VFTE Chautauqua Scholars
Ilene Evans
Ilene Evans is the artistic director of Voices From the Earth, Inc., an educational touring theater company that uses storytelling and theater to promote social justice. After receiving her B.A. from Trinity College in Deerfield, Illinois, Ms. Evans completed her Master’s Degree at East Tennessee State University in the department of Education with an emphasis in Storytelling. She has spent the last 20 years as the artistic director of Voices From the Earth, an educational touring theater company that uses storytelling and theater to promote social justice. In 2009, Ilene was selected by the United States Embassy to tour Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Columbia to share her work in the history and culture of African Americans through arts education, literature, and music.
Charles Everett Pace
Charles Everett Pace has undergraduate and graduate degrees from The University of Texas at Austin (B.A., biology) and Purdue University… Charles Everett Pace has undergraduate and graduate degrees from The University of Texas at Austin (B.A., biology) and Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana (M.A., American studies: history and anthropology). As well as being a Program Advisor at the Texas Union, University of Texas at Austin, Charles has taught at The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Purdue University, and most recently at Centre College in Kentucky. His research area is the anthropology of performance, experience and visual communications. He has performed and conducted workshops in hundreds of cities across the United States, as well as, in London, England. Pace has also conducted performance-based public diplomacy work for the United States Information Agency (USIA) in dozens of cities in nine countries across east, west and southern Africa.
Karen Vuranch
Karen Vuranch, weaves together a love of history, a passion for stories and a sense of community. Her acclaimed performance of her original production, Coal Camp Memories, has been presented nationally and internationally. Celebrating the history of the West Virginia coal fields, Karen’s storytelling drama has been hailed as a significant memorial to the men and women who labored in the coal fields. She completed five performance tours of Wales and England including the Dylan Thomas Festival in Swansea, Wales, with Coal Camp Memories. Using the techniques of dramatizing oral history that she honed in Coal Camp Memories, Karen then collected stories from women on the American homefront in WWII.She regularly performs in Chautauquas, which are summer performances presented by state Humanities Councils featuring scholar/actors portraying historical characters. She has participated troupes from across the country. Karen also teaches at Concord University, where she has been the Director of the Theatre Department.
Joey Madia
Joey Madia is a playwright, teaching artist, director, and actor. He is the Artistic Director/Resident Playwright of Seven Stories Theatre Company, Inc. and Resident Playwright at Youth Stages, LLC. He has appeared in or directed over 80 plays. He specializes in social justice theater and participatory plays for youth with17 original plays for young audiences. He has written and performed pieces about Civil War captains Louis Emilio and Thomas Maulsby. He has worked with organizations including The Epilepsy Foundation of NJ and Camp NOVA to bring theater to students with disabilities and has won three writing awards from VSA of NJ. His poetry, essays, and short stories have been widely published and have earned him several awards. His first novel, Jester-Knight, was published in 2009. His second novel, Minor Confessions of an Angel Falling Upward was published in 2012 (Burning Bulb Publishing).
Fanny Crawford
Fanny Crawford grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania learning family stories and political and cultural history from an extended circle of storytelling relatives and friends. An undergrad degree from the University of Chicago in The History & Philosophy of Religion, followed by a move to Maryland nearly 50 years ago and an MS from Hood College.
Dr. J. Holmes Armstead
Dr. J. Holmes Armstead is a retired professor of Strategy and International law from the US Naval War College. He has taught international law, strategy and national security policy for nearly 40 years. Professor Armstead has served on faculties at Stanford University, Pepperdine University, the University of California, The University of Nevada, Southern University the US Naval Postgraduate School, Lewis University, the Virginia Military Institute and Washington and Lee University. He has also lectured at the British Joint Services Staff College and taught as a visiting professor at the Universite d’Pau in France and as an exchange professor at Richmond College in the University of London. He has lectured at senior staff colleges in Poland, Austria, Germany, Slovenia, and Malawi.as well as the US Army War College, at the United States Military Academy and the South African Military Academy Counsel to the American bar Association Office of Human Rights, Dr. Armstead lectures on International law at the Austrian Academy of Higher Military Studies in Vienna.
Nadia Bouajila
Nadia Bouajila is an Amazigh- American attorney, storyteller, dancer, and activist deeply committed to environmental justice, human rights, and cultural connection. Born and raised in New Mexico, with formative summers spent in southern Tunisia, Nadia draws from a rich tapestry of personal and ancestral narratives to inspire her work.
From her grandfather’s story as a rural farmer brought to France to rebuild after WWII—only to burn his visa and return to his homeland—to her father’s journey navigating the complexities of the American dream in his family restaurant, Nadia’s perspective has been shaped by stories of resilience. Her own path was ignited by the Arab Spring and the wave of migration across the Mediterranean, sparking a lifelong commitment to storytelling as a bridge across cultures and continents. Her grandmother, lovingly called “Oumi Nar” or “Grandmother Fire,” embodied a rhythm and wisdom so in tune with the natural world that you could always find her making tea based on where the sun was in the sky. This harmony with the earth continues to guide Nadia’s work today.
Most recently, she led a transformative project at the World Bank, improving access to mining legislation and empowering local lawyers to strengthen environmental protections and community rights. Through this work, she found echoes of important stories from Appalachian coal mines to those of Indigenous land protectors across Turtle Island. In addition to her advocacy and legal work, Nadia has invested time in learning about peacemaking and leading transformative mediation. Alongside reconnecting with dance, these practices are helping her evolve the somatic skills behind storytelling, weaving movement medicine into her craft.
Whether advocating for justice, reconnecting with her North African traditions, or facilitating dialogue, Nadia weaves stories that highlight the interconnectedness of the global Indigenous stories, and histories, and present challenges, revealing our interdependence and collective power.
Vital Akimana
Vital Akimana is a dedicated storyteller, facilitator, and advocate for cultural connection and resilience. With roots in Rwanda and shaped by personal experiences as a survivor of genocide, Vital has devoted his life to fostering healing, understanding, and transformative change. Over the years, Vital has worked with organizations such as the National Student Leadership Conference, and numerous Native American communities, using storytelling and facilitation to empower youth and inspire cultural exchange. His professional journey reflects a commitment to bridging divides and amplifying voices of courage, freedom, and hope. Through initiatives like the Nkorwe-Kanyinya Bridge project, Vital continues to weave together stories, traditions, and futures that inspire healing, growth, and unity across communities and continents.
