>>My name is Jessica Harris.

I think the best way to describe myself is a patchwork quilt.

I'm sort of an amalgamation of things.

I'm an amalgamation of the people who have supported me and poured into me.

I have so many passions and interests, and they all kind of intersect in the areas of art, community and education.

I am the community research program manager at the Equity Center at the University of Virginia, where I work supporting their various initiatives with a particular focus on arts and equity.

I'm the founder and artistic director of a youth theater education nonprofit.

So Empowered Players is based in Fluvanna County, and we offer accessible arts education for students grades K through 12.

I'm also the president of the Descendants of Enslaved Communities at UVA, which is a nonprofit organization focused on bringing together descendants in our area.

I'm also a writer with Vinegar Hill Magazine.

And aside from that, I'm a director.

I'm a lover of all things arts, all things community, all things Charlottesville.

I am also a farmer's market junkie, and I love going to the farmer's market.

I've had the pleasure to direct or teach and even perform at a number of theaters in our area.

So I've been a part of Four County Players, which was one of the first organizations where I discovered my love of theater.

I've been involved at Live Arts.

I've been involved at the Charlottesville Players Guild, at the Jefferson School, which is Charlottesville's Black Theater Organization.

I mean, even outside of our community, I've had the pleasure to be a part of a directing team at the Kennedy Center, and most recently at Purdue Theater in Indiana.

I feel so lucky that the arts have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, and that's with huge thanks to my parents for making sure that my brother and I had opportunities in theater and music and dance, but many, if not all of those opportunities were not here in Fluvanna County.

We had to travel to engage in the arts.

And so when I was 16, I realized, hey, I've had these wonderful experiences.

I wanna be able to share the same with students here in our county.

And so I found it Empowered Players.

I wanted students to just have a chance to come and be a part of a show and see themselves on stage and engage in the transformative power of the arts.

And what started as a one week summer camp has now blossomed into a multi-year, multi-program organization.

And to be so placed based too, we are at the Carysbrook Performing Arts Center, which is right in the heart of the county.

And so to be able to engage in that way and work with the Fluvanna County Arts Council to really create a fabric and a artistic landscape that's meaningful for our students has been fantastic.

So when we think about, you know, what helps students in life, right?

Is it remembering arithmetic?

Sure.

Is it being able to cite dates in history?

Absolutely.

But the things that serve students most are the self-confidence, the connection, the social interactions, the skills that you learn to navigate through the world.

You get to work with others as you put on a show.

You have to work as a team.

You have to be collaborative.

You have to think creatively and innovatively and really push yourselves to become the best versions of yourselves.

And that's something that can't be taught from a textbook.

It's something that you have to experience, >>Left, right, left, right!

>>Especially in a world that is so increasingly screen heavy and it's moving so quickly with technology, that human connection is something that you can't replace, right?

AI can't replace the power of theater, and it can't replace the magic of experiencing something live and in person.

In the arts in particular, one of the things that I really strive for is equity and representation, right?

Telling stories authentically, particularly of people of color or any marginalized groups, or folks who've been historically whose stories have been historically undertold.

And for me, the arts are a beautiful way to bridge that gap and really push for equity.

But that translates off the stage and outside of the arts as well.

One of the things I'm really grateful for is to have the opportunity to work at the Equity Center.

That is looking at how we bridge the gap between the university and the community and how we knit resources and people together to enact change.

And part of that as well is working with the Descendants Group, focusing on research and honoring and reclaiming our narrative as a descendant population.

And so we are pushing for continued repair and reparations.

We continue to strive for education and further scholarship on our ancestors.

And we are also pushing to shape the educational landscape, right?

How are we engaging with these histories?

How are we connecting with one another and pushing for a descendant movement?

So at the equity center, I'm currently working with my colleague, Dr. Sherica Jones-Lewis on a study that's looking at Black arts organizations in the state of Virginia and their organizational wellness, right?

How are these arts organizations demonstrating impact?

What does it look like when they're well resourced and well staffed?

And how can we continue to shape the landscape so that they get the resources they need to not just survive, but thrive?

And for me, equity work is so important, not just because I'm a Black woman in America at this time, and have experienced firsthand what it's like to be in a marginalized group.

I believe in it for equity for all, right, when we all succeed, our communities are stronger, they're more connected, they're more engaged and diverse.

I mean, I think it's physically impossible to navigate this world without, in some way, shape, or form being impacted by, shaped by, uplifted, and supported by a community.

And because of that, I feel personally a responsibility to give back to the community that's given me so much and to continue to shape the community we wish to see.

And so I think it's important also that we recognize how interconnected we all are, how something I'm doing is impacting you and vice versa.

It's all embedded in the fabric of who we are.

And so it's impossible for us to understand ourselves as individuals if we don't understand the communities that shape us.

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