Heleya grew up in Seattle, WA and has also lived and worked as an actor, teaching artist, and arts education advocate in Los Angeles and New York. She is passionate about providing arts education access to all youth and paying artists living wages. She is currently the Co-Executive Director of the Teaching Artists Guild (TAG), was former ED of Association of Teaching Artists before the two organizations merged in 2020, and a former board member of the New York City Arts in Education Roundtable working to expand, enhance, and support the field of professional teaching artistry. She also currently serves as the Co-Director of Arts Education for Arts Corps in Seattle which seeks to revolutionize education by igniting the creative power of young people. Heleya’s own teaching work focuses on how to use theatre skills across disciplines and subject areas. She is an adjunct faculty member at Highline College in the Youth Development program and has taught with such organizations as The School of Drama at the New School College of Performing Arts, Lincoln Center Theater, McCarter Theater Center, New York Theatre Workshop, The Center for Arts Education, People’s Theatre Project, Young Audiences New York, The Geffen Playhouse, The Los Angeles Music Center, The Orange County Performing Arts Center, Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences, Will & Company, CRE Outreach, and 24th Street Theatre. As an actor Heleya earned her Actor’s Equity card touring TYA shows to schools and communities. She has performed with The Geffen Playhouse, Cornerstone Theatre Company, Pacific Resident Theatre, The Falcon Theatre, and The Forum Project, among others and has worked on numerous independent films, commercials, and webseries. In 2010 she co-created and produced the comedy webseries We Are With the Band with Vivian Kerr. As an improviser Heleya has trained with Upright Citizen’s Brigade and The Groundlings and performed with Improv Olympic West, The Improv Space, Chicago Improv Festival, the Los Angeles Comedy Festival, and FRACAS Improv Festival. Currently Heleya acts as a performer and researcher with the Verbatim Performance Lab using theatre to examine and uncover unconscious bias Education: BA, Theatre, University of Southern California; MA, Educational Theatre, New York University; British American Drama Academy, classical theatre.