Our VITAL Team
Photo by Eli Gray.
Stacey L. Kirby
Stacey L. Kirby is a queer, self-appointed civil servant from North Carolina who creates socially-engaged interactive performance art. For over a decade, Kirby has combined installation and performance to create 'performative interactions' in alternative, private and public spaces. Fueled by community-based ethnographic research, her work addresses issues of identity, citizenship and civil rights while empowering the voice within all of us. Since 2005, Kirby has supported her creative practice through therapy, yoga and meditation while continuing to integrate her 200-hr yoga teacher certification through mindfulness practices in her work with performers and the public. Kirby is currently a student of the Embodied Social Justice program.
Photo by Juli Leonard.
Michael S. Williams
North Carolina native Michael S. Williams fosters community engagement through his work as a consultant and through the Black On Black Project, an organization he founded that works with artists on exhibitions that delve into issues affecting the community. With an extensive background in media and history, Williams helps unpack the past and its connections to the present.
Photo by Sarah Demuth.
Johnny Lee Chapman, III
Johnny Lee Chapman, III is a self-taught photographer and poet from Fuquay-Varina, N.C. He started writing in 2011, and after graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2014, began performing his poetry across the state. In 2017, he was ranked the #46th poet in the Individual World Poetry Slam, and was the 2018-19 fellow of The Watering Hole poetry workshop. Through his writing, Chapman hopes to tackle issues that are often ignored by the community. He is also a licensed Dental Hygienist.
Photo courtesy by JC Rodriguez.
Kelsey Evans-Amalu, PhD
Kelsey Evans-Amalu is an assistant professor of Social Studies Education at Delta State University. Her work focuses on the use of mindfulness, empathy, and compassion in K-12 and higher education. Evans-Amalu is a yoga and meditation instructor (500 E-RYT) with a diverse background in teaching and training yoga students of all populations. You can also catch her on PBS as the star of "Happy, Healthy Kids" putting her research into practice.
Photo by courtesy of Simone Jacobs.
Simone Jacobs, LCSW-C
Simone Jacobs is a mental health professional based in Takoma Park, MD specializing in trauma and PTSD, relationships and depression. Jacobs is the owner of Takoma Therapy LLC. She has a passion to help women of color explore issues of racism, sexism, and intergenerational trauma. As a biracial female therapist, she feels “uniquely qualified and effective, being able to look through a similar lens of racial identity questions.” In 2013, she established Takoma Therapy’s “Women of Color” Group for this purpose and remains committed to this program. Jacobs is also the co-author of "Understanding the Paradox of Surviving Childhood Trauma."
Photo courtesy of Hunter-Jones.
Dr. Josalin Hunter-Jones
Josalin Hunter-Jones joined the CHHS School of Social Work as an Assistant Professor in Fall 2018. She has education and experience in both the fields of Social Work and Public Health. Prior to coming to UNCW, she spent nine years serving as a Research Project Director at Emory University. Dr. Hunter-Jones has a number of publications and co-publications, and has presented both nationally and internationally. Her primary interests include mental/behavioral health and HIV/AIDS among racial/ethnic and sexual minority groups, and broadly, the intersection of social justice and health. Josalin serves as lead faculty mentor for UNCW's Interdiscplinary Minority Student Research Group (IMSRG) focused on diversity in research, mentoring, and teaching alongside minority students and marginalized communities. She also serves as an Assessment Fellow in the Office of Community Engagement and Applied Learning, a member of the New Hanover Resiliency Task Force, and on the Board of Directors for Seeds of Healing, Inc in Wilmington, NC. She holds a Master of Social Work from University of Missouri- Saint Louis, a Master of Public Health from Emory University, and a PhD from University of Georgia.
Photo by Jason Wolonick.
Anthony Otto Nelson, Jr.
Anthony "Ay-Jaye" Nelson found dance as a young teenager, falling in love with the freedom of expression that movement allowed. Dancing in earnest from fifteen years on, Nelson's career has led him to seek training in a variety of styles, building his repertoire in contemporary, modern, hip-hop and jazz, and refining his focus in a personal style that blends these traditions. Over the past decade, Nelson has performed with renowned choreographers in the Triangle and beyond, gravitating toward contemporary pieces with a social conscience and goal of bringing movement to a broad and diverse audience. Nelson's belief in the power of dance to change lives and the world has led him to the classroom and stage to share the gift of movement with students and audiences of all ages.
Photo courtesy of Roberto.
Dr. Anka Roberto
Dr. Anka Roberto joined the University of North Carolina Wilmington School of Nursing as an assistant professor in fall 2018. Prior to her move to UNCW, Dr. Roberto was a visiting assistant professor at Fairfield University's School of Nursing and Health Studies in Connecticut.
Dr. Roberto has been an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) for four years and a Registered Nurse for over 20 years. Her area of research is trauma & resilience and has published and co-published articles and book chapters on the topics. She has presented nationally and internationally on her work as a trauma trained PMHNP using Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR) as a treatment modality and her research in and around trauma and resilience.
As a faculty mentor of IMSRG, Dr. Roberto works alongside her students as they actively engage in research that positively impacts the resilience of at risk youth in the local community.
Photo by Allie Mullin.
Elena Rodriguez-DePaul
Elena Rodriguez-DePaul is an antiracist educator, trauma informed yoga teacher and mother to two beautiful girls. Born in Venezuela, she immigrated to the United States in 2016 fleeing political turmoil and settled in Durham, North Carolina in 2018 as an elementary educator. Rodriguez-DePaul has emerged as a strong voice for the immigrant community and civil rights through her public speaking and role on the Trauma Informed Leadership Team with Durham Public Schools.
Photo by Zoe Litaker.
Myra Weise
Myra Weise has trained as a professional dancer since 2001 and has worked in arts administration since 2007. Weise has worked with renowned arts companies such as the American Dance Festival, Pilobolus, Duke University's Theatre Operations, and most recently at the Nasher Museum of Art. She developed her company Proxemic Media to formalize the way in which she was assisting Durham choreographers self-producing their work. The organization has assisted artists and arts organizations across the Triangle as they deliver performance work to the public. With extensive experience in marketing, advertising, ticketing, venue management, artist management and audience services, Weise offers a unique perspective for approaching and executing both small and large productions.