District Fray Presents GIRLS TO THE FRONT

District Fray Magazine, Serenata, Taqueira Las Gemelas and Shop Made in DC present Girls to the Front: A Celebration of Community Building, our second annual event with SHE:DC highlighting powerhouse women of color making incredible waves in D.C. hospitality and our local arts scene. We will be providing a cocktail demo with Andra "AJ" Johnson of Serenata; a carnitas taco-making class with Taqueira Las Gemelas' Yesenia Neri-Diaz; a mini-arts market curated by Congress Heights Arts and Culture Center; and a one-hour panel championing female leaders in these industries.

JOIN US FOR:

• Cocktail or cooking demo + a mini-arts market from 6-7 p.m
• Panel from 7:30-8:30 p.m.
• Mingle from 8:30-9 p.m.

PANEL:

Moderator

• Téa Ivanovic: COO + co-founder, Immigrant Food

Panelists

• Holly Bass: Multidisciplinary performance + visual artist, writer + director
• Keyonna Jones: Founder + executive director, Congress Heights Arts & Culture Center
• Farrah Skeiky: Photographer, creative director + writer
• Ana-Maria Jaramillo: Co-founder, La Tejana
• Judy Elahi: Corporate beverage director, 101 Hospitality
• Chrissy Sheffey: Owner + curator, Charismatic Creations

DEMOS:

Taco Class with Chef Yesenia Neri-Diaz of Taqueira Las Gemelas

Includes a tortilla press demonstration and instruction on how to plate carnitas taco (tinga de hongos/mushroom taco is available for vegan or vegetarian guests). At the end of the class, guests will be able to take home their own tortilla press, freshly made in house tortillas (pack of 10), and delicious churros with chocolate sauce.

Cocktail Class with Andra "AJ" Johnson of Serenata

Andra "AJ" Johnson will walk cocktail enthusiasts how to make a signature drink from Serenata's eclectic menu, featuring Bombay Sapphire as the base spirit. Learn from the expert on how to execute a unique cocktail from home.

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Cost:

• Panel only: $25 for non-members, $15 for District Fray members
• Panel + cocktail demo: $55 for non-members, $55 + Serenata swag bag for District Fray members
• Panel + cooking demo: $85 for non-members, $85 + Taqueira Las Gemelas swag bag for District Fray members

Each attendee will receive one complimentary cocktail from Serenata. $5 of each ticket goes to the SHE:DC fund. The panel and demos have limited seating, so get your tickets now.

Not a member? Join District Fray today for as little as $4 per month. You'll have unlimited access to our digital content and can upgrade your membership to receive our print edition and other VIP options. Sign up now.

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About District Fray Magazine

District Fray Magazine is a lifestyle and entertainment publication in the D.C. area highlighting the voices in the District who keep their fingers on the pulse of what makes our city vibrant and unique. Our goal is to be the go-to source Washingtonians can rely on to stay up-to-date about what to do in and around D.C. through the lens of inclusive, eclectic and objective content. Our magazines are carried at dozens of retail and partner locations around the city, from 9:30 Club to select Whole Foods. We reach 100K+ D.C. area readers digitally per month across our online content and social media platforms.

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Speaker Bios

MODERATOR


Téa Ivanovic, COO + co-founder of Immigrant Food + Forbes 30 Under 30 List 2022

Téa Ivanovic is co-founder and COO at Immigrant Food, a Washington DC-based restaurant startup that ‘marries’ innovative gastronomy with social advocacy. Immigrant Food currently has three locations in the DC area, and has received notable recognitions (Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas 2019, Ayuda’s Advocate of Change Award 2022, etc) for its innovative cause-casual model of integrating a social justice component into its business model since inception. Tea moonlights as a commentator and Executive Producer at Altamar, a leading independent international affairs podcast. Her professional career includes creating and implementing strategic communications for international policy and politics at a Washington D.C. think tank, and global financial matters at a financial public and media relations firm. Téa was the first Washington Correspondent for Oslobodjenje, one of the oldest and most prominent news outlet in the Balkans. She was born in Belgium to parents from the former Yugoslavia and recruited to the United States by Virginia Tech’s Division 1 Varsity tennis team. She graduated with a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). In 2022, Téa was named on the prestigious Forbes 30 Under 30 List, Washington Business Journal’s 25 Women Who Mean Business, FSR’s 40 Restaurant Stars on the Rise, and DC Fray’s 8 Trailblazing Women in Hospitality.

immigrantfood.com // @immigrantfood

PANELISTS

Holly Bass, multidisciplinary performance + visual artist, writer + director

Holly Bass is a multidisciplinary performance and visual artist, writer and director. She was a finalist for the National Portrait Gallery’s 2022 Outwin Triennial, which is currently touring nationally. Her creative output includes durational performances lasting from five to 12 hours, as well as video, installation and photography. She has received numerous Artist Fellowships from the DC Arts Commission and was a 2019 Red Bull Detroit artist-in-residence, a 2019 Dance/USA Artist Fellow, a 2020-22 resident artist at New York Live Arts and a 2021-22 Smithsonian Artist Research Fellow. A Cave Canem fellow, she has published poems in numerous journals and anthologies. As an arts journalist early in her career, she was the first to put the term “hip hop theater” into print in American Theatre magazine. A gifted and dedicated teaching artist, she directed a year-round creative writing and performance program at the DC juvenile detention center for four years. She is currently the national director for Turnaround Arts at the Kennedy Center, a program which strategically uses the arts to transform schools facing historic inequities.

hollybass.com // @hollybass360

Keyonna Jones, founder + executive director of Congress Heights Arts & Culture Center

Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Keyonna graduated from St. John’s College High School in 2006 and started her collegiate career as a student of Psychology at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C. In search of a more challenging path, she transferred to Philip Merrill’s College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park where she received her Bachelors of Arts in Broadcast Journalism with a concentration in Education. She obtained her Master’s in Science Management with a specialization in Public Relations in December 2019. During the four years she worked as a news producer for News Radio station WNEW, 99.1, Keyonna received two Edward Murrow Awards. Returning to one of her original passions, in August 2015, Keyonna founded Congress Heights Arts and Culture Center (CHACC) home of #soufsidecreative, located at 3200 MLK Ave. SE, with a mission to bring something new and necessary to the East of the River community in the District of Columbia. She also serves on the board of The Creative School  as Vice President. Beyond her many efforts at CHACC, Keyonna has given serious energy to her many hobbies, transforming many of them into entrepreneurial ventures. She's a tattoo artist, published Fashion Stylist, photo enthusiast, graphic designer  and avid gardner, In June 2020, Keyonna had the honor of being 1 of 7 artist to paint the 'Black Lives Matter Plaza' which catapulted her into mural work in and out of the city. She's collaborated with the Washington Mystics, the Washington Commanders, Pharrel's Something in the Water Festival and many more. September 2022, Keyonna received the 37th Annual Mayors Arts Awards for Excellence as a Community Arts Advocate. She is a proud mother of daughter Kayla Shawn and son Keon Michael.

chacc.org 
// @chacc_dc

Farrah Skeiky, photographer, creative director + writer

Farrah Skeiky is an Arab American photographer, creative director and writer based in the DC area. Her work highlights the stories of underrepresented communities and subcultures with images that make you feel welcomed. Skeiky’s clients include Rolling Stone, National Geographic, Food & Wine, Smithsonian Museums, AARP, The DC Public Library and more. Her photo book Present Tense: DC Punk and DIY Right Now was published in 2020.

farrahskeiky.com // @reallyfarrah

Ana-Maria Jaramillo
, co-founder of La Tejana

Born in Texas and raised on both sides of the US/Mexico border, Ana-Maria Jaramillo grew up with breakfast tacos for as long as she can remember. Upon moving to Washington, DC in 2018, she knew she couldn't survive with the food that fueled her for so long. Together with her husband, Gus May, La Tejana was born as a way to pay homage to all of the taquerias in the Rio Grande Valley, serving homemade flour tortillas with a variety of Tex-Mex fillings. A first generation Latina, Jaramillo recently earned her Doctorate in Speech-Language Pathology and serves as an adjunct professor at the George Washington University. She opened her own pediatric bilingual clinic, Voz Speech Therapy, in downtown DC in 2021, which keeps her more than occupied in the hours she isn’t running La Tejana.

latejanadc.com
 // @latejanadc

Judy Elahi, corporate beverage director for 101 Hospitality

Iranian-American Bar Director Judy Elahi of 101 Hospitality, which includes MICHELIN-starred Gravitas, is changing the drink world by using her personal experience as a mixed descent individual to amplify voices of color-both financially and visibly. 
A winner of a prestigious Johnson and Wales Culinary scholarship, former opening Bar Director of Michelin-starred Albi- her cocktail program specializes in using spirits, wine and ingredients that are made by makers of BIPOC & marginalized communities; she uses her personal experience plus the Middle Eastern ingredients of her childhood to bridge the gap between American and global palates to familiarize the culture with riffs on classic cocktails and other libations (low & no ABV included). Her award-winning beverage programs have been noted in multiple publications, and she has hosted charitable events that have benefited women, BIPOC, as well as local shelters. 


101hospitality.com // @101hospitalitygroup

Chrissy Sheffey, owner + curator of Charismatic Creations

Chrissy Sheffey is a hospitality professional and the owner and curator of Charismatic Creations, a creative hospitality agency that specializes in elevating experiences through bespoke cocktail curation, bottled non-alcoholic mixers, education + trainings, experiential activations, event staffing, and beverage consulting. With her passion and commitment to cultivating community, she founded Fairhill Dreams, Inc., a non-profit organization that advocates for urban gardening specifically Black and Brown farmers and raises funds to donate everyday necessities such as clothing, sneakers and more to local organizations. When Chrissy isn’t mixing, curating and volunteering, she’s with family, writing a newsletter, reading books of all genres or binging her long list of favorite shows. 

charismaticcreationsevents.com // @charismaticcreations