2023 Sachs Program Grants Evaluation Committees
The decisions around what to fund each year are extremely difficult and not taken lightly. This year, 2022-2023 grant cycle applications were peer-reviewed by four committees, reflecting a range of expertise and including previous grant recipients, students, faculty, staff, alums, and community members. Decisions were informed by the Sachs Program’s mission, priorities, and current program criteria.
Similar to past years, the Sachs Program received a record number of applications during the 2022-2023 grant cycle. With so many wonderful, ambitious, and imaginative proposals, the decisions made by the 2023 Committee Members were extremely challenging. We would like to share our sincere thanks and acknowledge them for their hard work and thoughtfulness.
Committee Members
- Alan Jinich
BA, Neuroscience and English, University of Pennsylvania - Ania Vu
Ph.D, Music, University of Pennsylvania - Antoine Haywood
Ph.D Candidate, Graduate School of Eduction, University of Pennsylvania - Arely Peña
MFA, University of Pennsylvania - Brooke O’Harra
Theater Director and Artist; Senior Lecturer, Creative Writing, University of Pennsylvania - Dagmawi Woubshet
Ahuja Family Presidential Associate Professor and Associate Chair, Department of English; Sachs Program Advisory Board Member, University of Pennsylvania - Deborah Thomas
Ahuja Family Presidential Associate Professor and Associate Chair, Department of English; Sachs Program Advisory Board Member, University of Pennsylvania - Derek Rigby
Audio/Visual Coordinator, ICA; MFA, University of Pennsylvania - Fariha I. Khan
Co-Director, Asian American Studies Program; Pd.D, Folklore and Folklife, University of Pennsylvania - Gina Renzi
Director, The Rotunda, University of Pennsylvania - Grace Sanders Johnson
Assistant Professor, Africana Studies; Sachs Program Advisory Board Member, University of Pennsylvania - Hallie Ringle
Daniel and Brett Sundheim Chief Curator, ICA - Heather Moqtaderi
Founder and Artistic Director, Past Present Projects; Lecturer, University of Pennsylvania - James Diaz
Ph.D Candidate, Music, University of Pennsylvania - Jayson Musson
Artist; MFA, University of Pennsylvania; Inaugural David Evans Family Artist-in-Residence, Arthur Ross Gallery - Josephine Park
Professor, Department of English; Sachs Program Advisory Board Member, University of Pennsylvania - Joshua K. Reason
Ph.D Candidate, Africana Studies, University of Pennsylvania - Kali Meeks
Associate Director for Professional Development and Leadership, Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania - Kate Lawrence
Associate Director, Undergraduate Fine Arts & Design, University of Pennsylvania - LaNeshe Miller-White
Executive Director, Theatre in the x; Executive Director, Philadelphia Young Playwrights; Adjunct Professor, Drexel University’s Westphal College of Media Arts & Design - Leah Seppanen Anderson
Executive Director, SNF Paideia Program, University of Pennsylvania - Lynne Farrington
Director of Programs/Senior Curator, Special Collections, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania - Marcia Ferguson
Senior Lecturer (Retired), Theatre Arts, University of Pennsylvania - Margit Edwards
Lecturer, Theatre Arts, University of Pennsylvania - Matt Hewitt
Communications Coordinator, Department of Music, University of Pennsylvania - Nashelli Ortiz González
Executive Director, Taller Puertorriqueño - OreOluwa Badaki
Ph.D, Literacy, Culture, and International Education, University of Pennsylvania - Rachell Morillo
DAJ Director of Public Engagement & Research, ICA - Rowana Miller
Founder and Executive Director, Cosmic Writers; BA, University of Pennsylvania - Samantha Hill
Curator of Civic Engagement, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania - Shamekea Sawyer
Executive Director, 5 Shorts Project; BA, University of Pennsylvania - Shelley Zhang
Ph.D, Music, University of Pennsylvania - Will Owen
MFA, University of Pennsylvania
2023 Grant Awards
The Sachs Program 2023 Grant Awards support 45 ambitious and creative projects in the arts and humanities at the University of Pennsylvania.