Founder: Mike Geffner

Inspired Word founder/producer Mike Geffner is a longtime journalist who has published thousands of stories in countless major publications, including USA Today, Details Magazine, The Sporting News, Cigar Aficionado, Texas Monthly, and The Village Voice. He’s interviewed everyone from former President Nixon to Kareem Abdul Jabbar to Forest Whitaker to Derek Jeter, and his work has been acknowledged seven times by the annual anthology The Best American Sports Writing. He was named Best Sportswriter in New York City by New York Press in 1990 and awarded 1st Place for Profile Writing by The Society of Professional Journalists (NJ) in 2000. You can follow him all over social media @InspiredWordNYC.

Assistant Director Emeritus: Marvin Mendlinger

Marvin Mendlinger was the original Assistant Director of The Inspired Word, holding the position from 2010-2019. A renaissance man who worked as a Wall Street investigator as well as rancher and dance dj, Mendlinger loves his coffee and corned beef sandwiches and is a connoisseur of fine wines and classic cars.

Content Manager: Ellara Chumashkaeva

Ellara Chumashkaeva is a jack of all trades with seven years of experience working as a business operations specialist with expertise in sales enablement, data and business analytics, operations management, and technologies administration, implementation, and integration. She has diverse industry experience, working on projects such as the ArtBat Festival, for companies like the U.S.-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce, and currently working as a Sales Enablement Coordinator at an MGA company. She has completed her BBA in Computer Information Systems, released songs across various platforms, has won poetry award at GWU, been published in Boulevard magazine, as well as been shortlisted for chapbook poetry prize at Frontier Poetry. Ellara is part of duo “Blinders,” formed with her husband Brewster. They have been playing together since either of them called themselves musicians. They appeared on major stages around New York, such as Pete’s Candy Store, The Starr Bar, The Bitter End, and Brooklyn Music Kitchen.

Booking Manager/Artist Liaison: Jessica Umanoff

Jessica Umanoff is a dedicated singer/songwriter, actor, and arts educator from New York. Over the past twelve years, she has performed in venues across the United States and Europe, including her Off-Broadway debut in the 2016 original musical Dark Heart. Grounded in musical theatre, Jessica has since expanded her training in commercial music; nurturing her love for R&B, pop, and jazz. This spring, she will be releasing her first album, The Last Sixth Months. Jess’ artistic work focuses on projects that critically examine cultural and political systems, leveraging music as a transformative medium: “Music has, and continues to heal me. I wish for all of us to re-discover our self-compassion and trust in our abilities through the arts.” Through performance and education, she seeks to create meaningful connections that inspire self exploration and emotional resilience. Follow her @jessumanoff on Instagram

Our Hosts

Singer NatraSin @natra_sin20

Singer rhe @musicallyrhe

Poet Tea @poe_tea_meditation

Singer Sam Theuring @sportyspice4ever

Singer Sonya Prema @sonyaprema

Spoken Word/Poetry Coordinator/Poet Liaison: Alex Crowe

Alex Crowe is a spoken word/slam poet originally born and raised in East New York, Brooklyn but has been residing in Woodhaven, Queens for the past 15 years. He performed his original pieces at his very first open mic for The Muse Exchange at Neir’s Tavern. A landmark where bar scenes were shot for the film Goodfellas. Since then he has taken his words to various open mics around the Bushwick, Williamsburg, Downtown Brooklyn,Astoria and lower east side Manhattan poetry scene. His main influences stems from Edgar Allan Poe and Theodore Roethke. In their writings is where he found his courage to write about the real life horror stories of everyday life and his own personal struggles prior to his journey into poetry.  One of his personal favorite pieces titled “ The Haven” can be found in the June issue of “The Scene Life”.  A monthly D.I.Y. Zine pressing company based in Long Island.