We’re proud to announce the addition of five new members to Queer|Art’s Board of Directors—Miranda Haymon, Liz Collins, Chris Quach, Damian Bao,and Kazem Ghouchani—joining us at a pivotal moment in the organization’s trajectory as we approach the fifteenth year of Queer|Art|Mentorship in 2026. Together, they bring an expansive range of expertise, spanning development and grantmaking, nonprofit administration, storytelling, mentorship, and industries like design, film, and academia. Notably, two of these new members are alumni of the Queer|Art|Mentorship program—Miranda, a 2023 QAM Fellow, and Liz, a Multi-Year QAM Mentor—exemplifying our commitment to cultivating and elevating leadership from within our growing community.
The addition of five new board members marks a pivotal step in advancing Queer|Art’s new strategic plan. As part of a core goal to build organizational power, this expansion deepens the expertise, leadership, and long-term stability needed to fortify the organization for the years ahead. This significant growth in governance reflects our commitment to creating an infrastructure that not only supports artists today, but endures and adapts to the challenges of tomorrow.
Below you can find their biographies and learn more about the wealth of knowledge they'll bring to our illustrious board. Join us in giving them a warm welcome!
Miranda Haymon (they/she) is a Princess Grace Award-winning director and writer. As a theater director, Miranda has developed and staged work with The Tank, NYTW, Roundabout, Ars Nova, Manhattan Theatre Club, The Public, Bushwick Starr, Signature Theater and more. Miranda has served as Visiting Faculty at Fordham, Dartmouth, Sarah Lawrence, Wesleyan, Rutgers and Harvard. Past fellowships/residencies include New Georges, Space on Ryder Farm, LCT Director’s Lab, Wingspace, NYTW 2050, Roundabout, Manhattan Theatre Club and Arena Stage.. Their film Sis (2023) screened internationally, winning The Emerging Black LGBTQ+ Filmmaker Award at NewFest; it screened most recently at the Whitney Biennial 2024. As a writer, Miranda most recently wrote Dylan Mulvaney’s Day 365 of Girlhood Live! at the Rainbow Room. Miranda’s commercial directing includes projects with e.l.f. Cosmetics, Progressive, Gucci, GARAGE Magazine, Dunkin’, and Spectrum. Miranda is a graduate of Wesleyan University where they double majored in German Studies and Theater. They were a 2023 Queer|Art|Mentorship Fellow in Film, working with Mentor Zackary Drucker.
Chris Quach (he/him) is a Senior Associate Director and the Director of International Recruitment in Undergraduate Admissions at Columbia University. Chris works collaboratively with prospective students and their families to provide key information about the admissions process at Columbia; forges strong relationships rooted in student support with vital University partners in the enrollment process; and oversees international recruitment strategies for Columbia's undergraduate student body. As an admissions professional devoted to college access, Chris previously worked in admissions and recruitment at A Better Chance, a US-based organization supporting underrepresented students in navigating the independent school admissions process.
Chris began his career in local arts grantmaking for the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County in the Washington, DC region. In this role, he supported grantmaking efforts that totalled $5 million distributed annually to over 100 arts and humanities organizations and over 50 individual artists and scholars in Montgomery County, MD. His arts administration experience continues to inform his passion for contributing to a nurturing ecosystem for artists at all stages of their careers. A longtime singer and participant in the LGBTQ choral movement, Chris currently sings with the Empire City Men's Chorus, a NYC-based gay men's chorus. Chris holds an MA in Higher and Postsecondary Education from Teachers College, Columbia University and a BA in Sociology and LGBT Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Liz Collins is an NYC- based artist known for her dynamic fiber works that vary in scale, form, and context. She has collaborated with design brands on collections of functional textiles, and produced large scale public art works, installations, and performances. She served as a Queer|Art|Mentorship Mentor in Visual Art in 2025, 2018, and 2017.
Her solo exhibitions and installations have been at the Museum of Arts and Design (NYC), the Tang Museum (Saratoga Springs, NY), Candice Madey (NYC), Luis de Jesus (Los Angeles, CA), Rossana Orlandi ( Milan, Italy), and Touchstones Rochdale (England), among others. Collins has been in dozens of group shows over the past 20 years, including at New York institutions the New Museum, the Drawing Center, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Leslie Lohman Museum, and at LACMA, the National Gallery of Art, the Addison Gallery, and ICA/Boston. Collins’ honors include a USA Fellowship, a Civitella Ranieri Fellowship, Drawing Center Open Sessions program, Two Trees Cultural Subsidy Studio Program, and an Anonymous Was A Woman Fellowship. Collins’ new, large tapestries were on view in the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, curated by Adriano Pedrosa. In 2025, Collins’ mid-career retrospective, Motherlode, opened at the RISD Museum (Providence, RI) with an accompanying monograph. Liz Collins is represented by Candice Madey gallery in New York.
Damian Bao (he/they) is a queer Asian American filmmaker, producer, casting director, visual artist, and human and animal rights advocate. Born in Vietnam and raised in the U.S. after his family fled as refugees, Damian’s early life in a diverse, working-class community shaped his empathy and lifelong commitment to amplifying voices often left unheard. A former Buddhist monk, he approaches storytelling with a focus on authenticity, radical empathy, and breaking barriers around who gets to tell and embody the stories shaping culture.
Over the past decade, Damian’s work has bridged film, music, art, design, and fashion, challenging the lack of diversity in mainstream media and advocating for equity in front of and behind the camera. In 2021, he was recognized on Good Morning America’s “Inspiration List” for his leadership and kindness, with model Leyna Bloom citing his tireless efforts to create real equality and change. Damian has shared his expertise at Sundance, SXSW, Tribeca, Cannes, and the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, and is a member of the Casting Society of America. His career reflects an unwavering dedication to telling human stories that bring people together across divides.
Kazem Ghouchani joined Stonewall Community Foundation as Major Gifts & Planned Giving Officer in May 2023. Kazem is a Brooklyn-based development and marketing professional with over six years of experience in community building and cultural programming. They hold an MBA from Hult International Business School and have a passion for raising funds to develop programs for LGBTQ grassroots initiatives and communities. Social/racial/environmental justice has always been a driving force pushing them to look for ways to use social and cultural programs as a medium to build up diverse communities.
As a queer atheist from Tehran, Iran, Kazem also serves as a fundraising and development consultant for the Emruz Festival. They served the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly known as The Actors Fund) as a Major Gifts Manager and Rattlestick Theater as a Development Manager before joining the Stonewall team.
Meet the rest of our incredible Board of Directors here.