Ashley Marinaccio is a multi-award winning theatre director, playwright and performer. She is the founder and founding Artistic Director of Project Girl Performance Collective, which rebranded in 2011 under the name of . The mission of the organization is to provide young women with a platform to create theatre around pressing feminist and socio-political issues. Under her creative leadership, Girl Be Heard received considerable international attention, awards and accolades for its innovative theatre productions that place the stories of young women at the forefront of the work. In 2012, she gave a TEDx talk at Columbia University's TEDxTeachersCollege entitled "Give it Up for Rush Limbaugh", about her career trajectory and work with Girl Be Heard. In 2013, she was the youngest artistic director to receive the Lucille Lortel Women's Visionary Award from the League of Professional Theatre Women. Ashley left Girl Be Heard in 2016. Ashley is a co-founder and director of alongside Robert A.K. Gonyo and Casey Cleverly. Co-Op Theatre East is a New York City-based theatre company that works to create theatre that challenges the socio-political status quo. Notable works with Co-Op Theatre East have included the 2010 production of My Name is Rachel Corrie at the Kraine Theatre in New York City's East Village which utilized two actresses in the title role of Rachel Corrie. She is an alumna of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, Hemispheric Institute's EMERGENYC, BAM/Kennedy Center's Professional Development Program, Old Vic/New Voices Directing Lab and American Theatre Wing's Springboard program. She is a current member of The Civilian's Field Research Team. Ashley completed her BA in theatre directing and sociology/anthropology at Pace University in 2007, her MA in Performance Studies from NYU'sTisch School of the Arts in 2008. She is currently working on her Ph.D. in Theatre and Performance at the CUNY Graduate Center. Her scholarly research examines the role of theatre in war zones and practical applications of theatre in times of conflict. She is a member of the theatre and performing arts faculty at Pace University's School of Performing Arts and at Hunter College.
2014 Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict Zones closing night plenary Girl Be Heard performance, co-chaired by William Hague and Angelina Jolie
