When do we feel free to speak openly – and when do we remain silent?
What risks and responsibilities accompany freedom of expression?
How can we build trust and connected relationships across disagreement?
Declaration of Interdependence is a cohort convened by The Laboratory for Global Performance & Politics at Georgetown University and the Charles F. Kettering Foundation’s Democracy & The Arts Program. Over seven weeks, a diverse cohort of DMV community members has explored questions of freedom of expression, civic responsibility, and human connection. This cohort offers a rare opportunity for participants to step outside the usual frameworks of debate, advocacy, and polarization. Rather than defending positions or persuading each other of their views, the process invites them to share and encounter one another’s lived experiences and explore how questions of expression, silence, courage, and responsibility shape all our lives. Through a process of deep listening and story exchange using The Lab’s internationally recognized In Your Shoes™ methodology, the cohort has created an original performance built entirely from their own words and experiences.
Community Performance and Discussion
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
The Cohort
Adam Hunter has more than 20 years of experience shaping migration, national security, and international affairs policy in the United States and Europe. His work has focused on expanding lawful pathways, responding to displacement, strengthening international cooperation, and advising governments, philanthropies, and nonprofit organizations.
Alla Rogers was born in 1947 in Germany to Ukrainian parents. She spent her early childhood in Sydney, Australia. At age 7, she arrived in the USA and settled in Philadelphia, PA. She attended the University of Pittsburgh where she received her BA, then moved to Washington DC to attend George Washington University as a teaching fellow and where she received her MA in Slavic Studies. She has been a creative in several art forms her entire life and has worked in the art, education and information space her entire professional life. She writes for Diplomatic Watch Magazine and is a member of the National Press Club’s International Correspondents Committee. She is a member of WECAA, Washington Educational and Cultural Attache Association and a founding member of the Global Peace Education Network.
Clarissa Unger is the co-founder and executive director of the Students Learn Students Vote Coalition, a national nonpartisan network working to make voting more accessible for college students. Clarissa has an MPA and a BA from the University of Kansas and an MSc. from Trinity College Dublin.
Luciana Dahdah is currently a fellow at Georgetown University Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues, focusing on child-family separation in the context of U.S. immigration enforcement. She approaches migration not only as a career but as a personal calling, and children have always been at the heart of her work. She holds a Master of Arts in International Migration and Refugees from Georgetown University, as part of the program’s inaugural cohort.
Mónica Martínez López is an advocate for DC statehood and serves her Ward 5 neighbors as an elected ANC Commissioner. Originally from Veracruz, she loves connecting with people from all walks of life. When she’s not organizing for her intergenerational community, you’ll find her traveling, strolling, or spending time with loved ones.
Reginald L. Douglas is a director, producer, and educator dedicated to supporting new voices, and harnessing the power of theatre to connect community members. He currently serves as the Artistic Director of Mosaic Theater Company in Washington, DC, where his leadership has supported the development and production of new and contemporary plays by acclaimed writers including Dominique Morisseau, Psalmayene 24, Erika Dickerson-Despenza, Samuel D. Hunter, Ifa Bayeza, and more. In addition, he has directed new and classic work at theatres across the country, taught at several universities and served on the Executive Committee of the National New Play Network’s Board of Directors for many years. Reginald received the National Theatre Conference’s Emerging Professional Award in 2020, the Georgetown University Legacy of a Dream Award in 2024, was named a 2024 Washingtonian of the Year by Washingtonian magazine, and was inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Theatre in 2026.
Saraniya Tharmarajah is an interdisciplinary theater/film artist and public health researcher. She incorporates community-engaged artmaking for policy advocacy. Her work has been supported by the US Department of State, Maryland State Arts Council, and the National Institutes of Health. She holds a MSc from Oxford and PhD from Johns Hopkins.
Valeria Aron Said is a Peruvian political scientist with a master’s in International Migration, whose career spans government, academia, the United Nations, and multilateral institutions. Beyond policy work, she is driven by curiosity, human connection, and storytelling — and by a lasting concern for social inequality that shapes both her research and her life.
Victoria Murray Baatin is a thought leader and cultural strategist with a deep commitment to equity, creativity, and systems-level change. My work centers on leveraging the transformative power of the arts to build more just and inclusive communities. I bring a unique blend of strategic vision, collaborative leadership, and operational expertise.
Will Cole is a queer, transgender man, writer, scientist, professor, husband, and dad. He holds a PhD in Public Health and an MA in Writing from Johns Hopkins University. He translates trans health science and is writing a memoir about his Mormon girlhood and the long arc of self-discovery.
Creative Team
Derek Goldman is an award-winning international stage director, playwright, thought-leader & producer. He is the Artistic & Executive Director of The Laboratory for Global Performance & Politics and a professor at Georgetown University. He is the creator of In Your Shoes™ and The Lab’s Art Care Initiative, and has led performance projects around the world exploring the intersection of narrative, democracy, diplomacy, public trust, and civic life.
Raghad Makhlouf is a Helen Hayes Award-nominated theater actress, director, and Associate Director for The Art of Care Initiative at The Lab. Makhlouf is an experienced teaching artist who brings lived experience of artistic practice under authoritarianism, displacement, and diaspora.
Wonnie Kim is a producer, educator, and artist based in Washington D.C. As Associate Director of Operations at The Lab, she manages The Art of Care Initiative and various interdisciplinary projects. As a Korean American raised in Ohio, she advocates for best practices in how works are produced and fit within their community.
Jamie Sandel is a multimedia creative and musician based in Northeast DC. His video and photo work brings new dimensions to music from artists like Brandon Woody, Mumu Fresh, and Robert Glasper; he has worked on over a dozen Capital Emmy-winning pieces for PBS for MECCA Filmworks; and his photos have been featured by Blue Note Records, Stereogum, and the Washington Post.
Sahil Raheja is a photographer and Communications Assistant at The Lab. Originally from Mumbai, India, he is an undergraduate studying finance at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. He is interested in exploring how communication and creative media can connect communities and share meaningful stories.
Michaela Harrison is a vocalist and healer whose career is rooted in relaying the transformational power of music and the healing energy available in nature through ritual and creative practices. She holds a bachelor’s in International Affairs and a master’s in Africana Studies. Her project, Whale Whispering, is a musical collaboration on water, healing and ancestry with humpback whales based in Bahia, Brazil.
Declaration of Interdependence is supported by the Charles F. Kettering Foundation.
