Nerissa Street

Nerissa Street

Nerissa Street is a teaching artist and mediamaker whose visionary storytelling and sharp insights catalyze her community. They include: Images and Voices of Hope, Urban League of Broward County, Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce, Catalyst Miami, Women in Distress, Cinema Paradiso, Edna Manley College of Visual and Performing Arts in Jamaica, the Motherhood Foundation, and TEDxMIA. Using educational storytelling, film and audience interaction, Nerissa Street builds communities that are equipped to take ownership of their personal growth and transcendence. Corporate Experience

Before Nerissa pursued her creative calling, she managed events for Barnes and Noble, and hosted Deepak Chopra, Maya Angelou, Barry Gibbs, Rabbi Mitchell Chevitz, Brian Weiss, Eric Jerome Dickey, Tananarive Due and many other authors and personalities. When she became a volunteer Grant Panelist for Miami’s Education Fund and Broward County Cultural Division, it ignited her passion for community-based arts. She returned to school for a Theatre degree, and used her skills in event planning for arts advocacy directed towards individual artists.  Transformational Work

Nerissa’s award-winning, paradigm shifting performance has been presented across North America. She was named one of Broward County’s Emerging Arts Leaders. Her trademarked presentation, “No More Starving Artists™”, directly impacted over 300 South Florida creative professionals, and led her to be a founding committee member of the Broward County’s Artist as Entrepreneur (AEI) Program. Through the AEI, artists received a “weekend MBA in the business of art”, to end their dependence on grants. As part of her arts advocacy, Nerissa developed a multimedia project, Beyond the Lucky Break™, which documented the success stories of relatively unknown artists, proving that the starving artist stereotype was a myth. For that innovative work, she was the only woman invited to present at the inaugural TEDxMIA conference. Her work has been featured in local media on NPR affiliate WLRN, Hot 105 FM, in the Miami Herald, the Sun-Sentinel, and in both the Miami and Broward New Times. She was honored as a Miami New Times Savvy Single for her innovative community service. What’s Next

Nerissa is delving into the next level of her storytelling through transmedia, a global multiplatform vehicle of collaboration that allows her to create unique story experiences with her audience’s input. Nerissa was elected to the board of the Broward Educational Theatre Association. She is a certified Drama and film educator, and she’s proficient at Final Cut Pro. She directed a Title I public performing arts elementary’s 3rd, 4th and 5th graders in their first Broadway Jr. musical staged the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale. Those same students won “Judges’ Choice” at an Anti-Bullying Commercial contest designed for high school media classes. She was twice elected as the Vice President of Professional Development for the Urban League’s Young Professionals Network in Broward County. Now she's developing a collaboration called the Women Playmakers Lab with the Broward Center for the Performing Arts new Rose Miniaci Arts Education Center to allow women screenwriters, playwrights and directors better access to resources to build sustainable productions in Florida. Nerissa has taught young and mature audiences globally to use their creative talents to lead a powerful, joy-filled life. 

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