SPONSORS

RUN OF SHOW

• Welcome Breakfast in the Library

• Maevonia Caldwell Community Conversation: “It Takes a Village”

  • Toni D. Hendrix, Keynote

  • Panelists: Jasmine Carmichael, Amrisa Niranjan, Ashley Teague

• Creative Responses

  • Chantal Jean-Pierre, performs a monologue based on an oral history with Maevonia Caldwell

  • Gabriela Saker, performs a monologue based on an oral history with Erica Aguilar

  • A presentation on coLAB Arts’ Recent Public Art

• Village Photo

  
  LUNCH TO FOLLOW IN FELLOWSHIP HALL

  • Catering provided by Mozzarella Italian and Mexian Food

  • Community Response Booth in the Randolph Room

In memoriam
Maevonia Caldwell

Maevonia Caldwell was a revered educator, community leader, and advocate for historical preservation. Born on May 1, 1941, she grew up in Georgia, Pennsylvania, and New York, where she was deeply influenced by her father, a pastor. Maevonia earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Rochester and a teaching certificate from the state of New York. Her passion for education led her to a distinguished career as a teacher, where she was known for her ability to connect with students and make learning an enjoyable experience.

Maevonia’s career in education flourished in New Jersey, where she served as the NJ Director of Head Start for 12 years, followed by another 12 years as the Director of Mill Hill Daycare Center. Her leadership and dedication to early childhood education left a lasting impact on countless young lives, helping to lay the foundation for their future success.

In addition to her professional achievements, Maevonia was deeply committed to her family. She married Dr. Chandos F. Caldwell, Jr., and together they raised their son, Brent, creating cherished memories through family vacations and shared experiences. Her love for her family was evident in every aspect of her life, and she found immense joy in her grandchildren, Avery and Chelsea.

Maevonia was also a devoted member of the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens, where she served on the Board of Trustees and was an active participant in the church community. Her faith provided her with strength and resilience, and she was a source of comfort and guidance to those around her.

One of Maevonia’s most significant contributions was founding the “Lost Soul’s Project” in East Brunswick Township, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to uncovering and preserving the history of free Blacks from Central Jersey who were sold into slavery in southern states. Through her meticulous research and tireless efforts, Maevonia ensured that these powerful stories would not be forgotten, leaving a lasting legacy for future generations.

Maevonia Caldwell’s life was a testament to the power of education, the importance of family, and the significance of preserving history. Her passing leaves a void in the lives of those who knew and loved her, but her memory will continue to inspire and guide all who were touched by her remarkable spirit.

*Thank you to Brent Caldwell, son of Maevonia, and Reverends Joan Marshall and Beverly Johnson of the Ministry of Wellness and Care at First Baptist for the words above.

PARTICIPANTS

Toni D. Hendrix

Ms. Hendrix is a Lifetime member of the NAACP and serves as the 2nd Vice President and Community Outreach/Civic Engagement Chairperson for the New Brunswick Area Branch. She serves on the executive committee of the NJ State Conference of the NAACP serving on several committees.

In her NAACP role Toni helps develop and guide efforts to foster effective collaboration with organizations serving the community. She actively leads engagement in; voter education - registration and activation, and also works with organizations seeking to develop a deeper understanding of structural bias and how it impacts the community being served. 

Toni is committed to supporting the civic engagement of high school and college students. She works with Franklin Township High School, Rutgers University, Middlesex County College, Raritan Valley Community College and assisted in the development of the Montgomery Township School District’s D.E.I.A. program.  

Ms. Hendrix is President of the Lost Souls Public Memorial Project, Inc. whose mission is to uncover relevant history, raise community awareness and build a public memorial through centering the experiences of those who have become known as the lost souls, stolen in 1818 by a slave ring led by a corrupt Middlesex County judge.   

Toni is a member of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) - Raritan Valley Section and serves on the Girls to Women, community service and audit committees. She is a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer for children in the foster care system, serves on the Middlesex CASA Racial and Equity committee, directly advocating for children, and serves as a peer coach supporting five volunteer advocates and their cases.

For the past 25 years Toni’s professional career has been focused exclusively on the non-profit and performing arts communities providing strategic level consultation, with an emphasis on customer focused relationships. Ms. Hendrix held numerous managerial positions with AT&T and NCR.  She led the completion of dozens of complex business assessment and redesign engagements throughout the United States, Asia Pacific Region, Australia, New Zealand, Caribbean Region and London, England.  

Toni is a graduate of the Indiana University - Leadership Development for Global Business Management program, and a graduate of the MIT Sloan School of Management - Emerging Leaders program.

Toni and her late husband Alan, have lived in Somerset, Franklin Township since 1985.  She is the proud mom and nana of Anthony, Lana, Taylor, Matthew and Sydney.

Jasmine Carmichael  

Hailing from New Jersey, Jasmine Carmichael obtained her BFA from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. She also studied at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London where she discovered and nurtured her love of classical text. She made her professional debut starring as Juliet in the indie feature Romeo and Juliet in Harlem opposite Harry Lennix and Aunjanue Ellis. She is best known for her portrayal of the conniving con artist Gina, working opposite Giovanni Ribisi in Amazon's Sneaky Pete. She has also guest-starred in multiple TV shows, including The Equalizer, Blue Bloods, Chicago P.D., Law & Order: SVU and The Following. Regional acting credits include the IRNE award winning production of Milk Like Sugar (Huntington Theatre Company) and the world premiere of Nambi E Kelley’s adaptation of Toni Morrison’s Jazz, directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah (Baltimore Center Stage).

Jasmine's work as an actress, director and teacher is grounded in the principle that art has the power to influence and inspire real change. She fundamentally believes that it is the artist's responsibility to tell each story with honesty and vulnerability so that others can be moved.

Amrisa Niranjan

Amrisa Niranjan is a Guyanese-born artist and muralist whose work is centered around creating  art to elevate the human experience by highlighting the beauty and diversity in one another, in a world that is currently fraught with constant negative narratives and images of pain in today’s  social climate. The intent of Niranjan’s art is move away from glamorizing the pain narrative of  marginalized groups, and instead create space for minorities, immigrants, women, and  millennials through contemporary expression.

Amrisa is self-taught artist. After earning her master’s degree from NYU in publishing, Niranjan  began to explore storytelling through creative mediums.  Amrisa decided to  begin creating art to shift the trajectory of the stories consumed about marginalized peoples and places.

Ashley Teague 

Teague is a recipient of the Embark Fellowship Award for Social Innovation in Entrepreneurship. While with Cornerstone Theater Company she developed and produced Talk It Out, which traveled California creating community-engaged theater to change public policy around the school-to-prison pipeline crisis. As a creative content producer, Teague worked on such films as Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, Tyler Perry’s For Colored Girls, Paul Haggis’ The Next Three Days, Gus Van Sant's Promised Land, and Tina Chism’s Peeples. Teague is a member of the New Georges Jam and has received numerous awards including Broadway World awards for Best Director/Choreographer and Best Musical. She has taught at NYU, RISD, UNC, FSU/Asolo Rep, Chautauqua Institute, Brown University, Wittenberg University, and the University of Redlands.  Her writing has been published in Bedlam Magazine, in Theater Artists Making Theatre With No Theater, on HowlRound, and in HowlRound's Theater in the Age of Climate Change series. Current interviews with Teague can be found on Broadway World  here and here as well as on Monument Lab. A full resume and portfolio images available at ashteague.com.

PERFORMERS

Chantal Jean-Pierre

Chantal Jean-Pierre is thrilled to be working on this amazing project with coLAB Arts. She has graced the stages of several reputable regional theaters around the country performing classics as well as contemporary works such as the title role in both Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and Orlando Shakespeare Theater productions’ of “Antony and Cleopatra”, Hostess Quickly and Alice in “Henry V” at Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey.  She performed in the west coast premiere of “Fairview” at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, the critically acclaimed Haitian-Cuban production of “Our Town” at Miami New Drama, "A Raisin in the Sun" at Crossroads Theatre Company, “Sheila’s Day” at Hartford Stage, “King Lear” at the Folgers in Washington DC with Andre De Shields in the title role and a many more. She has guest starred on a number of television shows such as: The Blacklist, FBI: Most Wanted, Blue Bloods, New Amsterdam, The Good Fight, Law & Order: SVU...etc.  Chantal is soon to be featured in the new series, Diara From Detroit on BET+.  Find out more about her: https://www.chantaljean-pierre.com.

GABRIELA SAKER

GABRIELA SAKER is an actress from Cuba and Puerto Rico, currently based in New York. In 2022, she earned her MFA in Acting from The Juilliard School and won the Princess Grace Award in Theatre. Her most recent credits include her Off-Broadway turns as Emily in The Desire of the Astronaut (Pregones/PRTT) and Francisca in Zoetrope at Abrons Arts Center (Caborca), her "soulful", "captivating" rendition of Shakespearean heroine Viola in Twelfth Night (St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, Best Performer in a Play at BroadwayWorld St. Louis Awards 2023), and her regional theatre debut as Marela in Anna in the Tropics (Barrington Stage Company, Best Supporting Performer in a Play at BroadwayWorld Berkshires Awards 2022). She has collaborated with Manhattan Theatre Club, The Huntington Theatre, Notch Theatre Company, The Acting Company, The Peace Studio and Repertorio Español, and has performed internationally in Rwanda and Spain. She is also the founder and artistic director of Puerto Rican theatre company Teatro Público, and a proud graduate of the University of Puerto Rico. Film credits include Onomatopeya, Vivimos para esa noche, and her lead role in the short film Monserrate, which earned her the Best Actress Award at Rincon International Film Festival and Lusca Film Festival.