Makers with a Mission
Aiden Ardine
Aiden Ardine is a writer who has perfected the art of margarita making to support his traveling habit. Growing up in a big family as the fourth of six children naturally lended itself towards a passion for being with people. A Rutgers graduate with degrees in English and Religion, Aiden has spent the last few years since graduation honing in on the skills and values he holds most dear: writing, traveling, helping others, and experiencing all the world has to offer.
Aiden is very excited to be a part of Unmuted Stories and looks forward to the opportunities to create, to travel, and to meet new people. Most of all, he is looking forward to helping others and cultivating a diverse community of compassionate and progressive individuals.
Peter Arriaza
Pete Arriaza is a self-taught musician, illustrator, and designer. He spends much of his free time writing songs and has composed the music for two musicals with his close friend and fellow storyteller, Trevor Stankiewicz. When he’s not jamming on his guitar or filling sketchbooks with doodles, you can find him in a yoga studio or on an ultimate frisbee field.
Despite his artistic tilt, Pete graduated with from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in mechanical engineering. With Unmuted Stories, he seeks to understand how science and technology can affect change within a larger social issue and will share his findings through graphic novels, infographics, and music for film and theater.
Jozben Barrett
Jozben Barrett is a Los Angeles-based actor, director, producer, educator, and event emcee. He was a mentee of James Avery and has continued to promote his vision for race and gender equality in both theater and film. During his work with Avery, Jozben founded and now serves as Artistic Director of The Depth of Black Art, a multidisciplinary arts organization that develops work essential in creating and documenting untold and under-told stories of the African and African-American experience.
Jozben is a seasoned teacher for children and youth in the field of theatre arts throughout Los Angeles. He is a graduate of the California Institute of the Arts School of Theater M.F.A. Acting Program and holds a B.A. in Theatre Arts from California State University, Northridge.
Molly Henderson
Molly Henderson is a researcher and non-profit coordinator. She holds a Bachelor’s in American Studies and Urban Studies from Northwestern University and is interested in urban and suburban education systems, museum curation, and alternative educational programming. She loves libraries, cookbooks, and feminism.
While reluctant to refer to herself as an artist, Molly is inspired by the creative power of this team and thrilled to be a part of it. She grew up in Columbia, Maryland and currently lives in New Haven, Connecticut.
Brittany Layton
Brittany is a designer who is dedicated to finding balance and doing good. She has an irrational fondness of her hometown, Columbus, Ohio where she ran around as a child and then later attended The Ohio State University. There, she discovered her love of small groups of people banding together to accomplish big things, which eventually led her to the Unmuted Stories team.
While she is Midwest born and raised, she now resides in San Francisco. She loves experimenting and cultivating growth, which can manifest anywhere from building digital products, to taking care of her plant babies, to picking up (and sometimes putting down) new hobbies.
Trevor Stankiewicz
Trevor Stankiewicz is a writer, filmmaker, and artist. In addition to these creative pursuits, he is also a world traveler, a fast reader, and a dessert innovator. He founded Unmuted Stories in 2017 to create art that both entertains and informs.
His first full-length play, The Darfur Compromised, was conceived during his senior year at Cornell University. It debuted at The Cherry Lane Theatre in New York City and made its international debut in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He believes in family, the power of comedy, and the ocean.
Sue-Jean Sung
Sue-Jean (with a hyphen capital J) responds instinctually to Sue. She was born outside of Chicago and raised in coastal New Jersey. After graduating from Cornell University and spending two years in San Francisco, she is now living and learning in Santa Cruz.
She believes the secret to achieving meaningful change resides in the intersection of creative arts and activism, which is exactly what drew her to being part of Unmuted Stories. Experiences that make her feel small, like floating in the ocean or being part of a movement, make her feel whole.