2026-2027 BIPOC Critics Lab Cohort

The Public Theater is thrilled to announce that cultural critic Jose Solís’ BIPOC Critics Lab will be going bi-coastal! After successful cohorts for the past three years, The Public is honored to continue Solís’ commitment to creating an educational space for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) writers in the realm of cultural criticism--this time with our friends at The Old Globe in San Diego.

Partnering with the renowned Old Globe across the country will allow the opportunity for even more individuals to be impacted by this program’s ability to jumpstart their careers in arts journalism.

Meet the 2026-27 BIPOC Critics Lab Cohort! Over the next season at The Public, cohort members will train under Jose Solís and guest speakers from the journalism field, culminating their training by completing a commissioned piece.

Read the commissions.

Learn more about the BIPOC Critics Lab.

2026-2027 COHORT

DINA ABDULHADI

DINA ABDULHADI is a Palestinian writer and ex-scientist from the US South. She writes about the climate crisis and her dreams for a liberated Palestine. A 2024-2025 Emerge-Surface-Be Fellow at The Poetry Project, her work has been published by Room, Reckoning, Breakwater Review, The Worcester Review, Brooklyn Poets, Mizna, and Haymarket Books.

KATANA DUMONT

KATANA DUMONT is a San Diego-based writer and content strategist with more than seven years of professional writing experience. Her love of theater began as a kid, when she saw a local production of “West Side Story” and soon started performing in community theater. She has since built a career writing about culture, entertainment, personal finance, and public policy, and is now bringing that experience to theater criticism. She enjoys seeing stories unfold live and being part of the conversations that follow. She is excited to join the BIPOC Critics Lab to learn more about theater journalism and develop her voice as a critic.

PAMELA FORDHAM

PAMELA FORDHAM is an educator and writer in Western New York. Before retiring, she taught English/Language Arts, as well as theatre and public speaking classes.  Pam also created and taught a Race in America elective. Her most recent publication is Who Will Tell My Story? Finding Hope for the Best (and Worst) Days of Your Life.  The memoir explores the intersections of race, grief, motherhood, teaching, and hope. Pam has also worked as a substitute librarian and as an actor in several professional theater productions. She is committed to developing her ability to tell hope-filled, powerful stories. Follow Pam on Instagram @pamfordham or visit www.pamelafordham.com

nancy jie huang <黄洁>

nancy jie huang <黄洁> is a writer and death doula. She is obsessed with literary psychoanalysis, fine art in the digital age, and public cemetery design. She has received fellowships from VONA, Lambda Literary, Sewanee Writers Conference, and Vermont Studio Center. She has a poetry MFA from NYU and is writing a book about folklore. 

JULIETTE LIN

JULIETTE LIN is a playwright and dramaturg attending UC San Diego. Having lived in Shanghai for a while, she has a hunger for translated and transnational theatre.

GEBOLI LONG

GEBOLI LONG (she/her) is a theatre maker, educator, and founder of SoCiviC Theatre. Originally from a Miao (Hmong) community in Southwest China, she creates community-engaged, documentary, and participatory theatre exploring identity, migration, belonging, and representation across cultures. Her recent work includes Farewell, and Erase, a multilingual ethnodrama she wrote and directed. Geboli received her M.A. in Educational Theatre from New York University, where she focused on Theatre for Social and Civic Engagement.

LOUR (Lour Yasin)

LOUR (Lour Yasin) is a New York–based Palestinian performer, composer-lyricist, writer, and cultural critic. Born in Jerusalem and raised in the West Bank, her work explores Palestinian identity, pop culture, and the politics of who gets to tell their own story, often blending Arab musical traditions with pop, punk, and hip-hop. Her works include AREA D, The Happy Sunshine Facility, Arabica, and The Flintstons, with work presented at Ars Nova, HERE Arts, The Public Theater, La MaMa, and the Lenfest Center. LOUR is a 2026 MacDowell Fellow, and her music and writing have been featured in Rolling Stone, Apple Music, SceneNoise, and on the BBC. 

KASPER OWEN

KASPER OWEN is a short story writer, journalist, and poet invested in storytelling as the interaction between individual lenses and bodies in spaces. They create to explore uncomfortable truths about the human condition. Their work has been published in New Forum, Culture OC, and Her Campus. B.A: Literary Journalism UC Irvine.

LUCIA SERRANO

LUCIA SERRANO is a bilingual and binational journalist, theatre producer and publicist driven by mission-focused storytelling and community engagement. A UCLA graduate with a degree in Art History, she began her journalism career as an editor at the San Diego Union-Tribune en Español, where she received a 2023 Pacific Southwest Emmy Award. With ten years of experience in nonprofit and theatrical work spanning communications, marketing, production and journalism, Lucía has led productions presented at the Academy Museum (2025) and Carnegie Hall (2026). She currently works with inewsource’s Documenters program and covers and reviews theatre in San Diego for BroadwayWorld. A proud mom, she enjoys spending time with her son and family.

KATELIN SHUM

KATELIN SHUM is a playwright, actor, and arts administrator from San Diego, California. Select playwriting credits include Robber for Cheese and Turtle, which have been developed and shared locally, and BJORN AGAIN, an interactive, autobiographical play in which she also starred. Other accomplishments include: CANCELINA by Beth Hyland, Hamlet at LAMDA, and the new musical, The Lunchbox. Additionally, Katelin has worked regionally at theatres such as La Jolla Playhouse, Berkeley Rep, and the Ojai Playwrights Conference. 