Executive Director of Cool Culture since 2007, Candice (she/her/they/them) has devoted her career to improving the wellbeing educational opportunities and life outcomes for children and families from historically marginalized communities. Previously, she served as Director of Child Care and Head Start Collaboration at the NYC Administration for Children’s Services, and as Senior Policy Associate for Child Care, Education and Youth Development at Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York, NYC’s premier child advocacy organization. Candice has received the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Extraordinary Women award, has an MS in Urban Planning from the New School for Social Research, received her B.A. from Oberlin College and in 2010 became a graduate of the Executive Level Program at Columbia Business School’s Institute for Not-for-Profit Management. In October of 2015, she was appointed by NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio as a member of the Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission and also sits on the NYC Department of Education’s Arts Committee to the Panel of Educational Policy.

Samantha Copé (she/her) is a curator of stories, a lifelong learner, and the Communications Coordinator at Cool Culture. She brings experience in development and communications from her former role at Center for the Pacific Asian Family, a culturally-specific domestic violence agency in Los Angeles, where she amplified the voices of staff and clients through social media and donor meetings. As a former middle school art educator on the island of Oahu, she loved learning from her students through their artwork and arranging class trips to the Hawaii State Art Museum. Born and raised in Maryland, Samantha pursued her B.A. in Media Arts Studies with an emphasis in documentary filmmaking and art education at BYU, and has since lived in the Philippines and Paraguay. She prioritizes relationship-building in her work and volunteering, strives for cultural humility within the communities she inhabits, and honors the self-determination of the individuals whose stories she shares.

Stanley Delva (he/him) is the Institutional Relations Manager at Cool Culture bringing with him experience in fundraising, communications, finance, customer service, sales, and grant writing. He has held roles with organizations such as Haiti Cultural Exchange, Community Capacity Development, El Museo Del Barrio, demonstrating a passion for supporting the arts and working to improve conditions in underinvested communities. Developing strong relationships is the foundation of everything he seeks to do, both professionally and personally. A Brooklyn native, Stanley graduated from Brooklyn College with a BA in English and African American Studies, and an MA in Museum Studies from CUNY School of Professional Studies.

Sheldon Fisher (he/him) is the Development Manager at Cool Culture and brings  diverse experiences in event management and fundraising within the arts, public media, and LGBTQ+ advocacy. A native New Yorker of Jamaican descent, Sheldon received his MA in Performing Arts Administration from New York University and a BA in Music (Classical Voice – Baritone) from Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, the nation’s first degree-granting HBCU. He has held fundraising roles within organizations such as WNET, TheatreWorksUSA, Apollo Theater, Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning and The Metropolitan Opera Guild. As the Director of Development for Beta Gamma Chi Fraternity Inc., he has raised significant funds for LGBTQ+ focused programming nationwide and developed the Code Red initiative for HIV awareness. He has performed both nationally and internationally at world-renowned performing arts centers including Carnegie Hall and Kimmel Center. Sheldon’s life’s mission is generational – to give others that may not have had his experience the opportunity to gain a deeper association with the arts.

Tracey Greenidge (she/her) is the Director of Development at Cool Culture and brings a diverse background of experience in fundraising and arts administration to her role. Before joining Cool Culture, Tracey was the Development Director at Partnership with Children (PWC) and its subsidiary, The Center of Arts Education (CAE). Tracey led all aspects of PWC’s and CAE’s Development Departments and secured large federal and city grants. She also sat on PWC’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council. Previously, Tracey was the Development Manager at Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (VLA) and a grant writer at Hudson Guild. She has also held various roles at well-known arts organizations in the United Kingdom and New York City and co-produced a major cultural festival in Barbados. Tracey has over 15 years of professional dance experience that allowed her to travel internationally, performing and teaching dance to young children, inner-city youth, and adults. She has also won several dance awards. Tracey received her MA in Performing Arts Administration from New York University and a BA with honors in Arts Management from London South Bank University. She is the proud mother of two children and sits on the after-school committee of a New York City public school.

Annie Lee (she/her) is the Director of Communications at Cool Culture. She has dedicated her career to public service to amplify the voices of marginalized communities. She comes to Cool Culture with over a decade of communications, fundraising, and alumni engagement experience. Most recently, Annie was Director of Communications at Prep for Prep, an education and leadership development program for students of color, where she launched its communications department to create branding opportunities and evolve the organization’s voice in racial and social justice issues. In 2020, she coordinated digital communications strategy for Connecticut State Representative Stephanie Thomas’ election campaign. An alumna of NYU’s Fellowship for Emerging Leaders in Public Service, Annie continues to volunteer as a mentor to early career professionals in the program. She is a New York City native and earned her BA in sociology from Barnard College.

Tra Nguyen (she/her) is the Program Manager at Cool Culture. Her background centers on program management, curriculum design, and community outreach. She has worked with youth in a multitude of creative and educational settings, including restorative circles, project-based learning, STEAM, and social emotional learning. Tra graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a double major in Psychology and Global Studies, and she is currently pursuing a Masters in Youth Studies at CUNY SPS. She is passionate about volunteerism, community building, and providing access to the arts for all.

Annallyce Rodriguez-Thomas (she/her) is the Program Assistant at Cool Culture. She was previously an intern at Cool Culture and during this time she also enjoyed volunteering at community events. Annallyce graduated from the College of Staten Island with a BA in English with a concentration in writing and a minor in History. She is interested in learning how different communities use the art of storytelling to keep their cultures alive. She is a proud New Yorker who loves exploring all that the city has to offer.

Fatima Shabbir (she/her) is the Director of Citywide Initiatives at Cool Culture. She is a cultural worker, artist, curator and believer in art accessibility for all as a means to personal and collective healing. She works to center and affirm BIPOC experiences and their resistance to oppressive systems through self expression, political education, storytelling and art making. With experience in art education, grassroots organizing and nonprofit leadership, Fatima has served as founding board member and Director of Art Programming at South Queens Women’s March, where she managed its art committee and programming, hosted community healing workshops, curated museum exhibitions and organized art initiatives for social justice reform. As a communications strategist and member of Jahajee Sisters, she has raised awareness for and advanced education about gender justice in the Indo-Caribbean community through art, storytelling, and social media initiatives. In addition, her background in policy research and analysis at the Social Security Administration has influenced her path to become an advocate for robust policy reforms to address systemic inequities in communities of color.

Kanika Srinivasan (she/her) is the Senior Director of Operations and Strategy at Cool Culture. She has a diverse professional background in local and international community development, program implementation, partnership management, and operations. Kanika comes to us from Citizen Schools where she served as the Director of External Engagement and led her department to create sustainable partnerships, mobilize volunteers, ensure stakeholder satisfaction, and deliver high-quality programming for students. Prior to Citizen Schools, she served as an Indicorp Fellow in Western India concentrating on agricultural development and public health in tribal communities. She also worked at the Council on Foreign Relations in the Corporate Program, as well as in the Executive Office as the Special Assistant to the President. Kanika graduated from Bucknell University with a double major in International Relations and Spanish.

Susan Wilcox (she/her) is the Director of Programs at Cool Culture. Susan collaborates in cultivating liberatory education initiatives in the United States, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean that center dignity and justice and align with the mission at hand, working with community based organizations, K-12 schools, colleges and universities, and foundations. She is a co-founder of Free Minds Free People (a bi-annual national conference focused on social justice education), a Fulbright alumnae (with a teaching and research appointment at the University of Ghana), a former Co-Executive Director of The Brotherhood/Sister Sol where she created Sister Sol, and she has held teaching positions at various colleges. Susan is an artist (photography, design, textile arts) and says this practice informs her work as an educator.