Olarte is a Latinx social dancer who performed and taught salsa for the past 20 years, both nationally and internationally.

Melby is an accomplished producer, actress, and director as well as owner and head coach of Verve Studios.

Dontá McGilvery is a nationally recognized advocate for justice, a scholar-practitioner, and an ordained pastor. He is the first Black male to graduate with a PhD in Theatre from Arizona State University.

Ayanna Thompson is a Regents Professor of English and the Executive Director of the Arizona Center for Medieval & Renaissance Studies (ACMRS). In 2021, she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Bate is an international leader in green thinking and applied humanities, with scholarly expertise in sustainability as well as in Shakespeare, life-writing, Romanticism, contemporary poetry, theatre, and visual culture.