STAFF

MELODY CAPOTE

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Melody Capote joined the staff of the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute in 1984 as a development associate. She successfully created a capital campaign for the completion of CCCADI's brownstone on West 58th Street in Manhattan. She continued her development work and has since identified, expanded and secured private sector funding for the organization, fostering long-term relationships with partners including the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Hearst Foundation, New York Community Trust, Time Warner and Con Edison. In her role as external affairs director, she has built collaborations with local New York City-based organizations like Loiza Festival/El Barrio, Lincoln Center, The Studio Museum, Bronx Museum, the Apollo, SummerStage, Roberto Clemente State Park and others. She is a graduate of the City College of New York and received a fellowship at the Tennenbaum Leadership Institute at the New School, and completed Columbia University's Not-for-Profit Executive Management Certification.

SABINE BLAIZIN

DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS 

As Director of Programs, Sabine oversees the strategic direction of CCCADI’s public, education and fellowship programs. A New Yorker of Haitian descent and self-coined Artivist, Afrofuturist, and Pan-Africanist, Sabine ultimately seeks to create new scholarship through the African and Haitian diasporic lens of music, culture and spirituality. She has over 15 years experience in non-profit organizations, and has been instrumental in developing innovative and high-impact marketing and branding, event planning, and programming strategies. Prior to joining CCCADI, she served as the Director of Programs at Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy, Inc. and, an alumnus herself, she served AmeriCorps Public Allies New York (PANY) as the Director of Alumni Relations and Community Engagement. Sabine completed a fellowship with the Haiti Cultural Exchange and is the NYC Chapter Ambassador for She Builds Initiative, a social network of like-minded individuals who are creators, innovators, and entrepreneurs building platforms that can positively impact Haiti and the world. Currently she is also a Holistic Health Practitioner/Coach and DJ/Producer/Event Curator (Oyasound). 

Sabine holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Urban Sociology from Eugene Lang College at The New School, a Master of Arts degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine from Tri-State College of Acupunture, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Performance Interactive & Media Arts from Brooklyn College. 

MIKEY CORDERO

DIRECTOR OF NEW MEDIA

As Director of Digital Media, Mikey oversees the strategy and implementation of digital programs and original CCCADI content. Born in Brooklyn to Boricua parents, Mikey fuels his artistic drive by chronicling the narratives of struggle and triumph through a variety of formats and platforms as a transmedia storyteller and creative agitator. He has more than 10 years of experience working in arts education in New York City and is presently creating and documenting in Puerto Rico. As co-creator of the Defend Puerto Rico Project, Mike narrates the story of Boricua resilience and resistance through a multimedia movement, sparking action and awareness. By sharing personal stories of culture, through a variety of mediums, Mikey inspires connectivity and initiates action.

Mikey holds a Communication Design degree from FIT and UX Design Certificate from Public Assembly.  

VIANNCA VELEZ

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS 

As Director of Communications for CCCADI, Viannca leads the creation and implementation of the organization’s marketing, public relations and mass communication strategy. Boricua by way of Jersey City, NJ, Viannca’s communications experience includes her career beginnings as a video journalist for Fi0S1 News on Long Island, NY, in-studio tech work at the sports television channel SNY, and digital media management for NGL Media (now NGL Collective). Prior to joining CCCADI, Viannca developed into a communications strategist within the nonprofit sector through her years of working in the Advancement departments of private education institutions. There, she created and led campaigns that used video storytelling, social media and niche segmentation to successfully increase community engagement and individual donations. Passionate about ancestral dance and music, she is also a current member of the Bomba & Plena group Segunda Quimbamba.

Viannca is graduate of Seton Hall University where she obtained Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast and Visual Media with a minor in Journalism. 

PATRICIA ‘NEFERTITI’ ARTHUR

EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT ASSISTANT

As the Executive Management Assistant and Board Liaison for CCCADI, Nefertiti works closely with the executive and development teams on building relationships and projects that result in funding opportunities for the organization. Nefertiti is a NYC native, raised in Harlem by her Caribbean great grandmothers, who together represented Trinidadian, Bajan, Cuban & Puerto Rican descendance. Prior to joining the CCCADI team in 2018, she was assistant to the founder and president of Welcome to Harlem, a Harlem-based walking tour company, managing and maintaining the organization’s website and event calendar. She also co-hosted the Harlem Jazz Concert Series. Nefertiti’s administrative background includes her experience as an executive assistant and project manager at Korn Ferry, one of the largest executive search firms in North America. 

She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Hunter College, City University New York.

ELISA GALINDEZ

EDUCATION MANAGER

As the Education Manager, Elisa contributes to CCCADI’s dedication to youth education and development. Elisa is a proud Boricua Bronx-Native who specializes in Arts Administration and Arts Education. Prior to joining CCCADI, she worked at Red Olive Creative Consulting and Black Art Futures Fund where she assisted the founder, served as a review panelist for artist grants, and collaborated with the communications team in gathering and creating original content for their social media and newsletters. Outside of CCCADI, Elisa is a NYC based actor, director, teaching artist and artistic collaborator who has traveled the country sharing stories that celebrate her community and uplift voices that have yet to be heard. She is also the Assistant Producer for TheaterWorksUSA, an organization that focuses on creating exceptional, new, theatrical experiences for young people and their families.  

Elisa is a graduate of Hofstra University where she majored in Vocal Performance and minored in Musical Theater.  She continued her artistic training at CAP21’s Professional Musical Theater Conservatory.