Our Team
EXECUTIVE
Demetrius Amparan
Executive Director
Demetrius Amparan is an artist and leader with eleven years of experience as a manger and director in the nonprofit sector. He has spent several of those years building a donor network for his childhood nonprofit, Young Chicago Authors. Amparan’s community work is centered on access and equity for Chicago’s underserved populations.
Our Team
PROGRAMS
Asia Calcagno
Director of Programs
Asia Calcagno is an awarded writer and educator from Chicago. Her professional and creative background includes time spent working as a high-school English Language Arts teacher, doing leadership and youth development work in both higher education and youth nonprofits, serving as a teaching artist, and formerly serving as the Director of Programs at 826CHI. She is particularly interested in effective and equitable writing education and using writing as a tool for cross-cultural dialogue, liberation, and encouraging young people to write their own narratives. Asia holds an MFA from Bennington College.
Rich Robbins
Program Contractor
Rich Robbins is a rapper, songwriter, producer, and educator. But more than anything, the Oak Park-born, Chicago-based artist is a world-builder. Rich’s early years as a college student in Madison, Wisconsin’s First Wave hip-hop scholarship program jumpstarted his artistry. He recorded wide-reaching tracks like “Dreams” feat. Mick Jenkins, along with records with Saba, Mother Nature, and more. He has performed at historic venues like the Apollo Theater in NY, and has done everything from music festivals, to working at Hot 97 as an intern, to teaching classrooms of high school students how to read and write poetry/songs. His work is an inward look at society’s ills and creates spaces for listeners to explore. In short, Rich’s work critiques the old while envisioning and manifesting the new. His latest releases are available on all streaming platforms.
Our Team
EDUCATION
Heather Roberts
Education Contractor
Heather Roberts is a dedicated visionary leader passionate about empowering youth through language, youth development, and empowerment. With over 15 years of experience, she has dedicated her career to creating transformative programs that harness the power of words and storytelling to inspire and uplift young minds.
With a bachelor’s in performance art, a master’s degree in organizational leadership, and a certificate in spoken word pedagogy, Heather possesses a unique blend of academic knowledge and practical expertise. Her deep understanding of organizational dynamics enables her to design and implement impactful initiatives that foster creativity, critical thinking, and personal growth among youth. Fun fact: her favorite words are balloon and bubble.
Robin Reid Drake
Education Manager Robin Reid Drake (she/they) is a Chicago (Kiikaapoi, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Bodéwadmiakiwen & Myaamia lands) based writer, artist and educator originally from Greensboro, North Carolina (Eno, Sappony & Shakori lands). White, trans & queer, Drake is passionate about combining abolitionist somatics, creative practice and popular education to heal lines of violence in herself and her communities. She holds an MFA in writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a BA in writing from the University of North Carolina at Asheville and certification in meditation & mindfulness instruction from MNDFL Studio in New York City. Drake’s written work can be found in DREGINALD, Palimpsest, WUSSY, Understory Quarterly, and Foglifter Press’ Home Is Where You Queer the Heart, among others. More info on Robin Reid Drake…
Bragard Kizenga
Development Coordinator
Our Team