About Us
History
Meet the 2025-2026 Board
Katy Zapanta
She/Her
BFA Dramaturgy 2022
NYDAC Board Member since 2024
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Katy Zapanta (she/her) is a Filipino-American dramaturg, producer, and literary agent with a focus in musical theater. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon, she received a BFA in Dramaturgy. She currently serves as President of the New York Drama Alumni Community. Broadway credits include Bob Fosse’s Dancin’ and KPOP.
Jimmy Nicholas
He/Him
BFA Acting/Musical Theater 2014
NYDAC Board Member since 2019
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Jimmy Nicholas has been a proud member of NYDAC since moving to NYC over a decade ago. In addition to serving as NYDAC President, he helps spearhead showcase each and every year, and started/created the NYDAC gala. A believer in the phrase “your people are your superpower”, he is honored to serve as a NYDAC board member to continue to serve this wonderful alumni community and lend a helping hand, the way so many before lent helping hands to him on his journey.
Sidney Rubinowicz
She/Her
BFA Stage/Production Management 2023
NYDAC Board Member since 2024
Timiki Salinas
He/Him
BFA Acting 2018
NYDAC Board Member since 2022
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Timiki Salinas is a theatre/film artist with a deep passion for devising. He is a co-founder of The Bellwether Project, an anti-hierarchical arts collective that creates work for theater, film, and hybrid spaces using the principles of radical nuance and radical joy. Credits include Becky Nurse of Salem (Lincoln Center), Dr. Rees Ziti’s Pageant For A Better Future (The Bellwether Project), The Legend of Georgia McBride (Ivoryton Playhouse), Twelfth Night (The Acting Company), and Cymbeline (Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival). Current company member of the American Mime Theatre and The Public Theater’s BIPOC Critics Lab fellow.
Carlos E. Martínez
He/Him
MFA Directing 2025
NYDAC Board Member since 2025
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Carlos E. Martínez (he/him) is a Dominican director, designer, producer, and translator. In the Dominican Republic, his directing and design credits include Metamorphoses, The Masque of the Red Death, Art, Noises Off, and Spelling Bee. He earned his MFA in Directing from Carnegie Mellon University (2025), where he directed Ghosts, Lonely Planet, Flores Para los Muertos, and the short films Oysters for Breakfast, Frequencies, and The Bear. Also a poster designer, his work has been featured in CMU productions for three consecutive seasons. He currently resides in Brooklyn.
Alex Sheffield
She/Her
BFA Musical Theater 2024
NYDAC Board Member since 2025
Sasha Finley
She/Her
MFA Lighting Design 2023
NYDAC Board Member since 2025
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Sasha is a New York based lighting designer, associate and draftsperson. Her design credits include Legally Blonde (Pascack Valley High School), [ ] (ODC Dance) and Cabaret (Northern Stage). She holds a BA in English and Theatre from Smith College and an MFA in Lighting Design from Carnegie Mellon University. She is a proud member of IATSE USA 829.
Sydney Mayer
She/Her
BFA Dramaturgy 2020, MA Writing 2021
NYDAC Board Member since 2024
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Sydney Mayer is a dramaturg and marketer for commercial theater. She works at arts advertising agency AKA as a Partnerships & Marketing Manager, leading marketing and community engagement for Lincoln Center Theater and Broadway productions including & Juliet, Waiting for Godot, Ragtime, and Oedipus.
Evan Schild
He/Him
BFA Stage/Production Management 2020
NYDAC Board Member since ?
James Gallo
He/Him
BFA Production Technology 2023
NYDAC Board Member since 2024
Miranda Boodheshwar
She/Her
BFA Costume Design 2022
NYDAC Board Member since 2025
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Miranda Boodheshwar (Costume Designer) is a Guyanese-American costume designer and educator based in Brooklyn, NY. She received her BFA from Carnegie Mellon University and fine-tuned her skills as a costume apprentice at The Juilliard School. Miranda has worked with The Public Theater, The New Group, Atlantic Theater Company, Music Academy of the West, Minnesota Opera, Manhattan Classic Company, Montclair State University, Hunts Point Children’s Shakespeare Ensemble, Lees-McRae Summer Theatre, Quantum Theatre, and Circus Smirkus. She also works as a costume teacher and in-house designer at Saint Ann’s School and is an adjunct professor at Montclair State University. She is a proud member of USA 829 and Design Action.
Alexander Friedland
They/Them
BFA Stage/Production Management 2021
NYDAC Board Member since 2025
Katie Kirk
They/Them
MFA Dramatic Writing 2024
NYDAC Board Member since 2025
