Daniel Bigham, Program Coordinator

Daniel Bigham is an Ann Arbor native and Pioneer high school alum. Bigham has been involved with Neutral Zone since their humble beginnings at their former location on Main street, just a couple of blocks away from the “Big House”. Bigham was involved with many Neutral Zone programs as a youth such as the Volume Youth Poetry project. He also earned a spot on the 2005 Ann Arbor Youth Poetry Slam Team that competed in the Brave New Voices competition that placed 5th nationally.

Currently, Bigham serves as the Education Coordinator for Neutral Zone and has held that position since the fall of 2016. Daniel loves martial arts, table tennis and trading card games. When he’s not making his famous mac and cheese for young people after school he is a husband to his lovely wife Lizzy and a devoted father to his two daughters Ayla and Naomi.

Jay Sloan

Brittany Barron

Clay Conley

Bubbles Dumouchel, YDS Capacity Builder

Bubbles DuMouchel, Youth Driven Spaces Capacity Builder and After Hours Advisor

I was a teen at Neutral Zone for four years. In that time, my passion for music was fostered and

my initiatives led me to be recruited for leadership programs where I learned about the strategies

that made the Neutral Zone so special. After graduating, one of my mentors offered me a

position to continue teaching the leadership skills I had learned to people just barely younger

than me. My professional work there led me to the opportunity to start a new program for young

people out of high school, a community to continue art in. Art and leadership have fed each other

to get both me and NZ to where we are today.

Abby Histed

Abby (she/her) grew up in the Chicagoland area and has been involved in political activism and social and environmental justice throughout highschool and college. She graduated from the University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign with degrees in Psychology and Gender and Women’s Studies, and was primarily involved in the student-run university speech and debate team where she had experience serving as head speech coach and president. These experiences shaped her passion for working with teens and youth in topics related to social justice, and nurturing their natural leadership capabilities.

Nick Lacy

Nya Njee

Program Coordinator
nya@neutral-zone.org

Megan Mueller Johnson, YDS Manager

Megan Mueller Johnson (she/her) serves as a Youth Driven Spaces Manager and has worked with young people for over a decade throughout the Midwest. Much of Megan’s experience as a youth worker has been coordinating Youth Advisory Boards, both citywide and organization- based, and afterschool program evaluation cycles. Prior to joining Neutral Zone, Megan was involved in several capacity building projects destigmatizing HIV prevention and treatment and trained healthcare providers in patient-facing approaches to care.

At Neutral Zone Megan’s role connects capacity building and community engagement through her work as a Restorative Practices and Youth Driven Spaces trainer, IGNITE! Next Gen Leaders and the Youth Driven Spaces Conference Adult Advisor, and YDS organizational coach.

Megan was transformed by her experiences participating in youth-led spaces as a young adult, and aims to center youth voice, community building practices, creative expression, and shared growth in all that she does.

Lori Roddy, Executive Director

Lori Roddy serves as the Executive Director of the Neutral Zone where she has provided more than 20 years of leadership overseeing programs in arts and leadership, supporting fund development, and providing organizational vision and growth. Lori’s practice and teaching are focused on positive youth development, youth-driven practices, program design and evaluation, and adaptive and organizational leadership. Lori has been an instrumental leader as Neutral Zone created a six-month operating reserve, started an endowment, and generated resources for the center’s annual operating budget. Recently, Lori has launched NZ’s workforce and education program, advises the Washtenaw County Youth Commission, and initiated a creative space for older youth.

Kat Steih, Neutral Zone Music Production Adviser,

Kat Steih, Neutral Zone Music Production Adviser, teaches beat production and young women in music programs. Kat is a songwriter, vocalist, and producer who comes from a country and folk background, however, her mission is to continue elevating this tradition by pushing boundaries and creatively blending with other genres.

Trevor Stone- Program Manager

Trevor Stone is a Program Manager at the Neutral Zone. He helped start and run the NZ Visual

Arts Department from 2004-2012 and has recently returned as a full-time employee. Trevor has

been building community through the arts for 20+ years and is currently focusing on building

collaborative, community projects between a network of high school teachers, high school

student groups, and local non-profits. He has helped produce 70+ art exhibits and 200+ art

events. His educational background is in fine arts and teaching, and he has exhibited in museums

and festivals in the United States. To view art and projects by Trevor please visit

wedrawtogether.com.

John Weiss, Director of Strategic Initiatives

John Weiss has worked with diverse populations of youth, youth-serving programs, and schools for 25 years.   He currently serves as the Director of Strategic Initiatives (DSI) at the Neutral Zone and was its Executive Director from 2005-2014.  As DSI he has trained and coached 1000s of adults and youth from across Michigan and other states in both the Youth Driven Spaces framework and in restorative practices.

John served as a teacher in the Ypsilanti Public Schools and Willow Run Community Schools.  For 7 years he served as the Director of the Adolescent Division at the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, now the Weikart Center for Program Quality.  In that role he was one of the initial developers of the Youth Program Quality Assessment (YPQA), a research instrument designed to evaluate the quality of youth programs.  John also served as a teacher in the Peace Corps in The Gambia, West Africa.  John lives in Ypsilanti Michigan, where he has resided with his family since 1995.

Hananiah Wiggins

Hananiah Wiggins (They, Them, Their) attended Illinois State University where they graduated with a degree in acting and competed for the speech and debate team, securing a national championship. Following graduation, Hananiah moved to Chicago and worked with multiple improv teams and theaters such as the Playground Theater, The Annoyance Theater, and the Bristol Renaissance Faire. Hananiah graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a Masters in Interpretation and Performance Studies where they focused on examining justice through the lens of an intergenerational experience. Hananiah has been in Michigan since 2019 and with the Neutral Zone since 2021. They originally came on board as the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Activism Coordinator and have continued to develop deep ties with the community by advising programs like Activism through Art, Riot Youth, the LGBTQIA+ activism and social support program, Theater, and Ignite! Next Gen Leaders, a program for youth learning facilitation and leadership development. They currently serve as a Program Director specializing in  Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Activism at the Neutral Zone.

Kyler Wilkins: Program Advisor

Kyler Wilkins serves as program advisor and teaches our music looping and songrwiting programs. Kyler has a BA from Michigan State University. Kyler, or Ki5 as he’s known in the local music scene. Kyler is a folk-pop artist, beatboxer, singer/songwriter, and looping artist. His music sounds like a combo between hiphop and EDM. He’s been featured on NPR’s All Songs Considered, and says it was a natural progression for him to step up in his role at Menlo, which is now famous for its founders “joy-based” software and culture design process for engaging work environments, to combine tech and music.

Danielle Yarmoluk, Program Coordinator

Dani is Program Coordinator, and Curator of the Artist in Residence program at the Neutral Zone as well as a MYDA Educator. For two years Dani has coordinated programs like Beats, Songwriting, Jam Sessions, Poetry, Women of Color, and Drag. Dani is an Ann Arbor native, and Detroit Music award-nominated singer-songwriter, producer, and bandleader (Dani Darling) with a passion for helping youth find their purpose, and embrace their own resilience through the incredible healing power of music.

https://instagram.com/danidarlingmusic