OUR TEAM
VISIONARIES CREATING LIVING ART FOR THE COMMUNITIES WE SERVE
CHRISTIAN RODRIGUEZ, MA, MS
Principal & Founder
Christian founded Interfusion Festival under the Institute for Integrative Wellness (IFIW) in 2016. He completed his undergraduate studies in Public Management from Northern Arizona University (NAU), Magna Cum Laude. Christian returned to NAU to earn a Master in Administration with distinction, Public Executive emphasis, as well as a Master of Arts in Wellness Coaching from Maryland University of Integrative Health (MUIH). His commitment to integrative wellness includes a personal practice of mindfulness with emphasis on meditation and somatic movement. Christian is also a public health professional with over a decade and a half of public service.
LORENZO HAIRE
Nighttime Director
SARAH TAUB
Care Center Co-Director
Sarah Taub, Ph.D. (she/her), teaches relationship and community skills and helps groups deepen their intimacy. She facilitates group processes including consensus decision-making, business meetings and retreats, conflict resolution sessions, and ZEGG Forum, and has co-created consent policies and led consent support teams for retreats and festivals of 50 to 1500 people. Sarah has been organizing with Center for a New Culture since 2004, putting on multi-day camps and other events that create a culture based on awareness, compassion, and freedom rather than on fear and judgment. Since 2011, she has co-managed Abrams Creek Center, a retreat center and community in the mountains of West Virginia, where she now lives with her intimate network of co-creators. What excites Sarah most is holding space for the deepest group conflicts so that an even deeper level of connection, understanding, and creativity can emerge.
INDIGO DAWN
Consent Program Director
Indigo Dawn (they/them) is a Somatic Therapeutic Coach, Touch Therapist, and Cultural Activist who lives and works towards a world of joy, safety, and serenity for All. As founder and Director of the Consent Program for Interfusion Festival, they prevent & address consent incidents to seed growth, empowerment, and healing. Since 2016, they have led hundreds of life-changing workshops and retreats for anywhere from 10 to 2200 participants. As a therapeutic coach, they empower changemakers to break from the shackles of their past to create a life of deep love, embodied presence, and inspired action.
NICOLE BRUNO
Care Center Co-Director | Emotional Support Coordinator
Nicole Bruno (she/her) is an artist, writer, activist, coach, and mother. She strives to divest from grind culture while supporting others on their journey toward personal and collective liberation and joy. As the founder of Ruffled Feathers, a coaching and consulting company that supports the learning and UNlearning of cultural ideologies, her goal is to help people discover how the centering of our needs, wants, and desires facilitates healing and liberation for ourselves, our family, and the global community.
She specializes in DEI skill building for white allies, authentic relating and empathy building, healthy parent-child communication, adult ADHD, pleasure activism, and is a Psychedelic Integration Specialist.
As the Emotional Support Team Lead, she is excited to move from an Interfusion volunteer to supporting a team of highly qualified therapists and coaches to bring further safety, radical space, and joy to the entire community. In her spare time, she enjoys creating art, sitting on the board of her local UU congregation, and participating in the local Burning Man community. Nicole resides in Southern Maryland with her husband, 13-year-old daughter, and eight cats.
SHALON WHEELER
Community Volunteer Program Director
Shalon has been involved in the dance community for over 15 years. With the intent to grow her community and share passion for the dance, she has successfully organized, hosted, and co-hosted Kizomba and Urban Kiz weekenders, parties, and bootcamp classes taught by well sought-after international and North American artists. She is often praised for her dedication, seamless ability to find resolutions to problems, and ensuring that volunteers and registration are staffed and running smoothly.
Outside of dance, Shalon has studied psychology for 20 years. Understanding the human mind and how it affects everyday behaviors has been a driving force for her research and academic learnings. She holds an undergraduate degree in general psychology and a post graduate degree in crisis and management psychology. She has been teaching at the collegiate level for over 6 years.
MATTHEW RIVERA
Event Floor Manager
Matthew Rivera, also known as DJ MaZ-R, was born in New York and raised in Puerto Rico currently residing in Miami, Florida.Currently, Matthew works as an IT network and systems engineer, which is another of his passions. His travels allowed him to experience a plethora of diverse music styles and dances which further increased his love for music and dance which quickly catapulted him into Djing and teaching dance. As a result, he then began organizing regular dance socials and large weekenders for his local community bringing in both local and international dance instructors and DJs. Leaning on over 15 years in the entertainment business, Matthew has also added photography, videography, and audio preparation to his skillset. He is respected for the uniqueness, experience, and creativity that he brings to any event that he is involved in.
JERMAINE CORLEY
Operations Director
Jermaine Corley has served as the Operations Director for Interfusion Festival since 2019, where he works with staff to plan, coordinate, and execute the behind-the-scenes operations. He comes to the festival with 20 years of experience leading small and midsize software teams in the development of complex engineering solutions. As Operations Director, Jermaine brings his authentic and unique self to a role which he finds challenging yet rewarding and demands humility, creativity, flexibility, good humor, determination, and compassion. While his passion is Bachata and Kizomba music/dance, he is hoping that this year’s festival and beyond will present lots of opportunities for exploring Brazilian Zouk.
IVA VEST
Intimacy & Conscious Comms Director
ERIC SIPES
AcroYoga, Bodywork & Martial Arts Director
After moving to Baltimore in 2011 he was introduced to AcroYoga and it changed his life completely. Eric has trained with professionals from all over the world, and has spent literally thousands of hours practicing his craft. Eric believes that in order to be a great teacher you must also be an amazing student, he obtained a 200hr yoga certification from Baltimore Yoga Village before receiving his AcroYoga International certification, AcroRevolution certification, Lux Teacher training Certification, Thai Massage Certification, and more!
EMMA OLMEDO
Healing Arts, Wisdom & Science Director
EBONIE LEE
Partner Dance Director
Ebonie Lee is a Denver-based Brazilian Zouk Lambada dancer, performer & instructor. Ebonie has trained extensively in a variety of solo and partner dance modalities. Ebonie pursued dance at Williams College while majoring in Japanese. While interning at Washington, DC arts organizations, she added Contemporary, Jazz, Salsa and Mambo to her repertoire. Ebonie was introduced to Brazilian Zouk Lambada in 2010, training in DC, then in her hometown of NYC with ZoukNY and ZenZouk. She started teaching in 2015 in Atlanta, NYC and events nationwide.
Ebonie is passionate about Brazilian Zouk Lambada history, other African Diasporic dances and conscious movement techniques, incorporating various styles into her movement. She believes in the power of dance to connect and communicate, and the nourishment that creativity brings to life.
ÜMEYR SABHI
Expressive Arts Director
Ümeyr has served as the Director of the Conscious Dance and Live Music Program for Interfusion Festival since 2022. His life passion lies with the technology in each of our bodies, in continued research via somatic practices including yoga, meditation, conscious dance and physical theater. Ümeyr has been dancing Contact Improvisation, Ecstatic Dance and 5Rythms since 2016 and has witnessed the power of conscious dance through his own transformation and growth. Ümeyr organizes contact improvisation jams and has taught contact improvisation in Washington DC since 2021. Ümeyr is motivated to continue to bring forth transformative programming for Interfusion Festival.
ROSS LEWIN
Media Team Director
STEPHANIE PARCUS
Visual Arts Designer
STEPH COMPTON
Expo Director
As Expo Director and Catering Coordinator, Steph leads the charge in implementing innovative zero-waste practices and integrating sustainable solutions into large-scale events. She’s passionate about crafting unforgettable experiences at expos, and with a deep commitment to minimizing our environmental footprint.
Whether it’s sourcing local food-vendors, prioritizing reusable materials, or implementing “Bring Your Own” programs, she’s constantly seeking innovative ways to make sustainability a seamless part of every festival. Steph’s working with us to create an expo that’s not only impactful but kind to the planet!
ANTONIETTA ALFANO
Accessibility Coordinator
With love and passion for dance and connection, Antonietta Alfano (She/They) from Rochester, NY has been a professional dancer within her own company, “BallerinaGoddess Entertainment” for over 20 years with a niche in ballet, interpretive dance, rope and aerial arts. To add to her dance repertoire (15+ styles!), she found a deep love for Kizomba after hearing about the roots and being able to feel the music deeply, especially while leading. Finally, when she found fusion in late 2019, it was recognized that it was mostly about connection and movement regardless of the inability to hear. Living with profound Deafness since birth, she was also nonverbal (until three years old). With this, Antonietta has only known movement and to memorize dance moves as she is able to intensely feel the music. She can almost BECOME the music with visuals of others, vibrations, energy of the dance partner and connecting non-verbally.
Being a Deaf dancer in the hearing dance community, she is always advocating for accessibility, equality, and cultural awareness in the circus, dance and kink communities. Antonietta is so excited to join the Interfusion board as your accessibility coordinator with the experience of coordinating access for other conventions around the nation.
JESSICA THOMAS
Medical Team Coordinator
Jessica has been a registered nurse for over 11 years working in various in-patient hospital units ranging from Med/Surg to Per-operative to Oncology. Working currently in Columbus, Ohio for The Ohio State University, Jessica has had experience as a charge nurse, clinical educator, and case manager. She is respected as a valued member amongst the inter-disciplinary teams and is described as having the ability to remain calm during stressful situations.
Being a lifelong dancer, Jessica has trained in classical ballet along with various Latin and African genres. Jessica has volunteered at several community dance events: working with registration and artist care. She is excited and honored to return for a second year attending Interfusion Festival and serving as your Medical Team Coordinator.
VERITY ROSE
Guest Service Coordinator
Verity Rose (she/her), originally from Seattle, WA, now based in Iowa City, IA, is passionate about dance, event organizing, and her 9.5 year old dog, Balou. Her dance journey began at age 3 with tap and ballet, sparking a lifelong passion for movement. For a couple weeks after her first class the first thing she’d ask her mom upon waking up would be, “Am I going to dance class today?” After nine years of training with Gotta Dance Company, she explored Lindy Hop and Balboa, eventually discovering a deep passion for Brazilian Zouk at Bailame festival in 2019.
In August 2021 she moved to Iowa City, and In April 2022 she founded V Rose Productions in order to bring Zouk to the community. Since then, she has successfully hosted over 13 dance weekenders in Iowa City, Fairfield, Des Moines, Chicago, Omaha, and Milwaukee. She prides herself on curating community-, growth-, and heart-centric events that are financially accessible and that gives intentional space for everyone (including featured artists) to take care of themselves.
The profound joy and positive impact she’s experienced from Brazilian Zouk drives her mission to share the art with as many people as possible across the Midwest and beyond through teaching and organizing. She dreams of soon teaching and organizing events and retreats around the world.