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ZERO LATENCY PUSHES IMMERSIVE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY FORWARD WITH NEXT GENERATION PLATFORM RELEASE, AVAILABLE GLOBALLY NOW

Zero Latency

Zero Latency, the company that introduced the world to free-roam VR, has partnered with tech giant HTC to launch a first-of-its-kind multiplayer immersive entertainment platform. For the first time ever, groups as large as eight can discover Zero Latency’s award-winning experiences with nothing more than a headset – the game-changing HTC VIVE Focus 3. The new platform uses an exclusive remote rendering stack and the latest 6E wireless technology to seamlessly stream 5K VR to up to 8 players simultaneously, delivering up to 16x performance over traditional all-in-one headsets. With no backpack computers, sensors, or other distractions, Zero Latency’s world-first platform offers players the deepest, most effortless immersive experience available today. “With this new partnership, we’re taking a giant leap in the virtual entertainment space,” said Tim Ruse, chief executive officer at Zero Latency. “The evolution to remote rendering and 6E streaming not only improves performance, but removes the need for backpack PCs, cables, and other player distractions–it’s the most streamlined, natural experience yet for both our customers and our operators. Zero Latency has always invested heavily in innovation, and we’re excited to once again push the industry forward in partnership with HTC.” Zero Latency’s new platform is the best way yet to discover Zero Latency’s award-winning library of experiences, including Ubisoft’s AAA exclusive, Far Cry VR; cooperative zombie survival adventure, Undead Arena; mind-bending space mission, Singularity; and the all-action competitive world of Sol Raiders VR eSports. Players can take advantage of Zero Latency’s custom-designed VR gun controller to get in the thick of the action; the company is also investigating the use of hand-tracking in future titles. “Our customers often tell us Zero Latency is the best VR experience they’ve ever had,” said Scott Vandonkelaar, chief technology officer at Zero Latency. “Delivering experiences as deep and interactive as ours has never been possible with an all-in-one headset, so we built our own solution. Remote rendering and 6E wireless streaming means we can deliver our experiences at previously impossible performance levels, with less technology and fewer player distractions than ever. We’re blown away by the results and can’t wait for customers to experience it for themselves.” The new generation of Zero Latency is made possible in part through an exciting partnership with VR technology veterans HTC. “Partnering with Zero Latency to expand customer access to truly immersive virtual entertainment is a massive win for the industry,” said Thomas Dexmier, HTC Vive ANZ - Country Manager. “Bringing the VIVE Focus 3 headset to a company with the size and scale of Zero Latency reduces complicated hardware needs and ensures an interruption-free experience for players worldwide.” The VIVE Focus 3 headset brings a new set of unique capabilities to players, including: An innovative design: The VIVE Focus 3 is the most ergonomic and comfortable VR headset yet with an innovative counterweight design with equivalent front-back balance, perfect for intense, extended gameplay sessions. The new headset suits a wide range of both face shapes and vision types – including those with glasses High-resolution video: The headset features industry-leading 5K resolution (a combined resolution of 4896 x 2448 pixels), a wide 120-degree field of view, and a smooth 90-hertz refresh rate, delivering crisp and natural visuals Immersive sound: Featuring dual microphones with noise cancellation, the headset delivers 3D spatial sound and sound leakage reduction for unparalleled immersion Map sharing and LBE mode: Heavily customized for the location-based entertainment (LBE) industry, the VIVE Focus 3 headset allows users to create boundaries based on the available space and operate accurate co-location tracking to deliver a realistic, free-roaming experience Designed for high-traffic venues: Made with durable materials, the VIVE Focus 3 delivers long-lasting VR performance with its swappable battery, dramatically reducing the operational complexity in the venues. The headset is easy to clean with its magnetic cushions. And in an effort to optimize the customer turnaround, HTC’s patented quick-release button allows users to easily put on the headset to start playing without delays. For more information about Zero Latency, go to https://zerolatencyvr.com/. ### ABOUT ZERO LATENCY: Zero Latency is a global leader in immersive entertainment, working at the cutting edge of VR and location-based experiences. With 57 venues across 26 countries, Zero Latency is the largest free-roam VR network in the world. Since opening the world’s first free-roam VR venue in 2015, Zero Latency has thrilled more than 2 million players worldwide. Over the past year alone the company has seen a 124% jump in games played within the U.S. and 288% growth globally. Zero Latency is continuously innovating to raise the bar for customers, owners, and operators. Other first include: Partnering with Microsoft in 2019 to develop “inside out” tracking technology Launching Sol Raiders in 2019, the world’s first free-roam eSports game Releasing the AAA exclusive Far Cry VR experience alongside Ubisoft in 2021 SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS: Instagram and TikTok: @zerolatencyvr LinkedIn: Zero Latency VR Contact Details Jive PR + Digital Ashley Areeda +1 734-891-4013 aareeda@jiveprdigital.com Company Website https://zerolatencyvr.com/

May 19, 2022 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Play Globally Inc. Welcomes Stephen Crystal to its Advisory Board and Partners with SCCG Management

Play Globally

Play Globally, Inc., a worldwide provider of free-to-play gaming innovations, today proudly announced the appointment of Stephen Crystal to its advisory board as well as a new partnership with Crystal’s firm, SCCG Management. This partnership brings additional expertise in sports betting, iGaming, sports team marketing, affiliate marketing, intellectual property protection, product commercialization, esports, capital formation, M&A, joint ventures, casino management and legal affairs in the casino and iGaming industry. Crystal will join veteran Advisory Board members Susan Hensel and Victor Pronk, providing over 75 years of collective experience across the sports betting and iGaming space. These globally recognized leaders provide high-value strategic prowess to Play Globally’s seasoned executive team as the company prepares to launch its LuckyFans prototype. LuckyFans drives live and recorded in-play sports data into a poker engine to determine the outcome of a fast-paced poker game. LuckyFans is free-to-play and leverages advanced machine learning and GPS technology for contextual fan engagement, sweepstakes, and prizes. SCCG was founded by Stephen Crystal who has served as President/CEO of multiple casino holding and public gaming companies. SCCG brings a vast international network of strategic client partners including top sportsbooks and racebooks, sports and racing leagues, fantasy sports and rewards entities, communications and marketing platforms, authentication technology and casino entities. Crystal has worked as an investor and advisor on financial and M&A projects totaling over $4B and served as the President, owner and operator of four major Las Vegas casinos. In addition to Crystal, the SCCG team also includes David Hanlon who served as a C-level executive at gaming giants Caesars World, Inc., Harrah’s, the Rio, and IGT in addition to serving as an Advisor to the Wharton Entrepreneurial Program. Pierre Cadena also plays a key role on the SCCG team, having helped to position Playtika, Otter Media and Crunchyroll for acquisition, each totaling over $1B. During his tenure at Caesars Interactive Entertainment as the VP of Strategy and Corporate Development, Pierre helped build Playtika, one of the world’s largest social mobile games. “The addition of Stephen to the Play Globally Advisory Board and the addition of his SCCG team to Play Globally’s team provides our company with a wealth of expertise in our space,” says Play Globally’s President/CEO Stephen Dunham. “We’re excited to partner with such well-respected industry leaders and to join their global network of strategic partners.” “Play Globally’s ingenuity and strategic role in the sports betting space presents a unique opportunity for leagues, teams, fans, and aligned entities worldwide,” says Stephen Crystal. “The combination of Play Globally’s existing intellectual property, their executive and advisory team, new upcoming technologies, and strategic positioning in the industry, particularly when combined with SCCG’s extensive network and capabilities, makes this opportunity particularly exciting.” About Play Globally, Inc. Play Globally, Inc. is a developer of innovative free-to-play games that utilize live, real-time in-play sports and racing data to determine the results of a live poker game. The company’s LuckyFans product line is scheduled for release in 2022 for a variety of professional sports and racing contests, providing users the opportunity to win real money sweepstakes prizes. LuckyFans is legal in all 50 states and most jurisdictions around the world. About SCCG Management SCCG Management is a consultancy that specializes in sports betting, iGaming, sports marketing, affiliate marketing, technology, intellectual property protection, product commercialization, esports, capital formation, M&A, joint ventures, casino management, and governmental and legal affairs for the casino and iGaming industry. Contact Details Alex shapiro +1 732-770-9395 ashapiro@hotpaperlantern.com Company Website https://www.playglobally.com/

May 19, 2022 09:01 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Retention Cloud Leader CleverTap Acquires Leanplum

CleverTap

CleverTap, the world’s No.1 retention cloud, today announced it has signed definitive agreements to fully acquire San Francisco based Leanplum, a leading multi-channel customer engagement platform, for an undisclosed amount. This acquisition will make CleverTap a truly global company with development centers and customer-facing and success teams across North America, Europe, Latin America, India, South East Asia and the Middle East. Combining the product stack of the two organizations, this acquisition will enhance CleverTap’s capabilities and take its total customer base to over 1200 customers in more than 100 countries around the world. The deal is expected to close in Q2 of 2022. Together CleverTap and Leanplum will work with digital brands to help increase their users’ engagement, retention and lifetime value by making every user experience hyper-personalized, relevant and contextual at scale in real time. As more businesses become digital-first, brands need to serve their users with delightful moments where they are, when they want and on their preferred channel. CleverTap and Leanplum will now bring real-time hyper-personalization, A/B testing and increased scalability to its omnichannel engagement, analytics and segmentation product lines. As a result, growth and marketing teams globally will now be able to utilize the only end-to-end user engagement and retention cloud platform, enabling them to break down user communication silos and increase the overall lifetime value of each user. “We are seeing a seismic shift in the marketing technology landscape,” says Sunil Thomas, CleverTap Co-founder and Executive Chairman. “Users today demand to be treated as individuals, and this has forced brands to change how they engage with them. CleverTap and Leanplum have both purposely built for a mobile-centric omnichannel world.” The acquisition, he says, combines platforms and teams to deliver the best behavior analytics, segmentation, and engagement tools that will enable digital brands to build valuable, long-term relationships with their users. “Our combined strength will be a game-changing force for user engagement, retention and monetization, creating tremendous value for our customers. I am very excited to welcome Leanplum to the CleverTap family.” “When we started Leanplum, our vision was to meet customers' real-time needs at the cutting edge of technology,” says Momchil Kyurkchiev, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer, Leanplum. “We have succeeded in that, but as the market has matured, to fully meet the increasing demands put on brands today, we needed to bring in the best analytics, segmentation, and engagement tools, to help our customers build valuable, long-term relationships with their customers. This is why joining forces with CleverTap makes the most sense, and I am excited about the combined capabilities we will now bring to Leanplum customers worldwide.” “I am looking forward to the journey with Leanplum. This coming together with Leanplum marks a monumental moment across the marketing technology landscape,” says Sidharth Malik, CleverTap Chief Executive Officer. “This bridges the gap created by multiple martech tools and customer data platforms and will meet the growing needs of user-obsessed digital brands in a much more efficient way. Our ‘better together’ vision is about integrating our cumulative strengths around people, process and technology to cement our position as the global leader in the user engagement and retention space. Joining forces allows us to bring advanced product and technology capabilities as brands strive to do live segmentation, anticipate user intentions and actions, automate and deploy real-time campaigns for the highest possible conversions, all from one single dashboard.” About CleverTap CleverTap is the modern, integrated retention cloud that empowers digital consumer brands to increase customer retention and lifetime value. For brands that understand and value user retention, CleverTap drives context and individualization with the help of a unified and deep data layer, AI/ML powered insights and automation. Customers around the world representing over 10,000 apps, including Vodafone Idea, SonyLIV, Daimler, Gojek, Carousell, and Premier League, trust CleverTap to achieve their retention and engagement goals, growing their long term revenue. Backed by leading venture capital firms including Sequoia India, Tiger Global Management, and Accel, the company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, with offices in Mumbai, Singapore, and Dubai. For more information, visit clevertap.com or follow on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Forward-Looking Statements Some of the statements in this press release may represent CleverTap’s belief in connection with future events and may be forward-looking statements, or statements of future expectations based on currently available information. CleverTap cautions that such statements are naturally subject to risks and uncertainties that could amount in the actual result being absolutely different from the results anticipated by the statements mentioned in the press release. Factors such as the development of general economic conditions affecting our business, future market conditions, our ability to maintain cost advantages, uncertainty with respect to earnings, corporate actions, client concentration, reduced demand, liability or damages in our service contracts, unusual catastrophic loss events, war, political instability, changes in government policies or laws, legal restrictions impacting our business, impact of pandemic, epidemic, any natural calamity and other factors that are naturally beyond our control, changes in the capital markets and other circumstances may cause the actual events or results to be materially different, from those anticipated by such statements. CleverTap does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness or updated or revised status of such statements. Therefore, in no case whatsoever will CleverTap and its affiliate companies be liable to anyone for any decision made or action taken in conjunction with the information and/or statements in this press release or any related damages. Contact Details Sony Shetty sony@clevertap.com Company Website https://clevertap.com/

May 19, 2022 08:17 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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ForeverLawn’s Black and Green Grass Machine Returns with Sam Hunt Racing at Texas Motor Speedway

ForeverLawn

ForeverLawn, Inc. ® is continuing their sponsorship of Jeffrey Earnhardt and the “Black and Green Grass Machine” at the SRS Distribution 250 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Saturday, May 21, 2022. This race, the fifth in ForeverLawn’s multi-race deal with Earnhardt and Sam Hunt Racing (SHR), will be streamed live from Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, TX, at 1:30 PM ET on FS1. “ForeverLawn is thrilled to have Jeffrey Earnhardt back in the SHR No. 26 this weekend in Texas,” says Derek Taylor, head of ForeverLawn-NASCAR relations. “Our past performances show we can compete at the highest level, and we are confident in the team and equipment Sam Hunt Racing brings to the track. We’re excited to join our Texas dealers in cheering on the Black and Green Grass Machine and anticipate an amazing race day.” Earnhardt will pilot the No. 26 ForeverLawn Toyota GR Supra with a revamped version of the 2022 Black and Green Grass Machine paint scheme. Continuing their ongoing sponsorship participation alongside ForeverLawn are the Accredited Petroleum Association, Precision Products, STR, and LifeGR. “I’m really excited to get back into the ForeverLawn Black and Green Grass Machine with Sam Hunt Racing,” says Jeffrey Earnhardt. “I think our performance at Talladega and SHR’s showing at Darlington makes Texas a great opportunity to go out there and compete for a win. The team is pumped and we’re all ready to get rolling!” Viewers can follow Earnhardt and the ForeverLawn car by watching on FS1 or on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook using #blackandgreengrassmachine. About ForeverLawn ForeverLawn ® improves spaces and communities through innovative synthetic grass solutions. The premium choice for synthetic surfacing, each product is engineered to solve unique consumer needs and desires while maintaining superior standards and natural aesthetics. Want to be a part of something bigger? Learn how you can be a person of impact through business ownership opportunities with ForeverLawn. For more information, call 866.992.7876, or visit foreverlawn.com. Contact Details ForeverLawn, Inc. Julia Kontur +1 330-499-8873 julia@foreverlawn.com Company Website https://www.foreverlawn.com/

May 18, 2022 12:47 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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viBe Theater Experience Walks the Talk and Promotes from Within

viBe Theater Experience

Contact Details Cheryl Overton +1 917-373-3514 cheryl@cheryloverton.com Company Website https://www.vibetheater.org

May 18, 2022 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Over 50,000 Meals Distributed to Homeless after Sir Paul McCartney Licenses Song to Homeless Charity, with support from Iconic Songwriter Mike Stoller

The Man/Kind Initiative Inc.

On any given night, over half a million homeless people in the United States go to bed hungry. Because of major support from Mike Stoller and wife Corky Hale, and the gift of music from Sir Paul McCartney, TheMan/Kind Initiative announced that they had distributed 50,000 meals to the homeless and needy in the Los Angeles area. When iconic songwriter Mike Stoller (Leiber and Stoller) along with his wife, activist and musician Corky Hale decided to support The Man/Kind Initiative’s #CovidKindness outreach to the homeless, they never expected that Sir Paul McCartney would be joining them in this mission. “ We reached out to Sir Paul’s office to ask permission to use his song ‘Junk’ from his first solo album”, explained Man/Kind Initiative’s founder and CEO Richard Stellar. “The song reminded me of a homeless guy who lived out of his car at the end of the street where I grew up, and it always played in my head when we were feeding the homeless. So, I wrote to Paul in care of his company, and he responded that he was ‘happy to give us the song’. I’m pretty sure that having Mike and Corky on board didn’t hurt.” Mike Stoller commented: “Richard Stellar of the Man/Kind Initiative is the kind of activist who collects and personally hands food to the homeless where they are—in the streets and under overpasses. Corky and I are in awe of his energy and his compassion, and we’re thrilled that Paul lent his support to the fantastic work of the organization Richard leads.” The video made from Sir Paul’s song and voiced by actor and activist Anne-Marie Johnson got this small non-profit on the radar of FoodCycle, LA. From this, The Man/Kind Initiative was able to affiliate with distribution partners like Bristol Farms, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. To learn more about The Man/Kind initiative and to support their work with the homeless, please visit mankindhomeless.com. See Paul McCartney / Man/Kind Initiative video at mankindhomeless.com Or on YouTube here. The Man/Kind Initiative is a California non-profit corporation whose mission is to provide food directly to the homeless where they live, in the streets. They also distribute EDAR (Everyone Deserves A Roof) mobile shelters. To learn more about The Man/Kind Initiative and to support their work with the homeless, please visit mankindhomeless.com About the principals (available for on air or phone-in/Zoom interviews - contact Richard Stellar - richard@mankindinitiative.org or 213-369-1097 to schedule) Richard Stellar, founder of The Man/Kind Initiative is known for his ‘vituperative blogs’ - Vanity Fair on social issues impacting the motion picture and television industry. Richard has won several first place Los Angeles Press Club National Journalism and Entertainment Journalism awards. He was instrumental in the successful fight for motion picture industry elderly and won Los Angeles Press Club’s Best Facebook Group for his online group AGE: Activists for Geriatric Equality. Richard has worked on campaigns that fight anti-Semitism, systemic racism and is the producer of TEARS: The Event Against Racism and Stereotyping. Anne-Marie Johnson, past Vice President of the Screen Actors Guild is a well-known actor and activist. Anne-Marie represented the Screen Actors Guild as a national board member and 4 term First Vice President from 1997 - 2013. She was the first African American to be elected to that position in the union’s history. Anne-Marie was honored to be presented the 2016 Screen Actors Guild Ralph Morgan Award, the highest honor an actor can receive for service to their union and the first African American to receive the honor. Contact Details The Man/Kind Initiative Richard Stellar +1 213-369-1097 richard@mankindinitiative.org Company Website https://mankindhomeless.com/

May 17, 2022 08:45 AM Pacific Daylight Time

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BBQ Lovers, Start Your Appetites! Everett and Jones Opening at Graton Resort & Casino

Graton Resort & Casino

Sonoma County’s Graton Resort & Casino announced today that it will open an Everett and Jones Barbeque restaurant in the summer of 2022. It will be the newest addition to the Everett and Jones Barbeque family of restaurants. “Everett and Jones will be a great addition to our diverse family of restaurants,” said Mario Maesano, vice president of marketing of Graton Resort & Casino, the 200-room, 65-acre resort with a full-service gaming experience. “Everett and Jones has long been recognized as one of the top barbecue restaurants in the Bay Area. We are thrilled to welcome them to Graton Resort and Casino.” Renowned for its signature homemade beef links and pork ribs, Everett and Jones started in Oakland with their first location opening at 92nd Avenue. In 1974, Everett and Jones opened a second restaurant on the corner of University and San Pablo Avenues in Berkeley, and a third opened in 1975. Popular dishes include chicken, pork ribs, beef links, beef brisket with side dishes, mac & cheese, BBQ beans, potato salad and green beans. Founder’s story Dorothy Everett started Everett and Jones in Oakland in 1973 with her eight daughters, son and son-in-law, Jones. Dorothy realized if she wanted to get authentic barbeque sauce in the Bay Area, she would need to make it herself. Dorothy and her husband, Cleveland, moved from Alabama to California in 1952 looking for a better life. When Cleveland and Dorothy separated eight years later, Dorothy took care of the children and worked part-time tending a smoke pit at Jenkin’s Bar-B-Que on the famous 7 th Street in West Oakland. She later left Jenkins and became the manager for Flint’s Barbeque. Dorothy borrowed money from her best friend Cora and Harry Mock, of Fair Deal Market to start her own barbecue restaurant, and the first location of Everett and Jones opened. Dorothy named the restaurant after the maiden names of her children. Guide to the Good Life named Everett and Jones one of the top five of the 2022 Best Barbecue Restaurants in San Francisco/Bay Area. Everett and Jones’ “Super Q Barbeque Sauce” is a staple at all three restaurants and available wherever barbecue sauces are sold. About Graton Resort & Casino Located in Sonoma County, Graton Resort & Casino has a commanding presence among the rolling hills of Northern California's wine country. Owned and operated by the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, Graton Resort & Casino features table games, the latest slot machines, upscale and casual dining, plus entertainment options for visitors and locals alike. For more information, please visit www.gratonresortcasino.com. ### Contact Details Landis Communications Inc. Brianne Miller +1 650-575-7727 graton@landispr.com Company Website https://www.gratonresortcasino.com/

May 17, 2022 08:30 AM Pacific Daylight Time

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Telos Offers Fast-Tracked Grants To Support Terra Developers

Telos Foundation

The Telos community offers its sympathy and full support to Terra developers for the hardships endured during this tumultuous period. In light of this, Telos welcomes all Terra dApps to join the 12 million TLOS Ignite grant and ventures program. The team will fast-track applications from Terra dApps seeking refuge with investments, marketing support, and technical assistance. Terra developers are encouraged to communicate with Telos' team via Discord, Telegram, or apply for a grant directly through the following link: https://ignite.telos.net “We feel for the talented teams and projects that have fallen victim to the collapse of Terra. We know many of you are long-term builders of the Web 3 future, and for those that are looking for a blockchain that shares your long-term vision, you will find an amazing home at Telos.” AJ Dinger, Telos Head of Business Development If the abundance of congested, pausing, and, more recently, failing blockchain networks has taught us anything, it's that dApp developers must choose wisely when finding a home to deploy their dApps. The Telos Mainnet has been live with zero downtime since 2018, can finalize a billion transactions per day with zero carbon footprint, and is home to the world's most robust EVM. We look forward to working with LUNA developers to help foster uncharted growth with the support of our team and a purely grassroots community. About Telos Live since 2018, Telos Blockchain (ticker: TLOS) is a third-generation smart contract platform that offers compatibility with Solidity, Vyper, and Native C++ smart contracts. Telos provides full EVM/Solidity support with fixed low-cost gas fees and no front running and, more uniquely, offers a path to fee-less transactions via its robust native C++ smart contract support. Even while operating as a Net Zero Blockchain, Telos still sustainably supports hundreds of millions of transactions per day, produces blocks in 0.5 second intervals (on a first-in-first-out basis, eliminating front running on the network), and securely validates transactions via a credibly neutral and globally decentralized block producer network. As a result, the Telos blockchain has the throughput needed to facilitate and scale the thriving Metaverse / Web 3.0 landscape better than any other blockchain in existence. Its performance is unrivaled in the industry and was purpose-built to offer speed, scalability, cost-effectiveness, credible decentralization, and end-user fairness. Telos harnesses its power by utilizing tight C++ on the frontend and a custom WASM runtime environment on the backend. About The Foundation The Telos Foundation is a Decentralized Autonomous Organization established as a promotional and funding body to advance the Telos Blockchain Network and provide support to network applications. Contact Details The Team hello@telosfoundation.io Company Website https://www.telos.net/

May 17, 2022 10:06 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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viBe Theater Experience Names New Co-Executive Directors Beryl Briane Ford and Michelan Le’Monier

viBe Theater Experience

viBe Theater Experience’s Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Beryl Briane Ford and Michelan Le’Monier as the organization’s new Executive Co-Directors. The organization has been under their interim leadership in this capacity since November 2021, and viBe’s Board unanimously approved their permanent appointments in March 2022. Ford and Le’Monier are well suited to lead viBe in its next chapter, having lived, institutional experience and demonstrated success in growing the organization’s operations, budget and programming. They are poised to shape, manage and inspire viBe's advancement as collaborators and in partnership with its talented staff and deeply committed Board of Directors and Junior Board. “I’m very ecstatic to be co-leading this organization with Beryl Briane! Ever since my participation in the viBeApprentices program in 2017, I knew that I wanted to contribute something to this community of artists and being in this position really brings my experiences as a participant and as a staff member full circle. As Co-Executive Director, my vision is for abundance to be a lifestyle, not a privilege for Black girls, young women, and femmes through art and wellness. viBe has grown immensely over the past few years and it’s my goal to continue to guide that growth with the support of our Board and Staff."- Michelan Le’Monier “I firmly believe that investing in the leadership of Black girls, young women, and gender expansive youth is one of many critical pathways to liberation. I am eager to build and sustain these pathways in my new role as Co-Executive Director. I came to viBe in October 2020 from The Museum of Modern Art with a desire to support viBe’s larger mission of creating safer spaces for youth to make art that’s deeply rooted in their lived experiences. It’s an honor to be amplifying their work alongside Michelan, viBe’s Staff & Board. I am thrilled to be co-leading an organization that’s responsible for nurturing the artistic & professional praxis of emerging artists, administrators, and educators. I look forward to continuing this legacy.”- Beryl Briane This shared leadership model is a living manifestation of viBe’s ethos of investing in and activating leadership opportunities for young people. So much of viBe’s work uniquely positions the organization in the larger nonprofit sector, cultivating pathways for program participants to become arts practitioners in the field, and leaders in their own right. In fact, the co-executive leadership model is not new to viBe – the organization was co-founded and led by Dana Edell and Chandra Thomas when they were both under the age of 25. Ford and Le’Monier look forward to continuing the organization’s nearly 20 year commitment to centering the voices of young Black women. Both Ford and LeMonier have tenured histories as leaders within viBe Theater Experience, having been trained and mentored by former Executive Director, Toya Lillard, as Development Associate and Operations Director respectively. “As Board Chair, I couldn’t be more proud of viBe’s growth and impact — and our new co-leaders are proof positive that our way WORKS! Inclusive and dynamic programming, an unwavering purpose, implicit trust in Black women, centering lived experiences and cultivating leaders from within is what we practice and preach.” Cheryl Overton Ford and LeMonier are committed to continuing viBe’s impact within the theater community both locally in NYC and nationally, bringing greater visibility and supporting more young people who seek to share their artistic genius with the world around them. They’re committed to deepening the organization’s advocacy work in its core areas of focus: racial equity, gender & healing justice, youth and women’s empowerment, and financial equity. Together, they will strive to ensure that viBe’s at the forefront of these issues through key partnerships with individuals, community and impact-oriented organizations, and mission-aligned corporations. With a clear vision for the present and a larger vision for viBe’s future, their appointment will preserve viBe’s historical impact while also leading the organization into a new era of growth. Their appointment demonstrates a deep commitment to centering Black women’s leadership in the arts. As an organization, viBe is dedicated to building pathways for the professional and artistic advancement of Black women. This appointment not only exemplifies this investment, it‘s also a clarion call to the larger community to consider and build up the systems and structures that will ensure the success and advancement of Black women in the arts. viBe Theater Experience produces original theater, music and media written and performed by NYC teens, young women and nonbinary youth of color about their lived experiences. For more information, visit www.vibetheater.org For downloadable high-resolution images, visit vibetheater.org/press-room Contact Details viBe Theater Experience Cheryl Overton, Board Chair +1 917-373-3514 cheryl@cheryloverton.com viBe Theater Experience viBe Marketing & Communications Team us@vibetheater.org Company Website https://www.vibetheater.org

May 17, 2022 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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