The Founders
Mikaela Fraser
Khadijah Greene
Khadijah Greene
Atlanta, GA
Sound Designer and Audio Engineer
She studied at Kennesaw State University, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre and Performance Studies. Mikaela’s experience in sound design has allowed her to expand her skill set into theatre education, production management, and stage management.
Khadijah Greene
Khadijah Greene
Khadijah Greene
Washington D.C
Business and Finance
She studied at Georgia State and Emory. Majoring in Philosophy, Politics and Law with a minor in English. She worked as a stage manager and production assistant (6+ years). She is combining her background in theatre and business operations to help young artists grow and thrive in the industry.
Toni Sterling
Khadijah Greene
Toni Sterling
Atlanta, GA
Lighting Designer and Educator
She received her BFA from the University of West Georgia and her MFA from the University of Connecticut. Her expertise ranges from theatre education, lighting design, production management, self advocacy training, and theatrical lighting consulting.
GDC Board Members
Yolanda Williams
Yolanda Williams is a Director, Producer, and Educator whose work lives at the intersection on of artistry, advocacy, and community. A naive of Jackson, MS, she earned her B.A. in Drama from the University of Dallas and her M.F.A. in Directing from the University of Southern Mississippi. She now serves as Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Theatre Studies in the Department of Speech Communication & Theatre at Jackson State University, where she also works as the Production Manager and Costume Designer, roles that allow her to weave together vision and detail, craft and care. Beyond the university, she is the proud Founder and Producing Artistic Director of Blue Light Underground Ensemble, a Mississippi-based performing arts company dedicated to amplifying original, diverse, and inclusive voices of the South. Through Blue Light Casting, her reach extends into film and media, where she has served as a Casting Directing on a variety of projects. Her leadership extends across the national stage: she Chairs the BIPOC Network with USITT, Co- Chairs the Black Theatre Group with SETC, and contributes to a wider range of boards and committees that advocate for artistry, equity, and access pushing the arts toward equity and inclusion. She is the Producer of the HBCU Theatre Summit held in New Orleans, a gathering that uplifts, connects and celebrates the brilliance of Black theatre makers across generations.
Harlan Penn
Harlan is a proud graduate of Florida A&M University and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. The South Florida native has designed for off-Broadway, Off Off Broadway, cable television, regional theatre, and educational theatre. In addition, Penn has served as an Art Director and Assistant Art Director for film & television productions for NETLIX, HULU, ABC/DISNEY, NBC, HALLMARK MOVIE CHANNEL, CBS and TURNER BROADCASTING. Theatre design credits include: FOR COLORED GIRLS, BLUES FOR AN ALABAMA SKY, ON STRIVER'S ROW, FLYIN' WEST, DREAMGIRLS, SEVEN GUITARS, GEM OF THE OCEAN, JITNEY, RADIO GOLF, KING HEDLEY II, CHAINED DOG, DRUMLINE LIVE (International tour), THE MIGHTY GENTS, CAMP LOGAN, BURIED CHILD, LOOKING, CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, and THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF NICHOLAS NICKLEBY to name a few. Film/TV productions include GOD FRIENDED ME, FOR LIFE, GIRLS 5EVA, THE LAST O.G., SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, RAISING KANAN, FBI MOST WANTED, FIRE ISLAND, THE NOEL DIARY, RISE, MADAME SECRETARY, KATY KEENE and ROLAND MARTIN UNFILTERED. Mr. Penn has served as assistant scenic designer to Scenic Designer Felix E. Cochren on productions at The McCarter Theatre, Geva Theatre, Syracuse Stage, The Goodman Theatre, Virgina Stage Company, and The Cleveland Playhouse. Mr. Penn is also a proud member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and IASTE/United Scenic Artist Local 829 in the scenic design and Scenic Art category. In addition, Harlan made his operatic design debut with the Lyric Opera of Chicago's world premiere production of FACTOTUM (hip-hop opera) in January 2023. Mr. Penn is currently an assistant professor of Scenic Design at York College in Jamaica, Queens, NY.
GDC Advisory Board
Erwin Greene
Dawn Eskridge
Dawn Eskridge
Erwin currently serves as the Rentals and Facilities Manager for the University of Georgia.
Dawn Eskridge
Dawn Eskridge
Dawn Eskridge
Dawn V. Eskridge is a theatre arts professional with nearly 30 years experience in arts education, arts administration, entertainment management, and theatrical production. From 2019-2021, she served as the Production Manager for the Southeast Emmy® Award-winning High School Musical Theatre Awards: The Shuler Hensley Awards, produced by t
Dawn V. Eskridge is a theatre arts professional with nearly 30 years experience in arts education, arts administration, entertainment management, and theatrical production. From 2019-2021, she served as the Production Manager for the Southeast Emmy® Award-winning High School Musical Theatre Awards: The Shuler Hensley Awards, produced by the ArtsBridge Foundation in Atlanta, Georgia. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Theatre Education from Florida A & M University and a Master’s degree in Public Administration with a concentration in Nonprofit Management from Kennesaw State University. Dawn is currently a full-time instructor of Theatre and Communication Studies at Clark Atlanta University. At Clark, Dawn wrote a competitive proposal and was awarded $500,000 in federal funding to transition classroom space into a state-of-the-art black box theater. Staying connected to professional theatre, Dawn also serves as the Patron Services Manager at Synchronicity Theatre and regularly consults on arts projects. In 2025, she helped coordinate the national Woman of Color Advancing Peace, Security, and Conflict Transformation (WCAPS) organization’s 2024 Arts Forum held at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Of special note, Dawn is the great-granddaughter of John Henry Adams Jr., an illustrator for The Crisis magazine from its founding in 1910 until the late 1920s. Mr. Adams’s work served as the inspiration for this event.