Project Protégé Design Team
Janelle Dunlap
Janelle is a Charlotte, NC and Chicago based social practice artist, independent curator and creative consultant who works to generate intentional and transformational change through her practice. She has a ten year background as a nonprofit professional where she worked in several roles that continue to inform and fuel her creative roles.
Janelle’s projects have been supported via grants, fellowships and other opportunities by several state and national organizations including Art’s Science Council, the Knight Foundation, Z Smith Reynolds Foundation, and the Sweet Water Foundation in Chicago, IL. She is a 2020 recipient of the New Artist Society Scholarship through the Low- Residency MFA program at School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is currently apart of the inaugural class of Social and Environmental Arts MFA program as Prescott College.
Hannah Hasan
Hannah Hasan is an award-winning, highly acclaimed spoken word poet and storyteller who believes that our stories can set us free. With themes that center home, social justice, racial justice, womens’ rights, and more. Hannah is often commissioned to write and perform customized powerful poetry and provide speeches and workshops for events, conferences, and meetings.
Hannah has interviewed hundreds of people from throughout the United States, written their stories, and recruited and managed storytellers--who learned these stories and performed them for different storytelling events--that were all created to shed light on some of the most important social issues of our time.
Marcus Kiser
Kiser’s work draws inspiration from a broad range of sources ranging from classical art to comic books and graffiti. He’s an artist and designer who’s comfortable in an equally broad range of media, from studio art, illustration, branding, UI design, motion graphics, and more — all distinguished by his ability to distill ideas to a striking, almost iconic image that is often dense and multilayered, yet always accessible. Marcus is the creative director for mign design, A company that specializes in 3d printed medical wearables.
Elizabeth Palmisano
Elizabeth Palmisano is an award winning, mixed media installation and fiber artist. Her work is in private and public collections and has been exhibited at galleries and museums such as The Mint Museum, The McColl Center for Art & Innovation, and Bliss Gallery. She was recently voted Charlotte’s “Best Visual Artist” in the Queen City Nerve 2020 “Best in the Nest Awards.”
An advocate for social justice, Palmisano uses art to spark meaningful dialogue and draw attention to causes of personal significance. Paper as a Luxury was hosted in multiple cities and featured in multiple media outlets, championing the ingenuity and resilience of the working poor, while provoking interest in the often hidden realities of childhood poverty. In 2019, Palmisano was honored with a coveted spot as a designer in the final Condom Couture Runway Show to benefit Planned Parenthood. As a 2020 META Mural Artist-in-Residence, Palmisano collaborated with four fellow artists and Charlotte area residents to create a mural at the Black Lives Matter Plaza documenting the needs of the community during the height of the pandemic.
Bree Stallings
Breanna "Bree" Stallings is North Carolina-native multi-media artist, illustrator, writer and activist.
Bree graduated from Queens University of Charlotte in 2013 with a Bachelor Degree in Studio Art and Creative Writing. She resides near uptown Charlotte where she works as a painter, illustrator and muralist. Currently, she serves as the Director of Artistic Experiences at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center. Using art as her vehicle, she raises awareness for many causes that affect her life and those closest to her such as economic mobility, sexual health advocacy, displacement and homelessness and environmental consciousness.
Through the programs, curated art shows and fundraisers she has helped put on, Bree, alongside her creative team and partnerships with Project Art Aid, Behailu Academy and many more has helped to raised over $500,000 for furthering development in Charlotte's art and humanities scene. Past major awards and notable career achievements include "Best Exhibition" 2019 (Where I'm From) and 2020 (To Be Seen And Celebrated) as well as "Best Muralist" as voted by QC Nerve, named inaugural EmcArts Fellow (NYC-CLT), Artist Campaign School Fellow (Detroit, MI), and Artist in Residence for the Mecklenburg County Health Department (2016-2019).
Jamil Dyair Steele
Jamil “Dyair” Steele is a Charlotte-based artist specializing in murals, portraiture, and illustration. He is also a National Board-certified Visual Arts teacher with Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools and has over 15 years teaching experience. Dyair is a proud graduate of West Charlotte Senior High school and holds a BFA from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a Master of Art Education from Winthrop University. Dyair has created over ten murals in the Charlotte area, including Montford Dr, Beatties Ford Rd, NoDa, and Uptown Charlotte. Dyair’s “Black Lives Matter” mural was recently added to the Mint Museum’s permanent collection and is currently on display at the Uptown location in the Caroll Gallery. He has also featured work at the McColl Center for the Arts, Levine Children's Hospital, Spirit Square, UNCC’s Projective Eye Gallery, and The Center for the Arts in Rock Hill, SC. Dyair is currently designing a mural for the retaining wall of the I-77/ W. Trade street underpass leading into the Historic West End district of Charlotte.
Facebook/I.G: dyairart
Mike Wirth
Mike Wirth is a Charlotte-based artist and educator. Over the past 20 years, Mike's mural art, published illustration work, and interactive museum exhibits have had a notable presence in the Queen City and internationally. Over the past six years, Mike has focused on large-scale public mural projects and has over three dozen completed mural projects in Charlotte, Miami, New York, and Los Angeles. Currently, Mike is a tenured associate professor of graphic design at Queens University of Charlotte and leads his students in community mural projects with traditional and digital tools. He is also one of the founders of the annual Talking Walls Charlotte Mural Festival, which started in 2018. He holds an MFA from Parsons School of Design in Design and Technology and a BFA from Long Island University in Digital Art and Design. Mike is originally from Long Island, NY, and has lived in the Charlotte area with his family since 2005.
Dana Endsley
project co-chair
Dana Endsley is Programming Lead with About Face Charlotte and is an artist, activist, filmmaker and workshop facilitator with a passion for sharing stories as a powerful way to build connection. Dana excels at designing experiences that bring individuals and creative process together to create a larger whole.
She has a BA in psychology and 30 years experience in human services and the heal- ing arts. She combines this experience and knowledge with her art to create workshops and retreats that gently guide people deeper into themselves emotionally, spiritually and creatively.
She has taught and led experiences in North and South Carolina, Texas and Mexico. Dana’s work can be seen in private collections and has been shown at Stillwater Studios, Phoenix Rising, The Charlotte Art League and Esalen Institute in California.
Scott Gardner
project co-chair
Scott is a cinematographer, photographer, painter and co-founder of AboutFace CLT.
Susan Campbell
Dr. Susan Campbell is a licensed psychologist with over 30 years of experience partnering with people to foster changes that improve lives and strengthen communities. Working as a professor, clinician, non-profit leader and coach has provided Susan with opportunities both to teach and to learn. Her deep expertise in interviewing, and listening for the threads that connect stories as people make meaning of their experiences, are important components of our team approach. She is particularly interested in listening for sources and themes of resilience, and helping people connect to what truly matters to them. She believes that when we live, love, create, parent and lead from a truly authentic place, our communities thrive with the collective diversity of our individual gifts.
Susan obtained her BA from Davidson College, and PhD from Georgia State University. In addition to her work with About Face CLT, she maintains a private clinical and coaching practice in Charlotte called Tournesol.