Pre-recorded discussion featuring John Fiege (Director), Aniya Wingate (Artist and Choreographer), and Walter Hull (Artistic Director and Choreographer), moderated by Dr. Jalonne White-Newsome (CEO/Founder of Empowering a Green Environment and Economy, LLC).

John Fiege is a filmmaker and photographer whose work explores our relationships with one another and the environment, probing key questions at the heart of our global ecological crisis, including how art, activism, community, and culture are vitally linked to our ecological predicament. His award-winning films have played at festivals, museums, universities, conferences, and community centers around the world, including SXSW, Hot Docs, MoMA, Big Sky, and Cannes, and received distribution on iTunes, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Sundance Now, and other platforms. His films tell stories about the clash between people and industry in the American South—the poultry industry, the BP oil spill, the Keystone XL pipeline, and now, with his current projects, the environmental justice communities where those oil pipelines are headed. He holds graduate degrees in both geography and filmmaking and is currently Assistant Professor in the Department of Media Study at the University at Buffalo.

Aniya Wingate is a rising artist/youth advocate from Houston, TX, with a sharp focus on social and environmental justice storytelling through movement and poetry. Her training as an artist started with Urban Souls Dance Company, where she learned that being an artist meant being responsible. Her collaboration with Mentor, Walter Hull, and filmmaker, John Fiege landed her the lead role in the short film, Shoulders Deep. Aniya is also the subject matter of the upcoming documentary film, Raising Aniya, a coming of age film of a young girl searching for the truth in environmental justice issues in the Gulf Coast region.

Walter Hull is a rising Social Artists, Thought Leader, and Youth Advocate in Houston, TX. His choreography has roots in social justice stories for marginalized and minoritized communities that he refers to as his Village Responsibility. Through his assistance in building Urban Souls Dance Company, Walter has founded the U.R.B.A.N. GIRLS Initiative, which provides space for black youth artists to navigate white privilege in the dance community and develop as servant leaders. In addition to his artistry, Walter has shaped mentoring practices as a collaborative action in youth development organizations locally and nationally.