Natalie Willens (they/them) is an artist and educator originally born and raised in NYC. They have been designing and teaching arts-integrated curriculum for the last 15 years in contexts ranging from early childhood classrooms to elementary school libraries to university level arts and literacy courses. In their own work they use multiple exposure photography and poetry to explore gender identity, race privilege, and gentrification. They are a core member of Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) at LaGuardia Community College and created the Arts Activist working group for faculty and students, which explores ways to use art-making to influence structural changes and personal healing. Natalie holds an advanced certificate in Interactive Technology and Pedagogy from the CUNY Graduate Center and is pursuing a PhD in the Urban Education department where they are exploring the role of archiving in activism and ways to co-create arts-based archives that animate LGBTQ+ histories - and futures - with students.