Comedy & Conversations

ANN-CAROL PENCE (Co-Founder/Producing Artistic Director) arranged the music for Aurora’s first Christmas Canteen in 1996 and was hired full-time in September of 1998 as Resident Musical Director. An education major at James Madison University, she used her background to develop Learning Library (or L2). As a musician, she created Aurora’s Musicals by Moonlight, and Aurora’s New Musical Initiative. She has performed as pianist and music director both nationally (Goodspeed Opera House, Pasadena Playhouse, The Cleveland Playhouse, The Kennedy Center) and locally (The Alliance, Theatrical Outfit, The Horizon, Georgia Ensemble Theatre,). As a proud citizen of Gwinnett, Ann-Carol is most proud of Aurora Theatre winning the first ever Pinnacle Award for Large Non-Profit, and the first ever Moxie Award (for woman-led businesses) for Aurora Theatre. These distinctions go well with her 5 Suzi Awards for Outstanding Music Direction. She was a participant in the 2016 Atlanta Regional Leadership Institute and member of the “Best Class Ever!”

MARTIN STORROW — He believes that our stories can change everything. A prolific writer, composer, and lyricist, Martin has created multiple albums and singles and a collection of poems. His music has been featured in film and television shows on NBC, Starz, and Netflix, and he has performed more than a thousand live concerts across the US and around the globe.

Wendy Casper is on the Board of Directors for the National Alliance on Mental
Illness, the Gwinnett County Chapter. She is the Program Coordinator for her
Chapter. She facilitates Peer Support Group for persons living with mental
illness. She is a Peer education teacher, she speaks on mental health and
suicide prevention to middle and high school students, staff and families. She
shares her mental health recovery story as a Presenter of In Our Own Voice,
and She’s a Sharing Your Story with Law Enforcement Trainer, all with the
National Alliance on Mental Illness. She is a public speaker on mental health.
She is a member of the Prevention Action Coalition Mental Health Task Force
in Gwinnett County. She is a mother of a 24-year-old daughter, she is in
college for her master’s degree in psychology which she plans to use as a
counselor to those living with dissociative identity disorder.

David Perdue is an Atlanta comedian who has appeared on Comedy Central,FuseTV, EPIX, & Kevin Hart’s LOL Network. David is also an actor appearing in "Love Is..." on OWN and "Bobcat Goldthwait"s Misfits and Monsters" on truTV.  David co-hosts the hilarious sports/comedy podcast called "Forth and Ten" as well as the political/comedy podcast “The Confused Caucus”. In 2022 David was selected as an Arts & Social Justice Fellow at Emory University in addition to a 2022 Climate Comedy Cohort created & directed by Generation180 & the Center for Media & Social Impact’s Good Laugh Initiative. As you can see David is many things but most importantly he is NOT a former US Senator. 

A progressive thinker and a social and civic entrepreneur, Munir Meghjani has
used his professional experience and heavy community involvement to make
connections and bring together diverse groups in Atlanta. This commercial
and investment real estate broker with Sands Investment Group is also the
Vice President of PQ Consulting an Atlanta based management consulting
firm and co-founder of Knock on Wood Creations, which makes handcrafted
wood accessories. He currently serves as the founding Executive Director of his non-profit HOPE (Helping Organizations & People Everywhere) Inc. - they create interactive events to re‑engage young adults in service. He also played a critical role in the start of AROMA (Activist Recruiting Organizing & Mentoring in Atlanta), a group geared toward strategically and creatively mobilizing activists.