josy Dussek

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Josy Dussek

Josy (she/her) is the Executive Director of Business Operations, Compliance, and Regulatory Affairs at Union Settlement. As part of the executive leadership she is serving vulnerable populations to enhance overall quality of life, with a focus on promoting equity, addressing racial disparities, and providing opportunities for individuals, and communities in the East Harlem area. With over 30 years as an administrator, Josy has worked with organizations such as the City Parks Foundation SummerStage , as the Director of Arts Operations, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, as the Night Concerts Communications Specialist, as a music video Producer with WHNO-TV and backstage manager for the Essence Music Festivals. She earned her BA in Community and Human Services. She is an active member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated. Besides her love for music, her hobbies are reading, adult coloring, jigsaw puzzles, cooking, and spending time with family.

Dr. Lauren Britt-Elmore

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

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Lauren Britt-Elmore

Lauren (she/her) has the good fortune to have spent her entire career working in and with the theater. She is an arts management practitioner with more than 20 years experience leading teams. Lauren has worked as a manager and coalition builder, crafting policy, implementing strategic plans, and leading programs. Before joining The Flea, she served as the Director of Academic Administration of the Theatre Program at the prestigious Columbia University School of the Arts for seven years. Prior to her tenure at Columbia, she worked in academic administration at the New School for Drama, helped produce the first online course from Harvard’s Education School, served as a Literary Associate at Helen Merrill, Ltd., and earned a distinguished Allen Lee Hughes Fellowship at Arena Stage. She has dramaturged work in various settings including the Cherry Lane Theater, and directed plays in New York and Boston by Kirsten Greenidge, Catherine Filloux, and Angela Tucker.. Dr. Elmore is a graduate of Wesleyan University (BA), Columbia University School of the Arts (MFA), and Harvard Graduate School of Education (EdD).

Nona Hendryx

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Nona Hendryx

Nona’s (she/her) legendary career spans six decades of sound and style evolution. A founding member of Labelle, Nona emerged as the chief songwriter of the group’s socially conscious and message songs. When Labelle ended, Nona launched a solo career, which spanned eight studio albums, Her collaborations with artists such as Prince, Keith Richards, and the Talking Heads have resulted in several top ten hits and a Grammy nomination. Nona remains the Queen of Transformation, writing music for theater and film, as well as producing and collaborating with a new generation of artists. An activist for women’s rights and social, political and criminal justice, Nona has helped raise funds and awareness of HIV/AIDS and has worked with organizations supporting women in prison. In 2016, Nona founded sisterSMATR.org to bridge the gap in STEM fields for young women of color. Nona has recently added Ambassador for Artistry in Music at Berklee College of Music to her credits.

Rick Miramontez

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Rick Miramontez

Rick (he/him) is a top Broadway publicist at DKC/O&M PR. He began his career as the press director of the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre where he organized the campaigns for more than 25 major productions, including the RSC’s The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby and world premieres of Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs and Biloxi Blues. He was the press director for the 1987 and 1990 Los Angeles Festival, where he presented Cirque du Soleil to the U.S. media, as well as Peter Brook’s epic The Mahabharata. From 1988-1996, Rick headed his own firm, Rick Miramontez Company, which represented many of the major arts events on the West Coast, including the American Premiere of Sunset Boulevard and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. In New York, Rick and his colleagues were behind the press campaigns for Hairspray, Sweeney Todd, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and was account executive for Rent, The Producers, and Long Day’s Journey Into Night. At DKC/O&M PR, Rick’s clients include: Dear Evan Hansen, A Doll’s House, Part 2, Kinky Boots, Fun Home, Eclipsed, and School of Rock.

Niegel Smith

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ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

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Niegel Smith

Niegel (he/him) is a Bessie Award-winning theater director and performance artist. He is also a board member of A.R.T./New York and was a ringleader of Willing Participant, an artistic activist organization that whips up urgent poetic responses to crazy shit that happens. Current and recent directing projects include The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist (Lincoln Center) and Suzan-Lori Park’s Plays for The Plague Year (The Public Theater). His work has been produced at The Alley Theater, The Barbican, Classical Theatre of Harlem, The Flea, The Goodman Theatre, HERE Arts Center, Hip Hop Theatre Festival, The Invisible Dog, Luna Stage, The Melbourne Festival, Magic Theatre, Mixed Blood, the National Black Theatre, New York Fringe Festival, New York Live Arts, Phoenix Theatre Ensemble, Playwrights Horizons, Pomegranate Arts, The Public Theater, St. Ann’s Warehouse, Summer Play Festival, and Under the Radar. A frequent collaborator of playwright/performer Taylor Mac, Niegel assistant directed Bark of Millions (BAM).

Michael Sternberg

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Michael Sternberg

Michael (he/him) came to New York in 1984 to work for Citibank, after completing his law degree and practicing as a barrister in Sydney, Australia. In 1987, Michael left Citibank to pursue various business activities on his own. In addition to The Flea, his board service includes the Calder Foundation, Calder Gardens, Public Art Fund, and the Film Forum.