Executive Team
Marjuan Canady
Executive Director / Founder
Marjuan Canady, a native Washingtonian with Trinidadian/ African-American roots, is a director, educator, writer, actor, producer, performer, and literary advocate who founded CFA in 2015. She was most recently named a “Woman to Watch on Broadway” by the Broadway Women’s Fund. Her Co-Producing Broadway credits include, “Death of Salesman” and “THE WIZ”. In 2022 she was the inaugural Front Row Productions Fellow/Adjunct Research Scholar at Columbia University’s Theatre Management and Producing Program. Canady always had a passion for education and children’s media and went on to start the “Callaloo Kids” brand, a global brand rooted in cultural literacy, consisting of books, theater, animation, and arts education. Naturally, she founded the Canady Foundation for the Arts which would further empower youth of color, from ages 2-18, with cultural arts programming and theatrical opportunities. Her original work has been seen at The John F. Kennedy Center, Sesame Street, The Smithsonian, and The Lincoln Center for Performing Arts. She has held fellowships at The Schomburg Center, the DC Commission on the Arts, the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute, Lincoln Center, Harlem Stage, and the Anacostia Arts Center. She is the Founder of her production company Sepia Works. Canady is a graduate of Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Fordham University and NYU Tisch. She is a proud member of the PGA, Dramatist Guild, and AEA.
Danyel Watson
Programming / Artist Relations
Danyel Watson is an avid advocate for arts education with a diverse background in all areas of the performing arts. She is a self-taught musician who plays 5 instruments and has taught music lessons for over 13 years. As a performer she has graced the stage at The Kennedy Center along with performances in Germany and Nova Scotia. Since moving to the DMV, she has worked with arts organizations such as The Theatre Lab, The National Children's Chorus,The Fairfax Choral Society and Artstream Inc.She has a Masters in Vocal Performance from James Madison University and a B.A. in Music with a double minor in Theatre and Dance from UNC Charlotte.
Natalie Carter
Arts Education Consultant
Natalie is an educator and arts administrator with over fifteen years of experience. She is currently a special education teacher at IDEAL Prep Academy in Washington, DC. She has worked over 8 years in NYC Public and Charter Schools. She holds her B.A. in Technical Theatre from The University of the Arts and her M.A. in Arts Education from NYU and is a graduate of The Duke Ellington School of the Arts.
Chanda Jones
Social Media Manager
Chanda Jones has over 8 years of professional experience as a social media manager. She has also enjoyed consulting brands, businesses and entrepreneurs in the social media space. Having earned a Master of Science degree in Journalism from Boston University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from Bowling Green State University, Chanda's also a writer. Her most recent feature focused on the lack of funding available for BIPOC women entrepreneurs.
Wendy Toribio
Blog Writer / Education Consultant
Wendy Toribio-Baez is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) who earned her Masters of Science in Teaching (MST) in Early Childhood-Early Childhood Special Education from Fordham University, where she was President of Kappa Delta Pi, International Honor Society in Education.Wendy Toribio-Baez lives and breathes for the wholesomeness of early childhood. She is a Behavior and Learning Scientist, who guides parents and teachers in providing optimal learning experiences for young children. In her personal practice, Wendy creates and implements individualized plans to help her students efficiently acquire communication, independence, learning and academic skills. With almost 10 years of experience as a Founder and Educational Director of various early childhood learning havens, Wendy has partnered with hundreds of educators, psychologists and other professionals to become a resource for the families she supports. And, she also walks the walk. A millennial mom, Wendy and her two little girls have a ton of fun homeschooling, unschooling and re-schooling; always with intent, curiosity and goodness.
Teaching artists
Naimah Saleem-Mendez
Mrs. Saleem-Mendez is a licensed graduate professional counselor and registered dance/movement therapist with over 5 years of experience in the behavioral health field. She received her B.F.A from the University of Florida, M.S. from Pratt Institute in Dance/Movement Therapy, and M.A. in Mental Health Counseling and Wellness from New York University. Mrs. Saleem-Mendez is passionate about trauma-informed care, creative arts therapy, African American perinatal mental health, and providing services to children and families in Washington DC. Currently, Mrs. Saleem-Mendez facilitates individual and group therapy sessions at a non-profit behavioral health center in Washington, D.C, and D.C. Public Schools.
Nazaahah Amin
Nazaahah is a certified yoga therapist and advanced yoga teacher with over 9 years of experience facilitating private and group yoga therapy sessions in the Baltimore area. She recently received a Master of Science in Yoga Therapy at Maryland University of Integrative Health. She is the co-founder of the Bmore Empowered, a non-profit that provides mindfulness and entrepreneurship programming for teen girls. Nazaahah currently leads group yoga therapy workshops for parents in Baltimore City Public Schools as well as private and group sessions in her studio in West Baltimore.
Shaba Lightfoot
Shaba Lightfoot is a native Washingtonian who steadily builds upon her passion for health and wellness. Yoga, dance fitness and getting out for walks in nature are some of her favorite ways to exercise and have consistently been a part of her regimen. While she has now been a multi-formatted certified fitness instructor for over 5 years, her fitness journey began while in school. She has always believed that an active lifestyle is a key component to achieving one's health and wellness goals. She also wholeheartedly believes that fitness should be fun! With these guiding beliefs at the forefront, she continuously strives to be an instructor who enthusiastically energizes and encourages people of varying ages and backgrounds along their fitness journeys.
Jacqueline Youm
Jacqueline is a Senegalese American actor, director, playwright, producer, lawyer, and French|English|Spanish teacher. You can find many of her virtual productions on her Youtube channel CESTJACKIE and/or here: httpshttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvd4LWK9h1msuj9oeFXHtng | Instagram: @jy_artiste
Chelsea Harrison
Chelsea Dee is a multi-hyphenate creative of color. She is a graduate of NYU/Tisch School of the Arts and has pursued a multidisciplinary career in the performing arts writing, performing, and directing new works of theater that challenge stereotypes and dominant narratives. She has written, performed and produced her own work such as ``The Daughters of the Bayou`` and, most recently, her new one woman show, ``The Guide to Getting What’s Yours``.
Krystal Butler
Krystal is from Washington, DC and began her dance training at Duke Ellington School of the Arts under the direction of Sandra Fortune. Krystal graduated from Long Island University and received scholarships to attend Ailey School, ADF, Earl Mosley Institute for the Arts and Arke' Danza. Krystal was a member of INSPIRIT, a dance company and Forces of Nature Dance Theater. She has toured in Senegal with the theater company, Art Creates Life, performing in the play, Junkanoo and in Europe in the show, MAGNIFICO produced by Andre Heller with choreography by Pilobolus. Krystal has danced with Pilobolus Dance Theater for ten years.