Meet Our Team

Our Staff

Niegel Smith

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

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Niegel Smith

Niegel (he/him) is a Bessie Award-winning theater director and performance artist. He is also a board member of A.R.T./New York and was a ringleader of Willing Participant, an artistic activist organization that whips up urgent poetic responses to crazy shit that happens. Current and recent directing projects include The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist (Lincoln Center) and Suzan-Lori Park’s Plays for The Plague Year (The Public Theater). His work has been produced at The Alley Theater, The Barbican, Classical Theatre of Harlem, The Flea, The Goodman Theatre, HERE Arts Center, Hip Hop Theatre Festival, The Invisible Dog, Luna Stage, The Melbourne Festival, Magic Theatre, Mixed Blood, the National Black Theatre, New York Fringe Festival, New York Live Arts, Phoenix Theatre Ensemble, Playwrights Horizons, Pomegranate Arts, The Public Theater, St. Ann’s Warehouse, Summer Play Festival, and Under the Radar. A frequent collaborator of playwright/performer Taylor Mac, Niegel assistant directed Bark of Millions (BAM).

Contact Niegel at niegels@theflea.org.

Lauren Britt-Elmore

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

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Lauren Britt-Elmore

Lauren (she/her) has the good fortune to have spent her entire career working in and with the theater. She is an arts management practitioner with more than 20 years experience leading teams. Lauren has worked as a manager and coalition builder, crafting policy, implementing strategic plans, and leading programs. Before joining The Flea, she served as the Director of Academic Administration of the Theatre Program at the prestigious Columbia University School of the Arts for seven years. Prior to her tenure at Columbia, she worked in academic administration at the New School for Drama, helped produce the first online course from Harvard’s Education School, served as a Literary Associate at Helen Merrill, Ltd., and earned a distinguished Allen Lee Hughes Fellowship at Arena Stage. She has dramaturged work in various settings including the Cherry Lane Theater, and directed plays in New York and Boston by Kirsten Greenidge, Catherine Filloux, and Angela Tucker. Dr. Elmore is a graduate of Wesleyan University (BA), Columbia University School of the Arts (MFA), and Harvard Graduate School of Education (EdD).

Contact Lauren at laurenbe@theflea.org.

Maimouna Camara

ASSOCIATE GENERAL MANAGER

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Maimouna Camara

Maimouna (she/her) is a performing arts producer and manager with an M.A in Performing Arts Administration from NYU. In New York, she has held roles such as Finance and Operations Fellow at New York Theatre Workshop and Assistant Program Coordinator for NYU Production Lab's Creative Careers Accelerator. In Los Angeles, she worked as a producer and sound/video designer at Towne Street Theater and contributed to productions at Leimert Park Theater Consortium and The Inner City Cultural Center. Maimouna has co-produced the short film The Nest, collaborated on photography books like I Can’t Breathe and has worked on independent modeling projects. Recently, she's jumped in as a co-producer for the Black femme theater collective The Archive, and stage managed Zora Howard's The Master's Tools at Wiener Festwochen Theater Festival in Vienna.

Contact Maimouna at maimounac@theflea.org.

Kyra Davis

VENUE HOST

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Kyra Davis

Kyra (she/her) is a dedicated, determined, and driven artist with a B.A. in Theater and Communication from the University of Alabama. She's worked with various theater companies in box office management, house management, and production. She traded in southern hospitality to take on the city that never sleeps to further her career in acting, writing, and creating. She's been a Venue Host and House Manager at The Flea for three years and looks forward to expanding her knowledge in theater through practice. Her passion is creating theater for underrepresented voices and advancing their opportunities in the workforce.

Drew Francis

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CONSULTING
PRODUCTION MANAGER

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Drew Francis

Drew (he/him) has recently worked on “The Worthy” created by Niegel Smith, BATHHOUSE.PPTX by Jesús I. Valles. Designer and production manager for “WERK! The Patio Series.” Production Manager for HANG TIME, written and directed by Zora Howard; BLUE by Raja Feather Kelly at Chelsea Factory; Lucky Star at 59E59; Songs About Trains at New Ohio, The Hang by Taylor Mac at HERE. More than 30 years as scenic designer/scenic painter. Theaters include: Missouri Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, Studio Arena, Pennsylvania Shakespeare, New York Toy Fair, Hong Kong Rep, Boston Center for the Arts, GeVa Theater, Emerson Theater, Mint Theater, National Theater Institute for the Deaf, Theatre X, Shadowland Theater, Mirage Theater, Pittsburgh Ballet, Rochester Ballet, and others. Exhibited work at the Prague Quadrennial, World Design Exhibits, and USITT National Exhibits. Member, United Scenic Artists, local 829.

Contact Drew at drewf@theflea.org.

Yordhy Herrera

FACILITIES MANAGER

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Yordhy Herrera

Yordhy (he/him) joined The Flea in 2022 as Facilities Manager after more than four years of operations and technical experience. He studied mechanical engineering, automotive repair and service, and holds certifications in construction safety, scaffolding, and automotive service excellence. Yordhy is passionate about visual design, solving challenging problems, fixing hardware, and cooking (try his patacón!). Yordhy lives in Queens with his dog, Joey.

Contact Yordhy at yordhyh@theflea.org.

Erica Laird

GENERAL MANAGER

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Erica Laird

Erica (she/her) provides general management and/or financial services to various non-profit organizations including Target Margin Theater, Caborca, and Sweet Paws Rescue. She is the Producing Director for the american vicarious, and on the Board of Directors for The Builders Association.

Contact Erica at erical@theflea.org.

Anula Navlekar

VENUE HOST

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Anula Navlekar

Anula Navlekar (she/hers) is a multifaceted artist from India. Her acting credits include "Killer Soup" (Netflix), All the Lonely Women (Rattlestick Theater) and more. She is ecstatic to have found an artistic home and community at The Flea, serving as a Venue Host and House Manager. MFA Acting: Yale School of Drama '20.

Iman Louis-Jeune

ASSISTANT
PRODUCTION MANAGER

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Iman Louis-Jeune

Iman (she/her) is a Brooklyn-based interdisciplinary artist and curator with more than ten years of technical experience. Pulling from her Caribbean heritage and diverse religious upbringing, she’s interested in the creation and facilitation of making cathartic and impactful work. As the Assistant Production Manager since 2022, Iman has supported the following Flea productions: HANG TIME, "WERK! The Patio Sessions," and BATHHOUSE.PPTX. As a curator, Iman founded Essence of Embodiment, a dance + somatic movement + film festival, as part of a SMUSH Gallery’s Curatorial Fellowship in Dance 2020-2021. Her work centered on processing trauma and making a framework for joy. She has light designed and/or assisted in technical production with: ZCO/Dance Project, Owning Dissonance Collective, AfroFlow Yoga, The Chelsea Factory, Telluride Film Festival, Womanimation Festival, LMCC, and TBWA \ Chiat \ Day NY. She’s always looking forward to collaborating with equity, access, and compassion in mind.

Contact Iman at imanlj@theflea.org.

Ciara McMillian

VENUE HOST

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Ciara McMillian

Ciara (she/her) is from Jackson, Mississippi and began her work with The Flea during the summer of 2022. She is delighted to be part of such a welcoming work space for artists in New York!

Martin Meccouri

DIRECTOR OF PRODUCING
& PARTNERSHIPS

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Martin Meccouri

Martin (he/him) is a creative producer who comes to The Flea with more than a decade of experience working in the performing arts. He has worked in various artistic, programmatic, fundraising, and educational capacities at Fine Arts Center at UMass Amherst, Amherst College, Random Access Theatre Company, La Jolla Playhouse, UCSD (Outstanding Contribution to Undergraduate Instruction in Theatre & Dance Award), The Classical Theatre of Harlem and most recently, Theatre Communications Group. Martin is passionate about risky artistic work, unlikely collaborations, intercultural and multilingual aesthetics, and facilitating opportunities for emerging artists. He believes in strengths-based leadership and is a Gallup-certified executive coach and organizational consultant in the CliftonStrengths(c) assessment model. He holds a BFA from Emerson College (summa cum laude), an MA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and an MFA from UCSD.

Contact Martin at martinm@theflea.org.

Annika Rosenvinge

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BOX OFFICE COORDINATOR/
VENUE HOST

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Annika Rosenvinge

Annika (they/them) has coordinated box office for The Flea productions of Arden, HANG TIME, “The Worthy,” “WERK! The Patio Sessions,” and BATHHOUSE.PPTX, and served as the Venue Host Manager at The Flea since 2022. They’ve worked as a theater teacher, front of house manager, administrator, and in other various artistic capacities at Gloucester Stage Company, Boston Film Festival, the american vicarious, Pitch Black Productions, and Second Stage Theater.

Jesús I. Valles

TOW FOUNDATION PLAYWRIGHT IN RESIDENCE

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Jesús I. Valles

Jesús (they/them) is a queer Mexican immigrant, educator, storyteller, and performer from Cd. Juarez/El Paso. Valles received a 2023 Princess Grace Award and a 2019 Letras Latinas Scholarship from the Community of Writers’ Poetry Workshop. He was a 2021 CantoMundo Fellow at the Palm Beach Poetry Festival, a 2019 Lambda Literary Fellow, a 2019 Walter E. Dakin Playwriting Fellow at the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, a poetry fellow at Idyllwild Arts Writers Week. Their work has been published in The Shade Journal, The Texas Review, The New Republic, The Acentos Review, and The Adroit Journal. Their poetry has been featured on NPR’s "Code Switch,"" The Slowdown, The BreakBeat Poets’ LatiNext Anthology, and Best New Poets 2020. They most recently starred as Penny Marshall in Victor I. Cazares’ Pinching Pennies with Penny Marshall: Death Rituals for Penny Marshall at New York Theatre Workshop. Jesús holds an MFA in playwriting from Brown University.

Our Board

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CO-CHAIR

Rufaro Makanda

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Rufaro Makanda

Rufaro (she/her) is the Chief of Staff to the CEO at Fero Labs, an industrial process optimization software company. Prior to this role, she spent six years in Investment Banking, primarily at Bank of America where she mostly worked with private equity clients on acquisition financings, M&A, and IPOs across a broad spectrum of industries. Rufaro started her career in wealth management at AllianceBernstein, serving high net worth individuals. Outside of work, Rufaro serves on the Steering Committee of Alvin Ailey American DanceTheatre and the National Cathedral School Alumnae Advisory Group. Previous board and junior board commitments include Eyebeam (Treasurer), the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Eastern MetroRegion, Dartmouth Club of New York, FC Harlem, and Indego Africa. Rufaro received a B.A. from Dartmouth College, majoring in Intellectual History, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

william bryant miles

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CO-CHAIR

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william bryant miles

william bryant miles (he/him) is a multi-hyphenate creative professional with a commitment to provocative storytelling, innovation, and Black voices. His career includes artistic and managerial roles with artists and organizations throughout the USA and London. WBM is also an Assistant Professor of Theater and Performance at SUNY Purchase and a Senior Consultant at CJAM Consulting. As a consultant with CJAM, WBM has worked with organizations including 651 ARTS, Apollo Theater, August Wilson House, Bessie Smith Cultural Center, Dwyer Cultural Center, and Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh. Prior to CJAM, WBM worked on commercial theater productions and at organizations including Shakespeare Theatre Company (DC), Hip-Hop Theater Festival, Old Vic New Voices (London), and the Creative Arts Team in residence at the City University of New York.

Jorge I. Montalvo

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VICE CHAIR

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Jorge I. Montalvo

Jorge (he/him) is a distinguished senior executive with a proven track record in private, not-for-profit, and public sector leadership. With extensive experience in organizational strategy, policy development, growth and innovation, Jorge has championed initiatives that enhance healthcare access, economic mobility, and immigrant integration. He has previously served in significant roles including his work as the Chief Operating Officer for the Physician Affiliate Group of New York, New York Deputy Secretary of State for Economic Opportunity and Founding Executive Director of the New York State Office for New Americans. Known for his visionary leadership and operational excellence, Jorge brings a wealth of expertise in financial management, fundraising, and partnership building to the Flea Theater. His commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, coupled with his passion for leveraging arts and culture for social impact, drives his directorship. Jorge graduated from Dartmouth College, majoring in Chemistry and a minor in Environmental Science.

Peter Goldstein

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SECRETARY

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Peter Goldstein

Peter (he/him) currently serves as Managing Director at Steadfast Capital’s Risk and Quantitative Research department, responsible for overseeing a variety of data-driven research projects and communicating risk-related portfolio insights with investors and senior management. He was nominated to the firm’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) committee where he promoted the integration of ESG risks and adoption of good sustainable practices for both the firm and the firm’s investments. After graduating top of his class from Cornell University with degrees in Mathematics and Philosophy, Peter has spent his career at a variety of investment firms in San Francisco and New York. While in San Francisco, he was passionate about his volunteer work at San Quentin Prison, teaching math to inmates as they worked towards their Associates Degree through Mount Tamalpais College (formerly the Prison University Project). Peter now lives with his wife in Crown Heights, where his hobbies include cycling, gardening, and attending live music, improv comedy, and theater.

Maja Janko

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TREASURER

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Maja Janko

Maja (she/her) is a Director with the Morse, Towey & White Group at Hightower. She works closely with the firm’s clients to address financial planning needs, from establishing budgets and retirement plans to determining asset allocations. Maja also plays an important role in managing the firm’s discretionary portfolio of securities: she tracks and trades options, monitors existing positions and ensures that new accounts are properly allocated. After growing up in Europe and graduating from Tufts University in Boston with a degree in history, Maja’s interest in global affairs and desire to work in a dynamic and intellectually challenging environment led her to the financial industry. Prior to joining the Morse, Towey & White team, she spent two years with a firm that specialized in retail foreign exchange trading. Maja holds her FINRA Series 3, 7, and 66 licenses.

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Josy Dussek

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Josy Dussek

Josy (she/her) is the Executive Director of Business Operations, Compliance, and Regulatory Affairs at Union Settlement. As part of the executive leadership she is serving vulnerable populations to enhance overall quality of life, with a focus on promoting equity, addressing racial disparities, and providing opportunities for individuals, and communities in the East Harlem area. With over 30 years as an administrator, Josy has worked with organizations such as the City Parks Foundation SummerStage , as the Director of Arts Operations, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, as the Night Concerts Communications Specialist, as a music video Producer with WHNO-TV and backstage manager for the Essence Music Festivals. She earned her BA in Community and Human Services. She is an active member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated. Besides her love for music, her hobbies are reading, adult coloring, jigsaw puzzles, cooking, and spending time with family.

Lauren Britt-Elmore

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

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Lauren Britt-Elmore

Lauren (she/her) has the good fortune to have spent her entire career working in and with the theater. She is an arts management practitioner with more than 20 years experience leading teams. Lauren has worked as a manager and coalition builder, crafting policy, implementing strategic plans, and leading programs. Before joining The Flea, she served as the Director of Academic Administration of the Theatre Program at the prestigious Columbia University School of the Arts for seven years. Prior to her tenure at Columbia, she worked in academic administration at the New School for Drama, helped produce the first online course from Harvard’s Education School, served as a Literary Associate at Helen Merrill, Ltd., and earned a distinguished Allen Lee Hughes Fellowship at Arena Stage. She has dramaturged work in various settings including the Cherry Lane Theater, and directed plays in New York and Boston by Kirsten Greenidge, Catherine Filloux, and Angela Tucker.. Dr. Elmore is a graduate of Wesleyan University (BA), Columbia University School of the Arts (MFA), and Harvard Graduate School of Education (EdD).

Nona Hendryx

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Nona Hendryx

Nona’s (she/her) legendary career spans six decades of sound and style evolution. A founding member of Labelle, Nona emerged as the chief songwriter of the group’s socially conscious and message songs. When Labelle ended, Nona launched a solo career, which spanned eight studio albums, Her collaborations with artists such as Prince, Keith Richards, and the Talking Heads have resulted in several top ten hits and a Grammy nomination. Nona remains the Queen of Transformation, writing music for theater and film, as well as producing and collaborating with a new generation of artists. An activist for women’s rights and social, political and criminal justice, Nona has helped raise funds and awareness of HIV/AIDS and has worked with organizations supporting women in prison. In 2016, Nona founded sisterSMATR.org to bridge the gap in STEM fields for young women of color. Nona has recently added Ambassador for Artistry in Music at Berklee College of Music to her credits.

Rick Miramontez

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Rick Miramontez

Rick (he/him) is a top Broadway publicist at DKC/O&M PR. He began his career as the press director of the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre where he organized the campaigns for more than 25 major productions, including the RSC’s The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby and world premieres of Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs and Biloxi Blues. He was the press director for the 1987 and 1990 Los Angeles Festival, where he presented Cirque du Soleil to the U.S. media, as well as Peter Brook’s epic The Mahabharata. From 1988-1996, Rick headed his own firm, Rick Miramontez Company, which represented many of the major arts events on the West Coast, including the American Premiere of Sunset Boulevard and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. In New York, Rick and his colleagues were behind the press campaigns for Hairspray, Sweeney Todd, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and was account executive for Rent, The Producers, and Long Day’s Journey Into Night. At DKC/O&M PR, Rick’s clients include: Dear Evan Hansen, A Doll’s House, Part 2, Kinky Boots, Fun Home, Eclipsed, and School of Rock.

Charles Randolph-
Wright

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Charles Randolph-Wright

Charles (he/him) has built a dynamic and diversified career in directing, writing, and producing for theater, television, and film. He directed the Broadway hit Motown The Musical, Born For This (co-written with Bebe Winans), the Pulitzer prize-winning play Ruined, and Sophisticated Ladies. Charles’ writing credits include Blue, starring Phylicia Rashad and broke box office records at Arena Stage with subsequent productions around the country. His television credits include directing "Greenleaf," "Lincoln Heights," "South of Nowhere," and "Live At Lincoln Center." He has directed "Preaching To The Choir," the European Freestyle campaign for Nike, and produced and wrote the series "Linc’s." Charles is the Executive Producer of Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back which won the Grand Jury Prize at the NY Doc Film Festival.

Niegel Smith

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ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

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Niegel Smith

Niegel (he/him) is a Bessie Award-winning theater director and performance artist. He is also a board member of A.R.T./New York and was a ringleader of Willing Participant, an artistic activist organization that whips up urgent poetic responses to crazy shit that happens. Current and recent directing projects include The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist (Lincoln Center) and Suzan-Lori Park’s Plays for The Plague Year (The Public Theater). His work has been produced at The Alley Theater, The Barbican, Classical Theatre of Harlem, The Flea, The Goodman Theatre, HERE Arts Center, Hip Hop Theatre Festival, The Invisible Dog, Luna Stage, The Melbourne Festival, Magic Theatre, Mixed Blood, the National Black Theatre, New York Fringe Festival, New York Live Arts, Phoenix Theatre Ensemble, Playwrights Horizons, Pomegranate Arts, The Public Theater, St. Ann’s Warehouse, Summer Play Festival, and Under the Radar. A frequent collaborator of playwright/performer Taylor Mac, Niegel assistant directed Bark of Millions (BAM).

Michael Sternberg

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Michael Sternberg

Michael (he/him) came to New York in 1984 to work for Citibank, after completing his law degree and practicing as a barrister in Sydney, Australia. In 1987, Michael left Citibank to pursue various business activities on his own. In addition to The Flea, his board service includes the Calder Foundation, Calder Gardens, Public Art Fund, and the Film Forum.

Tony Tramontin

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Tony Tramontin

Tony (he/him) is the Chief of Operations and Strategy at Holmusk; a healthcare company working to help patients who live with poor mental health. Before Holmusk, Tony was the Chief Scientific Officer at Axcella Health, a Boston biotechnology company focused on metabolic modulation. Prior to Axcella, Tony was a Partner in McKinsey & Company’s Global Healthcare Practice.