Andrew Giering is a third-generation New Haven resident, first-generation professional, and dedicated public servant.  As an Assistant Federal Defender, he represents people charged with federal crimes who cannot afford to pay for counsel.  Following the passage of the First Step Act in 2018, Andrew wrote many successful motions seeking sentence reductions under that Act, resulting in the early release of many clients, including people serving life sentences.

Prior to joining the Federal Defender Office, Andrew clerked for the Honorable Alvin W. Thompson, then-Chief Judge for the District of Connecticut, and worked in the private sector as a litigation associate at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York and Wiggin and Dana in New Haven.  While in private practice, Andrew focused on white-collar criminal defense, internal investigations, securities litigation, and complex commercial litigation, and volunteered hundreds of hours to pro bono clients, including through the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem and the Urban Justice League.

In addition to Artspace, Andrew currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Arts Alliance, American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut, CT Folk, Canal Dock Boathouse, and the New Haven Free Public Library.  Andrew is an inaugural member of the Correction Advisory Committee, an oversight panel for the Connecticut Department of Correction established by the state legislature in 2022.  Andrew is a graduate of Yale Law School, Columbia College, Hopkins School, and the West Haven public school system.

Mistina Hanscom attended the Brooks Institute of Photography in 2002. In 2005, while working for David LaChapelle, Mistina’s saturated theatrical visions began to form. Mistina and her partner, Luke Hanscom expanded their business, Lotta Studio, to serve the larger creative community by offering CoWorking and Private studio opportunities, creating an organic collaborative environment in 2015.

Kyle Kearson is a contemporary artist born and raised in New Haven, CT. He holds a BFA in sculpture/ceramics from the University of Connecticut where he served as Vice President of the UConn Association of Ceramic Artists and Chair of the Installation Committee for the 2016 BFA Exhibition. Currently, he works as a Museum Technician at the Yale Center for British Art within the Installation department. His artistic practice revolves around conceptual sculpture with objects that highlight materiality and often hold a symbolic presence reflecting our social climate.

Tenor, Albert Rudolph Lee’s performances have been described as “vocally sumptuous,” “musically distinctive” and even “acrobatically agile.”  Having appeared with Opera Theater of Saint Louis, Palm Beach Opera, Opera Theater of Pittsburgh, Philadelphia Orchestra, Saint Luke’s Chamber Orchestra, the Collegiate Chorale of New York City, Caramoor International Music Festival, and the Aspen Music Festival, Lee’s operatic and oratorio roles include Don Ramiro in Rossini’s La Cenerentola, Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Almaviva in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Nemorino in L’Elisir d’Amore and Ferrando in Cosi Fan Tutte and the tenor solos in Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Beethoven’s 9^th Symphony, Handel’s Judas Maccabeus, and the Rossini Stabat Mater.

Throughout his performing career he has also worked to preserve and expand the performance of Negro Spirituals in domestic and international performances with the American Spiritual Ensemble.  In addition, Lee performed a recital of art song settings of Langston Hughes poetry in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and is a featured soloist on a recording of works by Pulitzer Prize winning composer, George Walker on Albany Records singing musical settings of the Walt Whitman poem “When lilacs last in dooryard bloomed,” a poem written as an elegy to Abraham Lincoln after his assassination.

Most recently, he appeared as tenor soloist in Adolphus Hailstork’s I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes with the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, joined the British based classical crossover group Vox Fortura in domestic and international performances, and made appearances with the New Haven Symphony, the Keene Chorale of New Hampshire, and Opera Las Vegas.  Having completed the Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance at the University of Connecticut, the Master of Music at The Juilliard School, and the Doctor of Music degree at Florida State University, Dr. Lee draws inspiration from the literary works of Langston Hughes as well as his unique artistic, spiritual, and personal journey from childhood to his current life as a performer and scholar.  In addition to his work as a performer, he is a sought-after guest lecturer highlighted by his TedTalk sharing his thoughts on the recent National Anthem controversy titled “When I Sing the Anthem.”  Dr. Lee is Associate Professor of Music and the inaugural Director of Equity, Belonging, and Student Life at the Yale University School of Music.

Kara Straun is the Director of Program and Evaluation at the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, primarily working to evaluate and report on the impact of the Foundation’s grantmaking and contributing to initiatives uplifting women and girls.  She enjoys what she does and views it as the culmination of a variety of professional and personal experiences rooted in public health and community development thus far.  Prior to working in her current role, Kara served as Portfolio Manager for a quasi-public affordable and supportive housing lender in Boston, MA and as Director of Resource Development for a large community development corporation in Newark, NJ.  Kara received her Master of Public Health degree from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health with a concentration in Sociomedical Sciences, Urbanism and Community Health and has remained committed to work that uplifts vulnerable communities through comprehensive, collective action.