Dr. Ayshia Mackie-Stephenson is an intimacy director, activist and award-winning writer from Brooklyn, NY.  She writes and directs stories on intimacy and sexuality for the stage. With an MFA from the California Institute of Arts and a PhD from the University of Massachusetts Amherst; Dr. Ayshia uses performance to investigate human rights, race and sexuality. 

Her works appears in Howlround, Black Camera, Qualitative Inquiry, Boston University Press, International Review of Qualitative Research, Black Lives Have Always Mattered, and is forthcoming in Research in Drama Education and Theatre Topics.

Dr. Mackie-Stephenson has directed productions at The Huntington, Fresh Ink Theatre, UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center, and Jewel Box Theatre in NYC, Arts at the Armory (Boston), Davis Square Theatre, The Rockwell, and the DC Black Theatre & Arts Festival. She is Assistant Professor of Art & Performance Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana. www.AyshiaStephenson.com

Dr. Ayshia Mackie-Stephenson is an intimacy choreographer, activist, and award-winning writer from Brooklyn, NY. With an MFA from CalArts and a PhD from UMass Amherst; she uses performance to investigate race and sexuality. Her work appears in Black Camera, Qualitative Inquiry, Boston University Press, International Review of Qualitative Research, and is forthcoming in Research and Drama Education. She consults for The Huntington Theatre and is Assistant Professor of Art & Performance Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana.