Field Leadership Fund: Meet Bryan Glover & Kendra Ross

Manager Fellow, Bryan E. Glover, is an award-winning arts producer, filmmaker, writer and professional coach. As an arts producer, he is particularly focused on showcasing alternative, contemporary voices. He is a co-founder of Harlem9, producers of the Obie award winning “48Hours in…Harlem,” the highly anticipated annual showcase featuring emerging and established Black theater artists in New York City. Bryan has supported the arts and emerging artists for over 25 years, having worked with musicians, choreographers, performance artists, and playwrights in a variety of contexts and cities. He has also worked previously for over two decades in the social service sector in a variety of capacities and professional environments both in private and non-profit organizations.  He is committed to using his skills to enhance and promote the careers of artists, and lending his prior management experience to strengthening arts organizations. He is especially interested in enhancing and promoting the voices of LGBT artists of color, having served as a founding board member of Freedom Train Productions, the groundbreaking Black LGBT theater company based in Brooklyn, NY from 2006 - 2011. He has also served on the board and executive committees of several community based organizations over the years, supporting a variety of social justice and organizing efforts. Bryan has recently opened his practice as a trained professional leadership and life coach, supporting people in adopting a leadership stance in their life and manifesting their vision.

"Artists are indeed activists, as their work often reveals to us things about our world – and ourselves – that we may not see, moving us towards action. "

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Arts Organization Fellow, Kendra Ross is a proud Detroit native working as a dancer, teaching artist, choreographer, arts administrator and community organizer in her current home, Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. As a dancer in New York City, Kendra has worked with Urban Bush Women, Andrea E. Woods/ Souloworks, Vissi Dance Theater, Monstah Black, MBDance, Moving Spirits Dance Company and Oyu Oro. In 2013 she also danced in a European tour with DJ Kid Koala in Vinyl Vaudville 2.0.  Kendra is currently a company member of Ase Dance Theater Collective. Kendra’s choreographic work has been presented at the Detroit Performing Arts High School, Joffrey Summer Intensive, Halftime Performances at Florida A&M University, the off Broadway show 7 Sins, and Museu de Arte in Salvador, Brazil. Her community work began as a member of Urban Bush Women’s B.O.L.D Network co-teaching dance workshops and co-facilitating community engagement workshops.  Along with sharing her art world-wide, Kendra serves as the Founder and Director of STooPS, an outdoors-based community building event that uses art as a catalyst to strengthen ties between different entities in Bed-Stuy.

Additionally, Kendra currently serves as the Director of Programs and Administration at Cumbe: Center for African and Diaspora Dance who offers dance and music classes and cultural events that educates and celebrates the joy of African cultures and cultures descended from Africa.

"For Cumbe, we are at a pivotal moment as we enter into an intense strategic planning process.  As we delve into critical critique and change in various aspects of our organization, we welcome the fresh perspective that the FLF Arts Manager assigned to us will bring. "

Learn more about the Fellows here.

Learn more about the work the paired Fellows are doing here.