Board Nominees

2024 PTO Board Nominees listed below in first-name alphabetic order!

Amanda Masterpaul
Angela Buencamino Phung
Anthony Lenzo
DeOnyae-Dior Valentina
Evren Elliott*
Fjolla Hoxha
Jim Walsh
Kelly Howe*
Maria Schaedler-Luera*
Mark Weinberg*
Matthew Rich-Tolsma
Maxwel Okuto*

*Current board member seeking reelection to the board.

How Voting Works

The PTO Board has a total capacity of 15 elected board members. For this election term, 2024-2026, each PTO Member will be able to vote on the website for up to six (6) nominees.  Voting will begin on Wednesday, August 28, 2024 continues through Friday, September 6, 2024.

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Amanda Masterpaul (she/her)

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA

Statement of Interest: Amanda is a TO practitioner, applied theatre artist, activist, educator based out of South Carolina. She attended her first PTO Conference in 2006, where she fell in love with TO and viscerally understood theatre as a means for social change and collective action. With 20+ years’ experience in academia, non-profit work, and community organizing, Amanda has been dedicated to co-creating visions and solutions embedded in community well-being, radical imagination, and equity. She has a Masters in Women’s and Gender Studies and Social Justice and Community Organizing, and is currently a Lecturer in the Women’s & Gender Studies Program at Coastal Carolina University. In 2013, she pioneered the creation of two applied theatre courses in the Department of Theatre, and taught applied theatre courses for eight years and took close to thirty students to present at numerous PTO Conferences between 2014 and 2023. She’s received two grants from Alternate Roots for community-based civic artistry projects with young people, presented on TO at the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education, and received awards for inclusive pedagogy. Throughout her career, she has organized alongside various community-centered initiatives in areas such as gender equity, anti-violence, LGBTQ+ia equality, housing insecurity, and systemic racism. Amanda would be thrilled to bring her insights, passion, and skillsets to PTO, a space she considers to be beloved community. Amanda is task oriented and ready to offer time and labor in event planning, grant writing, and fundraising in order to support the organization in their efforts to sustain and thrive.

Angela Buencamino Phung (they/them)

Bay Area, California, USA

Statement of Interest: My name is Angela, and I sometimes go by the name Sabine. I am an educator and artist based in the California San Francisco Bay Area. As a high school social studies and arts teacher, I utilized critical pedagogy and restorative justice practices, and two years ago, I was introduced to TOP through courses with Jiwon Chung at the Berkeley Repertory School of Theater. I have since utilized the pedagogy and practices in my classrooms and am gearing my graduate studies (San Francisco State University, Masters in Equity and Social Justice in Education) to learn and connect more with TOP.

My interest in joining the board stems from a sincere desire to contribute to the community, and grow my understanding and experience with TOP. I have skills in UX Web Design, Social Media, Photography, as well as data collection and presentation for grants/funding purposes.

Anthony Lenzo (they/them)

St. Petersburg, Florida, USA

Statement of Interest: My commitment to social justice began in my earliest memories, where I first encountered the unfairness of the world in a nursery school bully. This experience ignited a life of questioning inequities and promoting justice. Much later, during a graduate course on teaching methods, I was introduced to Paulo Freire’s work. His alternative to the “banking” method of education resonated deeply with me, affirming that students should be co-creators in a process of discovery in which we all partake.

For over 15 years, I taught speech and film at the college level, always striving to implement Freire’s pedagogical methods. I believe in education as a tool for liberation and empowerment, not just as a means to transmit information.

My journey with Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed has been equally transformative. Boal’s works, along with Freire’s, have inspired me to develop what I call “”ADD Filmmaking””—a method of creating partially-improvised narrative films that emerge from the perspectives and experiences of ordinary people. (I have plans to open a school teaching these methods.) This approach to filmmaking reflects my belief that to change the world into a more just and equitable place, we must change the narrative and elevate the voices of the marginalized.

After participating in and helping organize last year’s conference, I felt like I had come home. I am eager to join the board to help continue developing and expanding upon Fiere’s and Boal’s methods. It would be an honor to contribute to this incredible community that is working together to challenge and transform oppressive structures through education and creative expression.

DeOnyae-Dior Valentina (she/they)

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Statement of Interest: I am deeply committed to the principles of equity, social justice, and transformative education, which lie at the heart of PTO. As a young Black and Brown trans woman and activist with a strong background in human services and advocacy, I bring a unique perspective that aligns with the conference’s mission of empowering marginalized voices and challenging oppressive systems.

My experience as a trans activist, combined with my current studies in legal studies and human services, has equipped me with the skills necessary to contribute meaningfully to the conference. I have consistently demonstrated my ability to advocate for marginalized communities, facilitate inclusive dialogues, and engage in critical analysis of policies and practices that affect vulnerable populations. My work with organizations such as the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Center for States, and The Center for Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities has increased my ability to design and implement programs that address systemic inequities and promote social change.

Joining the working board would allow me to further the impact of PTO by bringing my lived experiences and professional expertise to the table. I am committed to helping shape a conference that not only educates but also inspires actionable change in the lives of participants and the communities they serve. My goal is to collaborate with fellow board members to create an inclusive and transformative space where all voices are heard and valued.

I am eager to contribute to the planning, coordination, and execution of a conference that advances the goals of the Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed movement, and I am confident that my passion, skills, and dedication make me an ideal candidate for this role.”

Evren Elliott* (he/they)

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Statement of Interest: Evren Wilder Elliott (He/They) is a trans storyteller and facilitator who uses Theatre of the Oppressed as a tool for collaborative world building. His current project is titled “Imagining Home: liberatory theatre and speculative solutions for housing justice”, bringing together community members impacted by housing insecurity to share their stories and seek new futures through the process of legislative theatre. He also works as a collaborative strategist with organizations seeking liberatory practices. Evren has received support for his work from organizations like Big Car, the Andy Warhol Foundation, and the Indiana Arts Commission. He has just finished his term as the president of the international board of directors for Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed, Inc, and worked to bring PTO’s annual international conference to Indianapolis in 2023. Evren is a community advisor for the Indy East Promise Neighborhood, serves on the board of directors of Fonseca Theatre, and serves as a facilitator and collaborator for a variety of community building endeavors. Evren has had the joy of conspiring with groups across Indiana and the country, and with individuals from all over the world, who are truly interested in inventing new systems and pursuing liberation through the audacious acts of creation and play.

Evren hopes to continue to serve the PTO board and connect practitioners, dreamers and changemakers through conferences, journal publication, and regional gatherings.

Fjolla Hoxha (she/they)

Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Statement of Interest: I would like to nominate myself as a PTO board membership.
As a theater, performance art maker, educator, and social activist, I am deeply motivated by the works of Freire and Boal because they intertwine my interests and goals as a human and as an artist. I attended my first PTO Conference this year, and as an immigrant from Kosova, I felt hopeful by all the grass roots movements that are operating in the U.S., South America and wider. In a politically polarized world that disciplines bodies, attempts to fog the pathways towards humanization and instrumentalizes the global environmental crisis to further perpetuate class division, fostering critical consciousness, conscientization, or in Freire’s word ‘conscientização’ is one of my key focuses, be it as an artistic researcher, playwright, performance art maker, community activist as well as a lecturer of Performance Art (- upcoming appointment at Vanderbilt University).

I have over 20 years of experience in community engagement through practicing theater and performance art making as well as institutional and social activism organization background in Europe, through various socially engaged artistic projects. I have managed youth exchange programs worked as a PR for film festivals and cultural organizations as well as have written successful individual and organizational grants. I am a very structured and prompt person, direct and critical, but also flexible and open to various forms of collaboration. My contribution to PTO could be in various contexts, and my eagerness to join the board stems from my belief in PTO methodologies.

Jim Walsh (he/him)

Denver, Colorado, USA

Statement of Interest: I am reaching out to nominate myself to serve on the PTO Board. I have been involved with PTO for many years, attending many conferences and staying in touch with various members. I have been a Political Science and History Professor at the University of Colorado Denver for the past twenty eight years. Twenty years ago, I founded the Romero Theater Troupe, Denver’s all-volunteer organic worker theater. The troupe was born out of a radical experiment that I used in my classroom a quarter century ago, replacing rote memorization exams with organic theater. The experiment changed the way that I view education and my relationship with my students. The Romero Troupe is named after Oscar Romero, a legendary figure in El Salvador history and a martyr for economic and social justice. The Romero Troupe has had an amazing twenty year run, regularly filling large theaters with free performances and actors who have never been on stage, highlighting the central social struggles of our age. We have won a national human rights award. I wish to serve on the board as a way to bring this knowledge to PTO, as a way to encourage educators to use theater in their classrooms, to shape student leaders through the messiness and the humanity of the arts.

Kelly Howe* (she/ella)

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Statement of Interest: Hi PTO! I’m a current board member as well as a teacher, organizer, writer, and Theatre of the Oppressed facilitator who lives in Chicago. I’d love to help PTO keep improving, and I’m dedicated to working hard for the organization. I served as PTO president for 2 terms and co-organizer for 4 of its conferences, but lately for PTO I focus on: 1) language justice (doing much of PTO’s written English-Spanish translation), 2) international solidarity (coordinating a global solidarity group, providing letters for visas, and filing visa applications for featured guests), 3) supporting current and future conference organizers, and 4) collaborating on logistics of organizing pre-conference and/or post-conference workshops. I’m supporting next year’s organizers in their planning processes, and I sometimes also assist with social media. A commitment to collectively sharpening our tools for organizing toward justice (racial, gender, sexuality, disability, economic, ecological, etc.) guides my participation in PTO, as does a desire to link PTO with social movements. Locally in Chicago, I’m a member of the independent political organization 48th Ward Neighbors for Justice, have co-organized a Chicago collective at the intersection of theatre, politics, and popular education, and coordinate several social justice-focused efforts with students at Loyola University Chicago, where I teach. With 48th Ward Neighbors for Justice, my primary focus has been co-organizing migrant and asylum seeker solidarity efforts, but I’ve also supported other organizing work and represented the organization as a solidarity translator with a local mutual aid group.

Maria Schaedler-Luera* (she/her)

Sarasota, Florida, USA

Statement of Interest: I am a Brazilian-born educator and artist with extensive experience in theater, arts and literacy, and cross-cultural engagement. I studied with Augusto Boal and have taught Theater of the Oppressed techniques for various organizations and schools. I hold a Master’s degree in Intercultural Relations from Lesley University. My multicultural perspective and language skills allow me to act as a bridge, connecting people, projects, and experiences within the community.

Since moving to the United States in 2004, I have been deeply involved in supporting immigrants, at-risk youth, nonprofits, public schools, and arts organizations. I currently own and operate Atomica Arts, through which I consult with organizations locally in Florida and nationally in the areas of arts, education, and wellness, working with individuals of all ages.

In the past year, I had the privilege of serving as the lead chair for the Florida PTO Conference, where I helped shape local discussions and initiatives that impact our community.

I would be honored to bring these skills and experiences to the PTO Board once again, continuing our collective work to support our community.

Mark Weinberg* (he/him)

Mequon, Wisconsin, USA

Statement of Interest: Mark Weinberg is Co-director, with Jenny Wanasek, of The Center for Applied Theatre (CAT – www.centerforappliedtheatre.org). He co-founded the Theatre and Social Change focus group of ATHE with Doug Paterson, has been a member of PTO for over 20 years, hosted the 9th PTO conference in Milwaukee, previously served on the PTO Board from 2011-2018, and was editor of issues 4-6 of the PTO Journal. Mark began his study of TO with Augusto Boal in 1992 and has conducted workshops and training sessions for educators, administrators, students, activists, theatre-makers, and community organizations in the U.S., Australia, Canada, and Europe. Jenny and Mark were teaching artists in Milwaukee Public Schools for 18 years and continue to work with educators and youth. In addition, they offer interactive and collaborative workshops that use techniques drawn primarily from TO and The Virtues Project to provide provocative and transformative learning experiences, invite open dialogue, develop creativity, explore power and privilege, identify problems, and actively test solutions for real life implementation. They are committed to challenging social and political systems, imagining just and humane societies, and designing actions to generate community, fight internal and external oppressions, and transform the world.

Mark has published and lectured widely on theatre and social activism, chronicled the development of collective theatre in Challenging the Hierarchy: Collective Theatre in the United States (Greenwood Press, 1992), co-authored with Jenny Wanasek a chapter in Come Closer: Critical Perspectives on Theatre of the Oppressed (Lang, 2012), and co-authored “Shaking the Hands of Our Mentors” in the first issue of the PTO Journal. Incidentally, Mark has an MFA in Directing and a Ph.D. in Theatre History from the University of Minnesota, holds a 7th Degree Black Belt in Karate, and has over 35 years of university teaching experience. His current side gig is as a storytelling coach and workshop leader with Ex Fabula. Mark is honored to have the opportunity to work for PTO to increase its membership, its influence, and its effectiveness as an activist organization.

Matthew Rich-Tolsma (he/him)

Roermond, The Netherlands

Statement of Interest: I am honored to submit my nomination for the Board of the Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed (PTO). With a strong background in organizational development, critical theater, and strategic facilitation, I am deeply committed to advancing PTO’s mission of fostering diverse and inclusive community processes. My experience includes over a decade of work in facilitating complex, multi-stakeholder projects, particularly in the areas of conflict resolution, social justice, and transformative pedagogy. I also currently serve on the board of the Center for Nonviolent Communication (CNVC), where I contribute to governance and strategic planning, ensuring alignment with the organization’s mission.

I am passionate about integrating diverse perspectives into organizational practices and have a particular interest in bringing forward underrepresented voices. My work has always focused on creating spaces where meaningful dialogue can occur, and where collective wisdom can guide transformative change, particularly through the use of theater and pedagogy as tools for empowerment.

I seek election to the Board because I believe in the power of process-oriented facilitation to create lasting impact, and I am eager to contribute my skills in strategic thinking, collaboration, and equity-driven leadership. My goal is to support PTO in expanding its reach and deepening its influence in communities worldwide.

I bring to the Board a strong commitment to the values of PTO, combined with a strategic mindset and a passion for fostering inclusive, sustainable change. I look forward to the opportunity to serve and help shape the future of our shared work.

Maxwel Okuto* (he/him)

Nairobi, Kenya

Statement of Interest: I am writing this letter to express my interest to continue to serve on the board. I am very impressed with its mission and positive impact it has on the global community. I am confident that my skills and experiences would positively contribute to the growth of the of the organization.

Maxwel Okuto is the director of Amani People’s Theatre. He is a practitioner of applied theater and a storyteller with over 15 years’ experience, both locally and internationally. He works with grassroots communities to transform conflicts and create a narrative of peace. His involvement with PTO began in 2019 as a member of the board and the Global Solidarity committee, and he is excited to collaborate with PTO members to bring the PTO conference to Africa.

Maxwel has extensive expertise supporting arts-based peacebuilding programs. He has co-authored Forum Theatre in East Africa: The Domain of the Possible 2015 (Africa Conflict and Peacebuilding Review, Vol. 5) at Indiana University, and Okuto, M., and Smith, B. (2017), ‘Reflecting on the Challenges of Applied Theatre in Kenya’, in Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance.

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