Our Staff & Board

Meet Our Staff

Robert Negron—Producing Artistic Director, Co-Founder

Robert is an artist, educator, and community advocate who has guided Indy Convergence’s artistic direction and asset-based engagement methods since the company was founded in 2008. As a professional actor, playwright, craftsman, and producer, Robert combines his creative expertise with a passion for building meaningful, resident-driven projects that unite art and community.

As producing artistic director, Robert has directed over twenty-five Convergence artist residencies in Indianapolis, Canada, and Haiti. He is also the founding artistic producer of A Rising Tide, a seasonal performance series presented on floating and all-terrain stages along the shores of Indianapolis’ White River. Robert has been instrumental in shaping the company’s community engagement initiatives and actively contributes to many resident-led committees and task forces. In 2021, he co-managed the Belmont Beach project, collaborating with Near West residents and stakeholders to create “…a signature community gathering space [that] expanding neighborhood-based capacity to lead and engage in positive community change” (Belmont Beach, n.d.).

As co-chair of the Reconnecting to Our Waterways (ROW) White River Committee, Robert stewarded the New York Street bridge lights project, a lighting installation under one of Indianapolis’ busiest downtown bridges. He also has provided maintenance for the Urban Nature Trail and led educational engagements on the White River’s history and significance. Currently, Robert serves as the ROW White River Committee’s Near West community liaison, continuing to provide support for its programs. Additionally, as a founder and co-chair of the Near West Livability Task Force, he has spearheaded programs like the West Michigan Street Festival, Near West Flow Fest, the Portico Project between Super Tortas restaurant and the Linebacker bar, and numerous neighborhood art walks.

In 2019, Robert was nominated by the Near West Steering Committee to serve as Thrive Indy’s Near West Resiliency Ambassador. In this role, he guided projects such as a seed library and mobile community tool shed. His dedication to community impact was further recognized when he was selected to attend the Indianapolis Food Access Coalition’s Food Champion program, where he launched a community garden project that produced over 200 pounds of food.

Robert has presented his work on artistic asset-based community development at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Indy Design Week, where he addressed common challenges in the ‘artist-as-community-builder’ model and advocated for engagement strategies that prioritize people-centered projects, long-term sustainability, and initiatives that are firmly rooted in and reflective of resident culture.

An actor by trade, Robert’s performance career spans a number of regional theatres, including the Rubicon Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Boston Court, the Old Globe Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Fonseca Theatre, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He completed professional training in performance at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and the South Coast Repertory Professional Conservatory. In 2013, he expanded his skill set by attending the Earthship Academy, where he trained in autonomous building design and sustainable off-grid techniques.

Caitlin Negron—Managing Director, Co-Founder

Caitlin is an accomplished arts administrator, program director, educator, professional dancer, and BASI-certified pilates instructor, who specializes in arts-driven community development. As a co-founder of Indy Convergence, Caitlin has played a pivotal role in shaping the organization’s vision and success since its inception in 2008. Under her steadfast leadership, Indy Convergence has evolved from an annual pop-up artists residency to a year-round arts and culture organization with a permanent home in Indianapolis’ Near Westside, where it continues to serve as a catalyst for creative and community-driven impact.

Caitlin has co-curated and produced the Convergence residency program since 2008. In addition to overseeing Indy Convergence’s creative development, she has managed and produced numerous high-impact projects, including Arts Walks, the Near West Storytelling Project, A Rising Tide, the Near West Rara, and other community engagement events. Her dedication to building meaningful partnerships has led to invitations to collaborate on arts events such as the Black N Brown Get Down, Reconnecting to Our Waterways 10th anniversary celebration, and Stringtown Rocks. Caitlin has also served as an arts advocate on panels with Indiana Arts Commission’s OnRamp program, SKL Class XLV, Indiana Dance Festival, the Indianapolis Foundation, and presented at the Indiana Arts Homecoming.

With a strong foundation in both the arts and community engagement, Caitlin’s academic background includes a B.F.A. in Dance Performance and a B.A. in Anthropology from Southern Methodist University. She has further honed her skills at the American Dance Festival, The Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, and Indiana University’s O’Neill School of Nonprofit Management. As a professional dancer, Caitlin performed in works by celebrated choreographers such as Martha Graham, George Balanchine, Alvin Ailey, and Stephanie Martinez, among others. Her career as a company member at Dance Kaleidoscope and as a freelance artist has given her the opportunity to perform widely across Indianapolis, the greater Chicago area, and Los Angeles.

Caitlin’s nonprofit work has been recognized by the Indy Arts Council Creative Renewal Grant and the Arts Council’s Individual Artist Grant. Having served as Indy Convergence’s executive director from 2008 to 2023, Caitlin continues to steward the organization’s growth as its managing director and board treasurer.

Jess Carr—Executive Artistic Producer

Jess is a dedicated nonprofit arts producer, administrator, and program manager with over 20 years of experience leading cultural programs, nonprofit projects, and performing arts events. She supports programs that bring people together through the arts, creating opportunities for connection, collaboration, and shared learning. For her, the arts are more than entertainment—they create space for open dialogue, unsettle deeply held assumptions, and help people feel more connected to each other and the world around them.

Before joining Indy Convergence, Jess spent 17 years as an artistic producer at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) where she led a wide range of arts engagements, social justice fundraisers, and artistic development projects. Her work included the Green Show, the Daedalus Project, OSF’s Juneteenth Celebration, the City of Ashland’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration, CultureFest, Southern Oregon Pride Festival, Hip Hop Poetry Open Mics, Black Swan Projects, the Every 28 Hours Plays, Hip Hop Boot Camps, and Mixing Texts intensives. While at OSF, she also stage managed the Green Show during Dance Kaleidoscope’s residency, founded and directed an award-winning experiential learning program for emerging theater artists, and served as the company’s talent acquisition specialist. Jess also serves as secretary on Indy Convergence’s board of directors.

Jess is also a professional stage manager and educator. She designs learner-centered programs for cohorts of adolescents and early-career professionals. Her asset-based approach emphasizes real-world learning, collaboration, and self-direction, moving beyond traditional classroom settings to facilitate meaningful, personalized growth. She views both education and stage management as partnerships built on earned trust, reciprocity, and interdependence. As a stage manager, Jess has worked across a broad spectrum of performance genres–including spoken word, dance, theatre, improv, circus, and music–providing creative teams with the structure and support to bring their artistic visions to life.

Jess is a Bennington College alum with a focus in stage management and holds an M.S.Ed. in Adult Education from Southern Oregon University.

Meet Our Board of Directors

Matt Belanger – Chair

Matt spent his early career as a web developer at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where he maintained and advanced OSF’s public website and online systems. His work included developing CMS tools, creating purchase-path enhancements, and collaborating with cross-functional teams and third-party vendors on major web initiatives. Alongside his primary role, he also supported social justice and community-centered events—including the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, Juneteenth, Daedalus Project, and Every 28 Hours—as a part-time production assistant.

Morigan Eileen

Morigan Eileen (they/them) is a young queer theatre maker eager to utilize their work to make change in the world around them. Their work often centers around queer history, human rights advocacy, and fighting for change. They have a passion for animals, nature, and a good book. They are drawn to work, and companies, that uplift their community, move others to get involved, and highlight the untold struggles of those who are often pushed aside by the mainstream media and theatre industries. They aspire to light a spark in people to learn, get involved in their communities, and get loud.

Leila Ghaznavi

Leila Ghaznavi has an MFA in acting from the California Institute of the Arts. Leila works as a puppeteer, actor and playwright. Her original work Silken Veils premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where it was nominated for best new work and received numbers five star reviews. To learn more about her work go to www.panteaproductions.com

Brodrick “Jonesy” Jones

Brodrick Jones is a writer, maker, and puppeteer based in Baltimore, MD. He is best known for short-form comedy puppet shows of absurdity and cartoon violence and long-form one-man humanette shows with long, complex monologues and/or lots of sweating and shouting. Jonesy was part of the 2025 Convergence Residency, and is proud and honored to join the Board and help pay the Convergence experience forward.

Janna Meiring

Janna Meiring, MFA (she/her), is a movement-based artist, somatic educator, and group facilitator based in Indianapolis, IN, U.S. Janna supports individuals and groups in discovering, embodying and amplifying their presence, work, and purpose.

Janna first encountered Body-Mind Centering®, Viewpoints, improvisational practices, and ensemble-devised new performance techniques through Naropa University (2005-7). For the past 20 years, she has continued to deepen research in somatic and performance practice while maintaining positions in the non-profit field as an administrator and organizational leader.

She ran an arts and performance venue in Denver, Colorado, hosting events, workshops and classes for all ages. She served as writer and editor at thINKingDANCE.net, in Philadelphia, PA. After being an artist-in-residence with Get What You Need (GWYN) through Bodymeld New Dance Platform, she went on to further develop and administer the program, supporting 2-3 emerging artists per year. Taking on a mentor role, Janna uncovered love and skill for supporting artists through their own process–honoring and advocating for their wellbeing through the challenges that come with working in the field.

Janna currently works as the Development and Communications Coordinator at the Body-Mind Centering® Association. Here she works alongside the Board of Directors to implement long-term goals on behalf of its international base of members. In addition, Janna independently studies models of collaborative governance and strategies for equitable leadership. She is developing a workshop series to support groups in building autonomy within collaboration through an embodied approach. It is this unique blend of experience that Janna brings to any space, seeking to mirror back the light and power we all carry, and our capacity to enact change through intentional, mutual care.

Cari Galeano

Cari supports LISC’s place-based programs through arts + culture initiatives and supports small business initiatives. Prior to joining the Economic Development team in her current role, she spent two years studying community development in the Cleveland area through her graduate journey as a National Urban Fellow. Additionally, Cari previously supported façade improvement grants with LISC Indianapolis as an Assistant Program Officer. Her career is rooted in community organizing and has spent several years working with a congregation-based network in Pinellas County, FL advocating for affordable health care for historically disinvested communities. Cari received her bachelor’s from the School of Environmental Affairs at Indiana University and her Master’s in Policy Management from the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University. She is a resident of Indy’s west side neighborhood of Haughville and enjoys being a local tourist with her partner and baby girl.

Gary Opp

Gary is a caregiver, community advocate, and serial volunteer who has never met a neighborhood meeting he wouldn’t show up for. He serves on the Hawthorn Neighborhood Association leadership team and holds several other community roles, working with schools, community centers, and anyone else bold enough to hand him a clipboard. When he’s not supporting his disabled wife or strengthening the west side one project at a time, he’s probably hunting down his next cup of coffee. A God‑fearing man fueled by faith and caffeine, Gary brings warmth, dedication, and a good laugh to his work on the Indy Convergence Board of Directors.

Shane Rogers

Shane Rogers currently resides in a suburb of Chicago where he is the Technical Director for the Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre. He has worked for over 25 years in professional theatre as a technician, carpenter, and actor at places including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Ashland, Or.), Classical Theatre Company (Houston, TX.), Pioneer Theatre Company, Salt Lake Acting Company, and Plan B Theatre (Salt Lake City, Ut.) He has also done a number of independent films and audio book recordings.