Our Team

Oronde Cruger, Executive Director

Oronde worked as a Speak About It educator for years before being promoted to Program Coordinator, then Program Manager. Oronde graduated with a degree in neuroscience from Bowdoin College where he studied learning and memory along with hormones and behavior. His background mixed with his deep love for facilitating difficult discussions has served him well working with young folks trying to better understand the complexities of intimacy. His experiences helped to inform his 2018 TEDx talk about redefining masculinity and the importance of vulnerability in the process.

He has found a home in Portland, Maine and is the proud co-founder of Heart of Hospitality, a coalition of violence prevention groups and service industry professionals dedicated to improving the safety of venues across the state.

Mackenzie Bartlett, Marketing & Development Manager

Mackenzie is a Portland based filmmaker, community arts organizer and probably also 3 eels in a trench coat. Her award winning short films have been screened internationally, and often pull from social themes regarding bodily autonomy and systemic oppression. 

She comes to Speak About It after 5 years leading The Art Department, a local arts non-profit and collaborative studio for adults with disabilities. While there, she deepened her passion for meaningful community relationships, and facilitating environments that are equitable and accessible for all. 

In the fall, you can find her wearing her Program Director hat for Damnationland, an annual showcase of Maine-made short films, which strives to uplift and represent Portland’s weird and thriving art scene. 

When not in the office, you can find her hanging out with her cat Norma, bent over a sewing machine, or re-watching something scary on VHS. 

Olivia Harris (On Sabbatical)

Olivia is an applied theatre artist, educator, and feminist who has been using interactive theatrical tools to create conversations about consent, boundaries, and healthy relationships for almost a decade. Needless to say, she is pretty practiced at talking about sex!

She has worked as a theatre educator across the globe, and most recently with the Harlem Children's Zone, Drew University, and Philadelphia Theatre Company. While at Drew, Olivia designed curriculum that trained students to use applied theater techniques to combat sexual violence on their campus. Likewise, students under her mentorship at the Philadelphia Theatre Company, led healthy relationship workshops throughout the city.

Originally from Boston and Atlanta, Olivia now lives in West Philadelphia with her husband and pooch, Libby. Whether she’s walking to a bookstore or a mountaintop, you can also often find her kicking around Portland with the Speak About It crew.

You can learn more about Olivia's work at www.oliviaharris.com.

Leo Mock, Director

Leo Mock is a theatre-maker, sex and consent educator, and emerging intimacy choreographer training with Theatrical Intimacy Education. They have worked with with Speak About It since 2018, as an educator, actor, manager, and director. Leo is completing their BFA in Socially Engaged Arts from Goddard College, with a concentration in Decolonial Sexuality Studies. They have too many plants and will probably show you pictures of their cat.

Educators

ABBY WEISSMAN

Hello friends of Speak About It! It’s Abby’s second tour with SAI, and she could not be more excited - which for an Enneagram Type 7 like her is really saying something. Abby is a director, teaching artist, arts administrator (and more!) based in Philadelphia, PA. Most recently, she has spent her time guiding a group of Kindergarteners through Zoom school, learning how to choreograph theatrical intimacy and build consent-based arts spaces, and reading all of her friend’s birth charts. She is a proud company member of Revolution Shakespeare, and an alumnus of Northwestern University and the Arden Professional Apprentice Program. Love to the BLGS.

CORI DIAZ

Cori Diaz is a performer, writer, and a current student at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She is a current house team performer and sketch writer at the Sea Tea Comedy Theater in Hartford, CT, and has performed with her improv team, Mystery Switch, in the Hartford Improv Festival. For writing, she has been a finalist in Hartford Stage’s Write On!, a selected candidate in Middlebury College’s Young Writers’ Conference at Breadloaf Campus, and a Selected Playwright at the Eugene O’ Neill Theater Center’s Young Playwrights Festival. She has also done training for improv, sketch, and stand-up with The Onion, People’s Improv Theater, John Crane Sketch, The Groundlings, and Second City Chicago. 

DANIEL LIGHT

Daniel Light is a Brooklyn based actor, educator, and choreographer. He’s an alum of New York University (BFA), Williamstown Theatre Festival, and a Stage Combat Teaching Assistant. Daniel was recently part of Shakespeare & Company’s 2019 Northeast Regional Tour, which brought Shakespeare's work to younger audiences. The tour was featured in The New York Times, where Daniel was noted as one “who often plays villains,” which he feels is harsh, but fair. Daniel is fascinated by how consent operates within his stage combat and intimacy work, and thinks Speak About It is a perfect avenue for enriching that conversation!

JENNA HESS

Jenna is a film actor whose previous jobs doing PSAs about sex education led her to Speak About It. She loves educating other young people through her passion for acting. Jenna lives in Virginia and spends about half of her time living in Los Angeles.

MARC D. JOHNSON, JR.

Marc is an actor/writer/spoken word poet who has been involved in the performing arts for more than half of his life. Since graduating from Muhlenberg College (with honors) in 2019, Johnson, Jr. has been blessed to work on projects in Florida, Maryland, Kentucky, NYC, and, of course, Philadelphia. Some of his more recent credits include: Dennis Rowe’s “Port Chicago 50” (Off-Broadway) & Ellis Finney’s “Sundance Rejects” (Columbia University Short Film).

EMMA MUELLER

Emma Mueller (she/her) is a queer actress, writer, and teaching artist based in NYC. Emma holds a BFA in Drama from NYU Tisch with a minor in Applied Theatre. Recent theater credits include ‘The Alice’ and ‘Comeback Cabaret’ at Don’t Tell Mama in NYC; film credits include ‘No Joke’, a limited series streaming on Amazon Prime and several wonderful short films. As an educator, Emma teaches with NYC Children’s Theater, and was featured on PBS as part of the “Let’s Learn!” program. She is over the moon to be joining Speak About It as an Actor-Educator and is ready to speak about it a whole lot! www.emmarosemueller.com.

ANDREW LESNETT

Andrew Lesnett is an New York city based actor. Andrew graduated from the conservatory of Point Park University with a BA in theatre arts; practice and performance. Past credits include "Frankenstein" and "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" at the New Hazlett Theater as well as "Pippin" at the Pittsburgh Playhouse.

MATT ZHANG

Matt Zhang (they/them) is an actor and playwright based in New York City and Los Angeles, California. They have appeared on television programs such as Nickelodeon’s Henry Danger and Hulu’s PEN15. They are pursuing a BFA at NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ Department of Dramatic Writing, specializing in playwriting and television writing. Matt has received honors such as being a finalist for NYU’s 2022 HEAR US Awards and a placed recipient of the 2022 Entertwine API Playwriting contest. As a queer person of color, Matt is excited to advocate for the causes they’re invested in as a new member of Speak About It’s touring cast.

PATRICIA YEAZELL

Patricia Yeazell (She/Her) is a NYC based Actor and Comedian. Patricia graduated from the University of Tampa as a double major in Theater and Communication. Patricia has experience working as an actor educator at Bond as well as LiquidGoldConcept. You may have seen her performing stand-up with DBJComedy and Not So PC Comedy.

RAIN DIAZ

Rain Diaz is an actor and performer based in Philadelphia. A graduate of Point Park University’s Conservatory of Performing Arts, he recently played the character Sam in the short film titled Sugar (directed by Evan Galiffa) for which he earned the award of Best Actor in a US Short at the Jim Thorpe Film Festival (2022) and Best Actor in a US Drama in the HangOntoYourShorts film Festival (2022). He also has experience performing live theatre at renowned venues such as People’s Light Theatre Co., City Theatre, The Kimmel Center, The Philadelphia Art Museum, The Pittsburgh Playhouse and The Mann Music Center of Performing Arts.

Board of Directors

Tori Bolding

Stacy Kelly

Stacy is originally from Illinois, but in 1999, she moved to Maine to reinvent herself and live "life the way it should be." Tucked into the Midcoast region, she found a great career, bought a home, met her spouse, and created a family. She is an active volunteer for local LGBTQ+ organizations, and she has been a frequent guest speaker at global conferences focused on DEI workplace engagement. She’s passionate about expanding people’s ability to connect, learn from one other, and appreciate their common humanity. 

She holds a BA in Liberal Arts from the University of Maine and a Masters in Education - Human Resource Development - Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership from the University of Illinois. Professionally, she’s a Senior Project Manager for a large financial firm, working on high-tech, transformational projects, and she’s also worked extensively to create and deliver global, LGBTQ+ focused DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) training in corporate settings. 

In her personal life, she loves to riff on recipes, color outside the lines, read, listen to music, volunteer for local school activities with her son, and is also a rabid, Premier League soccer fanatic.  

She’s excited to join the board of an organization doing essential work around healthy relationships and consent.

Marti McCaleb