The Girl Be Heard Team

Our Team
Board of Directors
Fairy Godmothers
Special Advisors
Partners

Girl Be Heard Staff

Executive Team

Cynthia Renta Executive Director

Cynthia Renta
Executive Director
Trained in healing justice and BIPOC womanist praxis, Renta works to tap into the creative healing potential of individuals and communities through the creation, design and exploration of liberation and wellness spaces for transformation.
Notable projects include founding the theater group “Still Standing,” centering the stories of mothers whose children were killed by gun violence and leading the cultural arts classroom curriculum design and facilitation for Indigenous People’s Day, Latine Heritage, Black History and Pride months. In her art practice, she spearheaded the founding of various Afro-Indigenous Latine Caribbean folk arts projects from NYC to the San Francisco Bay Area including Bomberas de la Bahía and Project Cimarrona, movements that centered the contributions of women in the Caribbean arts. She was the founding artistic and community projects director for the Untold Stories Project, a site specific storytelling project amplifying the stories of the BIPOC community post-pandemic, centering spaces of geo-political importance and grounded in the framework of healing justice.
In her most recent role as Executive Director of the Educational Arts Team, Renta was the lead pedagogue, training designer and fundraiser. In her first year, she increased the operational budget by 40%, implemented performing art and art literacy programs and expanded donor portfolios. She also expanded the summer camp scholarship opportunities for BIPOC children and children with disabilities by 75%. With a focus on arts engagement, Renta led the charge to increase equity and access to art education. She pioneered early initiatives for diversity, equity and inclusion in education and workplaces, grounded in restorative practices and social-emotional restorative circle-keeping. Previously, Renta held leadership roles at the YMCA, Untold Stories and the Center for Supportive Schools.
Renta holds a Master’s in Public Administration from the City University of New York and a Bachelor of Arts in Growth and Structure of Cities from Bryn Mawr College. Recognized for her leadership in public administration and the arts Renta received the National Urban Fellowship Award for Urban Leaders (2006) and the Diáspora Leaders Award from Paso Negro and the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña (2012).

Staff

Mariann Allison Operations Coordinator

Mariann Allison
Operations Coordinator
Mariann Allison is our Operations Coordinator. She is a graduate of The University of Texas at San Antonio with a BA in Psychology.
Mariann enjoys working in Operations and getting to know the staff and performers to ensure their experience runs smoothly. While this is Mariann’s first position with a Non-Profit organization she is hooked.
Ross Mudrick Grant Writer

Ross Mudrick
Grant Writer
Meet a writer driven by two core values: doing good and having fun. Specializing in non-profits, he collaborates with passionate individuals dedicated to positively impacting the world. He is inspired by those with bold visions, working tirelessly to create a better world one young person, transformative experience, and idea at a time.

Board of Directors

Board Members are selected because of their deep commitment to our mission and social justice values, and because they exemplify these values in their professional and public lives. Members of the Board of Directors work in partnership with staff to expand Girl Be Heard’s reach, skills, perspectives, financial capability, and over-all resources, and maintain a Board that is diverse in age, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and national origin. Learn more about each of our Board Members below.

Jessica Pfeiffenberger Bohn
Jessica Pfeiffenberger Bohn
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Jessica Bohn has 20 years of financial services experience. She is currently a Senior Vice President and Director of Strategic Initiatives at AllianceBernstein, a global asset management firm. She serves as a thought partner to the CEO, COO, and management team supporting strategic vision and implementation around top business priorities. She oversees the firm’s program management office responsible for planning and execution of initiatives to expand into new growth areas, drive organizational efficiencies, and respond to changing industry and regulatory demands. Having been with AB since 2020, Bohn served as Chief of Staff to the President and CEO of AllianceBernstein for five years. She previously was an Executive Director at J.P. Morgan Private Bank where she spent 16 years working in a variety of roles across business management, multi-asset class portfolio management, and product management. Bohn is the Co-Chair of Synergy New York, AB’s women’s network. Jessica joined the Girl Be Heard Board of Directors in August 2018 and became Chair in January 2024. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Ohio University and resides in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.
Jessica has nearly 20 years of financial services experience. She currently is Vice President and Chief of Staff to the President & CEO of AllianceBernstein, a global asset management firm. She previously was an Executive Director at J.P. Morgan Private Bank where she spent 16 years working in a variety of portfolio management, business management, and product management roles. Jessica was the Co-Chair of the Tri-State chapter of J.P. Morgan’s women’s network. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Ohio University. Jessica currently resides in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and two children.
Aruna Cadambi
Aruna Cadambi
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Aruna is a well-rounded social impact professional with over 12 years of experience working with domestic and global players across the public and private sectors.
Leveraging her roles as a trusted advisor to leaders within corporations, the U.S. government, foreign governments, multilateral institutions, nonprofits, and social enterprises, Aruna possesses a deep understanding of the intricacies of different social impact actors and excels at aligning their incentives to foster large-scale collaboration. Aruna is skilled at working cross-functionally within organizations to develop and implement shared strategies, programs, and projects. Featuring both depth and breadth, her portfolio of social impact work features tackling challenges in gender equality, racial justice, economic empowerment, education, civic engagement, and health. Aruna’s strong management consulting toolkit allows her to bring clear strategy, metrics, process, tools, technologies, and rigor to the intersection of scaleable social impact and innovation.
Enriched by her global experiences across industries and sectors, Aruna is keen to foster diverse perspectives in all that she does. Her strong belief in the importance of holding space for others and of allowing diverse voices to be heard brought her to Girl Be Heard.
Aruna earned a Master of Science in Public Policy & Management from Carnegie Mellon’s Heinz College. She also graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts in International Development Studies with minors in Public Policy and South Asian Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She is a lover of Carnatic music, nature, and traveling. Aruna lives in Brooklyn with her husband where they enjoy exploring NYC restaurant by restaurant.
Anna Figueroa

Anna Figueroa

Social responsibility and social impact are of great importance to Anna. After attending her first Girl Be Heard theater performance, she was compelled to be a part of the organization, and she's thrilled to have become a Board Member.
Anna has a wealth of experience leading digital content production and art direction for brands in the luxury space. Her career spans over 15 years with extensive experience providing vision and leadership that creates compelling visual content across various digital platforms. Anna is most in her element bridging business strategy and creative concepts.
She previously served as the Editorial Creative Director at saks.com where she effectively assembled and led a best-in-class editorial team, elevating and pioneering dynamic content through editorial campaigns that consistently achieved growth and profitability. Currently, Anna is freelancing, providing creative consulting services for brands and talent agencies. Anna is actively blending her skills as a curator, image-making visionary and talent manager to build a different career path that incorporates social responsibility and social action.
In 2017, she founded Rising4PR, a charitable grassroots movement with one mission: to help rebuild Puerto Rico after the disastrous effects of Hurricane Maria. Having deep roots in Puerto Rico, Anna felt inspired to help repair the spirits of the Puerto Rican youth after the catastrophic damage caused by the storm. With her ability to cultivate, curate, and connect with people, as well as her network of creatives, she commissioned designers, artists, and other talents to produce a curated shopping fundraising event. The event raised over $10,000, which was used to purchase learning tools and toys for SER De Puerto Rico, a nonprofit org that serves kids and young adults with learning disabilities. She traveled to Puerto Rico to make the delivery and meet with the school staff and kids. She counts this as one of her most rewarding memories.
Anna holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Arts. She is inspired by art, which she sees in people, places, and things, but mostly in her two young nephews, Demi and Liam. They are her motivating factors for empowering youth!
Mimi Girma

Mimi Girma

Born in Ethiopia, raised in the Cote d'Ivoire, and educated in the UK + New York City, Hiywet Mimi Girma's origins and exposure to textile and craftsmanship in Africa ignited a passion for textile innovation, fashion design, and a strong sense of entrepreneurship.
Over a successful 25-year fashion design career in New York City, Mimi has led and been an integral part of successful brands at Armani, BCBG Max Azria, and Vivienne Tam.
Mimi saw first-hand the waste of resources that results from favoring the speed and never-ending cycle of fashion over the wellness of people and the planet.
As a designer and a mother, Mimi knew the only way to forward is to create responsibly and hence founded YESAET, marrying Artisanal luxury with local production, choosing to make a positive impact through ethical production and sustainability whilst empowering and supporting artisans in Africa and local businesses in New York.
In Amharic, YESAET means ‘a woman’s work’ and the brand’s sustainable practices and priorities are designed to capture and reflect women’s strength, focus, and resilience.
Yesaet is based in Dumbo, Brooklyn, where Mimi resides with her husband and son.
Ana Patel

Ana Patel

Ana Cutter Patel offers 25 years of experience in international peace building, development and human rights, most recently as the Executive Director of the Outward Bound Center for Peacebuilding (2010-June 2019). Her background spans from building a gravity water system as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic; to teaching international conflict issues at Columbia University; to training governments on human rights and the demobilization of ex-combatants in Colombia and West Africa
Ana is a Rotary International Peace Fellow, a 2016 Visionary of the Hearts on Fire Foundation, and a Global Peace Index Ambassador. She has published two co-edited volumes, Disarming the Past: Transitional Justice and Ex-combatants (January 2010), and Experiential Peacebuilding (September 2019). Ana currently serves as Board Member with Girl Be Heard, the Washington Office on Latin America (NYC Council) and International Medical Response. Ana graduated from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon and received a Master of International Affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University in New York. She holds a graduate Certificate in Peacebuilding from Chulalongkorn University in Thailand.
Jamilah Rosemond

Jamilah Rosemond

Jamilah Rosemond is a junior at New York University majoring in drama with a concentration in musical theater. She is also minoring in business in entertainment, media, and technology.
She is the co-president of Artists in Action and was a performer and writer in NYU’s main stage production, INTER//STELLAR, which was in collaboration with the National Black Theatre. Jamilah will be portraying Dorie Ladner in the upcoming Netflix film, Rustin, directed by George C. Wolfe and produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Grounds. Jamilah has also appeared in Power Book III: Raising Kanan, Bel Air, and can be seen in the upcoming limited series The Best Man: The Final Chapters, where she plays Regina Hall’s daughter.
Jamilah is the founder of Girls with Beauty & Brains, which is a girl empowerment blog created to encourage young women and provide them with resources to empower and motivate them to reach their highest potential. Jamilah created Girls with Beauty & Brains because of her personal experiences in middle school. She noticed that girls were always competing with each other as opposed to building each other up, and noticed many girls including herself, lacked confidence because they were trying to fit into society’s standards of beauty.
Jamilah also has a series on her blog called, Fabulous Confabulation, which is a one-on-one chat with inspiring women and girls in different career fields to provide viewers with insight on how to reach their dreams.
Some women she has interviewed include the following: Grammy-award-winning Performance Coach, KJ Rose; Emmy-award-winning NBC reporter, Joelle Garguilo; Visual journalist/writer, Liza Donnelly; Be More Chill producer, Jennifer Tepper; casting director, Tracey Moore; and New Jersey Congresswoman Mrs. Bonnie Watson Coleman.
Some awards she has received in recognition of her blog are the following: “In Recognition and Appreciation of Your Ability to be an Inspiration and Visionary Leader” awarded by Rays of Hope and “Empowerment Through Self-Actualization” awarded by the Donald & Alease Hilliard-Chapman Foundation.
amilah is very active in her community and constantly speaks up about racial equality. She organized two Black Lives Matter rallies that were in collaboration with the Movement for Black Lives and Rays of Hope. Both rallies were to amplify Black voices and talents and provide educational resources to the community.
Jamilah also had the opportunity to give back through performances when she was cast in Girl Be Heard’s (GBH) MainStage Show, 2030: The Future Is Ours. She has now been in a number of their MainStage shows and has written pieces such as, “Don’t Leave Us a Loan” as well as “No Justice, No Peace,” a monologue about her experiences with racism, which was also featured in Downtown Magazine. In 2020, Jamilah had the wonderful opportunity of interviewing Viola Davis for GBH’s Gala.
Jamilah is currently a teaching artist with the Children’s Theatre Company. She works with children between the ages of 5-16 years old and has worked with the program in Flint, Mi Michigan; Brooklyn, and Manhattan, NY. Through CTC, Jamilah was also in the equity show, Henry Box Brown (HBB), which has recently been optioned for a Broadway production. They have performed in New York City, Savannah, GA, and Jackson, TN.
Jamilah was a production assistant at BET Networks, working with Connie Orlando, and a production assistant for the Black Girls Rock Award Show. Jamilah was also one of two girls selected from over 500 to host the American Girl’s web series, AG Life and she was a consultant for American Girl’s book, Love your Look. Jamilah also was the red carpet correspondent for the Celebrity Kids Fashion Show in Newark, NJ, where she interviewed influential people like Power actress, Donshea Hopkins and award-winning celebrity stylist, Pilar Scratch.
Jamilah also had the opportunity to organize a girl empowerment conference at Princeton University called The Celebration of Womanhood. Jamilah’s key role as one of the organizers was to market the event and manage the transportation to ensure that all of the over 200 registered girls were able to attend.
Sharon Washington

Sharon Washington

Sharon celebrates a career of over 30 years as an actor on stage and in film and television including featured roles in Joker, The Kitchen, On The Basis of Sex, Power Book III, For Life, Madam Secretary, Michael Clayton, Die Hard With A Vengeance, Law & Order and Law & Order:SVU among many others.
You may also recognize her voice as the narrator of several documentary series for Animal Planet, Discovery, NOVA, and TV One. On Broadway, Sharon appeared in The Scottsboro Boys and her Off-Broadway credits include performances at The Public/NYSF, The Vineyard, Roundabout, Lincoln Center/LCT3, Manhattan Theatre Club, and Primary Stages. She has also appeared at award-winning regional theaters around the country and workshopped numerous new plays at The O’Neill, Sundance, Powerhouse at Vassar, and New York Theater Workshop. Sharon made her debut as a playwright in 2016 performing in the world premiere of her solo play Feeding The Dragon which subsequently opened Off-Broadway at Primary Stages where she was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award, a Lucille Lortel Award and won an Audelco Award. She was Primary Stages 2017-18 Tow Foundation Playwright-in-Residence.
Feeding the Dragon is now available as a best-selling Audible Original audio play, has been published by Oberon Books and the script is currently being adapted into a children’s picture book and in development as an animated series.
She is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the Yale School of Drama. Sharon is thrilled to bring her passion for the art of storytelling in its many forms and her belief in its ability to change lives to Girl Be Heard.
Cindra Maharaj

Cindra Maharaj

Cindra is a financial services consultant with extensive experience helping firms respond to changing market and regulatory requirements centred on financial and non-financial risks. She believes now more than ever, core finance, risk and control practices need to be at the forefront of business decisions to drive sustainable and growth driven business outcomes.
Cindra’s career in the US began at Morgan Stanley in treasury, followed by EY, both places she credits for developing a solid bedrock of skill and expertise in financial services. Today she draws on this to increase Baringa’s footprint in the US. Her experience in the industry provides her the ability to connect the dots and bring lateral and innovative thinking to her clients.
A strong advocate for DEI and female advancement, she stresses the importance of collaboration with teams and clients. She enlists an empathic approach to help everyone arrive at the best possible outcome which is instrumental in helping her win the confidence of clients and her team.
Outside of work, Cindra can often be found enjoying all things art and fashion with her husband Crispin. In a former life Cindra was a tennis player for Trinidad and Tobago, where she grew up, but these days you’re more likely to see her in the stands at the US Open than on the court.
Elizabeth Masucci

Elizabeth Masucci

Elizabeth Masucci is a NYC based actor, producer, writer and director.
She started her career as an actor working a number of TV productions (Most notably, she starred as a series regular alongside Edward Burns on the TV series PUBLIC MORALS (TNT) produced by Steven Spielberg.) and film productions (SHAME, THE BROOKLYN BANKER). She also starred in several theater productions; one being an Off Broadway production by Neil Labute, a Tony Nominated playwright, called UNLIKELY JAPAN.
Recently, Elizabeth co-produced a feature film, THE GOD COMMITTEE starring Kelsey Grammer and Julia Stiles, which got accepted to the Tribeca Film Festival 2020. She started her own production company with a colleague called In The Meantime Productions in which she produces her own TV & film projects, a few of which are in post production and in development.
Elizabeth got her B.A. from Fordham University. She’s on the associate boards of two non profits, Urban Arts Partnerships and Girl Be Heard. And most importantly, she is a mother to a daughter.
Ashley Itenberg

Ashley Itenberg

Ashley drives change through her belief in storytelling, creativity, and advocacy, fostering community building.
At the core of Ashley’s work is a deep-seated belief in the transformative power of storytelling and creative expression as tools for advocacy and social change. This philosophy has guided her collaborative efforts with brands, teams, and individuals alike, driving the development of innovative programs and services designed to unleash the unique creative genius within each person. Her approach is human-centered, focusing on building strong foundations that encourage self-leadership, perspective, and inspired action.

Ashley is a Creative Services Consultant and Coach, bringing her expertise in nurturing and amplifying creative talents and voices across the globe she has worked to lead both brand and agency creative teams to support global brands and non-profit initiatives with significant business and social impacts. She specializes in spearheading creative operations, from strategic planning to the execution of comprehensive creative marketing, ensuring a cohesive and impactful omni-channel presence and experience.
Her areas of expertise include: Leadership, Mentorship & Coaching, Strategic Brand Marketing & Advertising, Content Development & Execution, Creative Process Empowerment and Community Engagement & Development.
Beyond her professional endeavors, she is the founder of ‘Heart Ground Collective,’ a platform and newsletter designed to inspire women to lead with presence and creativity for meaningful change. This initiative reflects her passion for building communities where voices can be heard, stories shared, and her commitment to creating spaces where every voice can make a difference. In addition she brings well over a decade of experience in fundraising efforts for causes supporting progressive education, climate change, women’s justice, world hunger, and particularly the empowerment of young women’s voices.
Ashley lives in New York City with her husband and son.