Hispanic Federation (HF) is the nation’s premier Latino nonprofit membership organization. Founded in 1990, HF seeks to empower and advance the Hispanic community, support Hispanic families, and strengthen Latino institutions through work in the areas of education, economic empowerment, Latinx LGBTQ + advocacy and empowerment, recovery and resiliency, immigration, health, civic engagement, and environmental justice. Its network of nonprofits is the foundation on which the HF builds community. After NoMAA received its 501(c)3 status in 2007, it was incubated by the Hispanic Federation until becoming fully independent in 2011.
Telemundo is a premier media company and industry leader in the production and distribution of high-quality Spanish-language content across multiple platforms for Hispanics in the United States and around the world. Offering original dramatic productions from Telemundo Studios, the network is the #1 producer of primetime Spanish-language content, as well as alternative content, motion pictures, specials, news and top-tier sporting events, reaching 94% of Hispanic viewers in the United States in 210 markets through 17 owned stations and 57 free-to-air TV affiliates. Telemundo also owns WKAQ, a local television station serving Puerto Rico. Telemundo is part of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.
Voza Rivers is Executive Producer and founding member of New Heritage Theatre Group (NHTG) established in 1964 and Executive Producer and co-founder of Impact Repertory Theatre, a Grammy-nominated youth division of NHTG. He was nominated for a Grammy with South African musician Hugh Masekela and South African playwright/author and musician Mbongeni Ngema for Sarafina! The Musical, which was nominated for five Tony awards including “Best Musical.” Rivers is Chairman and co-founder of Harlem Arts Alliance established in 2001.
Carla Torres is a multidisciplinary visual artist whose work spans drawing, painting, illustration, animation, and murals. Originally from Ecuador, she moved to New York City in 2006 to expand her artistic vision. She has exhibited in renowned galleries such as the Queens Museum and the Noguchi Museum and has received prestigious illustration awards in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Torres received the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Creative Engagement grant three times and was a featured muralist for the HBO Max Latinx Diaspora Campaign.
Led Black is the founder and editor-in-chief of the Uptown Collective, Social Media Director for The New York Latino Film Festival and Social Media Manager for the West Harlem Development Corporation, Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance and Little Dominican Republic. He performed on the Moth MainStage alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes to close out the 2021 Uptown Arts Stroll at the United Palace. Black was the 2015 Up Theater Company’s Upstanding Person of the Year and appeared in the Emmy-nominated film Coogan’s Way about the legendary bar Coogan’s.
Daniel Bonilla & Riverside Inwood Neighborhood Garden
Daniel Bonilla, also known as Art Man Dan, is a New York City artist of Dominican heritage. As a full-time artist, he embraces a diverse range of projects, including full-scale murals, photorealistic paintings, and playful decorative window art. His artistic journey began with a simple idea, leading him through art-based schools and culminating in a degree in illustration and computer animation. His portfolio includes murals and commissioned pieces. Community-based projects hold special significance for him, as demonstrated by his involvement in the NYC Department of Transportation art project.
The Riverside-Inwood Garden (RING) began as a fleeting thought by Maggie Clarke on the occasion of a 1984 community meeting to determine what should be done with a rubble-strewn lot at 1815 Riverside Drive in Inwood. The lot was turned into an award-winning flower and ornamentals garden by scores of volunteers and has received multiple awards. RING was incorporated in 1991. Art in the Garden is RING’s annual late-spring event that showcases local artists, craftspeople, and musicians. The first Art in the Garden took place on June 10, 2001.
Jeff Hoppa & Cornerstone Studios
Jeff Hoppa, Cornerstone’s founder and director, holds an MFA in painting from the School of Visual Arts. His drawings and paintings are inspired by natural history museums, deserts, space exploration, the Arctic, and cartography. He was an Artist-in-Residence at Joshua Tree National Park in 2007 and a member of EFA Studios from 2007 to 2014. In 2013, he created Indian Road Shows at Indian Road Café, exhibiting over 50 local artists. Hoppa lives in Washington Heights with his wife and two sons.
Cornerstone Studios, founded in 2015 by artist Jeff Hoppa, is a nonprofit arts organization based in Our Saviour’s Atonement Church in Washington Heights, It provides studio space for visual artists in Northern Manhattan while fostering community engagement. Over the past decade, Cornerstone has built a diverse creative community, hosting over 40 artists. In 2019, it launched Studio178, a low-cost, one-year residency supporting immigrant artists, recent MFA graduates, late-career artists, and those facing financial hardship.