Natasha Mirny is a stage director, performer, choreographer, and founder of Happy Theater (happytheater.com). Her background is in pantomime, puppetry, and physical theater. She is also a teaching artist at Kennedy Center, Wolf Trap, Inspired Child, and Arts for Learning Maryland, where she designs, implements, and coaches arts integration programs across the US. Natasha believes in the healing, uniting, engaging, and community building role of the theater and arts. She is very grateful and excited to be part of the IYS and to bring her theater background and her experience of creating and facilitating workshops for participants of different age groups and backgrounds. Through IYS Natasha is hoping to bring more empathy, peace and the feeling of being seen and heard to different communities. She truly enjoys connecting with people and creating a safe and brave space for them to share their amazing stories.