Ashley Marinaccio is a director, writer, and performer who creates work that challenges the status quo. She is dedicated to documenting the socio-political issues that define our times and transforms the way we see the world. Her theatrical work has been seen off-Broadway (Rattlestick, Joe's Pub, Primary Stages, Culture Project), at TED conferences, The White House, The Apollo, United Nations and on tour throughout the United States and Europe. She is a co-founder/director of Girl Be Heard and Co-Op Theatre East. Ashley is working on her Ph.D. in Theatre and Performance at the CUNY Graduate Center where her scholarly work and practice focus on theatre in conflict and war zones. She holds her M.A. in Performance Studies from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and BA in theatre directing and sociology/anthropology with minors in women/gender and Middle Eastern from Pace University.