OUR SQUAD

Co-Founder and CEO
(He/Him)

Jasiri X is the first independent Hip-Hop artist to be awarded an Honorary Doctorate, which he received from Chicago Theological Seminary in 2016. Still, he remains rooted in the Pittsburgh-based organization he founded, 1Hood Media, whose mission is to build liberated communities through art, education, and social justice. In 2017, he received the Nathan Cummings Foundation Fellowship to start the 1Hood Artivist Academy. Jasiri is also a recipient of the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Residency, the USA Cummings Fellowship in Music, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Artist as Activist Fellowship, the Martin Luther King Jr Individual Leadership Award, and the President's Volunteer Service Award.

Director of Education
(He/Him)

A global citizen who has lived in Toronto, New York, and London before calling Pittsburgh home, Farooq is an Emmy-nominated, multidisciplinary artist (Emceeing, acting, martial arts).  

Starting at 1Hood in 2018, Farooq and Jasiri have known each other since the early 2000s and were frequent musical collaborators before becoming colleagues.  Farooq transitioned from rapping to education, becoming a K-8 educator and later teaching at the University of Sydney in Australia. As Director of Education, Farooq oversees the We Keep Us Safe, Fridays on Deck, and Media Academy programs.  

Farooq’s journey from the streets to being formerly incarcerated to teaching and civic engagement is what he considers his life’s work. 

Creative Director
(She/Her)

Jasmine Green is the Creative Director for 1Hood Media Academy, overseeing all creative outreach and graphic design work for the organization and spearheading our flagship program, the Artivist Showcase Series, as well as our artist professional development series, 1Hood Select. She serves as support for our newest arts program, Kaleidoscope, led by Executive Assistant Austin Bey. Through Artivist, Jasmine has successfully helped to curate 22 artist showcases, supporting and platforming the work of 26 artists across the Greater Pittsburgh region. As a visual artist, Jasmine first joined the organization as an inaugural Artivist Academy recipient in 2018; she became full time staff in 2022. Jasmine was also the lead graphic designer for the City of Pittsburgh's Comprehensive Plan initiative.

Development and Education Assistant
(She/Her)

Anyah is the Development and Education Assistant for 1Hood Media Academy, overseeing youth-oriented programs such as Fridays on Deck and We Keep Us Safe, while supporting fundraising efforts with the development team. Anyah began her journey with 1Hood as a participant in the We Keep Us Safe program, later becoming an intern and officially joining the team after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University. She loves to explore different creative practices, including ballroom—an LGBTQ+ cultural space centered on performance and community—DJing, collaging, and ceramics. A crunchy girl at heart, her organizing roots began in San Diego at the Revolutionary Growers Garden, where she built community through food sovereignty and a love for herbalism before moving to Pittsburgh for school. When Anyah isn’t on Melwood Ave, you can find her nose deep in a book or creating a new tea blend!

Community Care Founder and Director
(He/Him)

MAN-E is a Pittsburgh-based organizer, advocate, and cultural worker whose work bridges mutual aid, policy advocacy, and community power-building. He is the Director of Community Care at 1Hood Media and a survivor of the criminal legal system, organizing at the intersection of electoral failure, state harm, and community-led solutions.

MAN-E is a co-founder of JailbreakPGH, Western Pennsylvania Participatory Defense, and Community Care, initiatives that provide direct support, community defense training, jail-based outreach, and material aid to unhoused and justice-impacted neighbors. He currently serves on the Allegheny County Jail Oversight Board and the Allegheny County Homeless Advisory Board, where he works to ensure lived experience informs policy, oversight, and systems-level responses to housing instability and incarceration.

Reflective Democracy Associate
(He/They)

Ethan Rhabb is the Reflective Democracy Associate for 1Hood Media Academy, working on civic engagement, youth, and narrative programming.

An activist and artist from Queens, NYC, Ethan—also known as Mochi—is a co-founder of the Kiki Haus of Baby Phat, an underground ballroom house—a community rooted in Black and Latinx LGBTQ+ culture that centers performance, fashion, and chosen family. He holds a Master’s in Public Policy & Management from Carnegie Mellon University, where he also completed his undergraduate studies. His work focuses on reshaping narratives around democracy, identity, and power to expand access to civic participation. Through performance, writing, and cultural organizing, Ethan’s artistic practice uplifts queer and BIPOC communities while challenging systems of injustice.

Director of Development
(She/Her)

As Director of Development Katie is responsible for overseeing the fundraising activities that keep 1Hood thriving. Katie has been a nonprofit development professional in Pittsburgh for over 16 years and joined 1Hood Media in late 2024. Previously, she served as Director of Development for the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy before working as an independent consultant supporting more than 15 area nonprofits of all sizes. A former professional ballet dancer, Katie is a contributing writer to Dance Magazine, Pointe, and Dance Teacher magazines where she has published more than 150 articles. She is a passionate advocate for mental health serving as a certified Mental Health First Aid trainer and the founder of Minding the Gap, an initiative that has provided mental health education and support to thousands of dancers. 

Executive Assistant
(He/Him)

Austin Bey first began working with 1Hood through an internship back in 2015. Throughout his time there, he would DJ for 1Hood’s shows and events. This continued throughout 2015 until 2022. In these years he has become one of Pittsburgh’s prominent DJ’s in the city (DJ QRX). That experience has helped him really know the in’s & out’s of the organization. During this time Austin also served as a manager at a local food restaurant (2020 - 2022) giving him ample skills on managing an organization. In 2022, Jasiri hired Austin to become the Administrative Assistant of 1Hood Media full time. This included Bookkeeping duties and Data management. As time went on, Austin was able to connect 1Hood with Slappers’n’Bangers for a sponsorship and now spearheads the newest 1Hood arts program “KALEIDOSCOPE” with support from 1Hood Creative Director Jasmine Green.