Simone’s name, Immanuel, means “God is with us,” and her work embodies this belief. A multidisciplinary artist and writer from New Orleans, she attended the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and earned a BFA in Acting from Ball State University. She is a member of the 2023-2024 Creative Assembly cohort at the New Orleans Museum of Art. Simone completed the Broadway Advocacy Coalition’s Artivism Fellowship in 2022 and made her Off-Broadway debut in *7 Minutes* by Stefano Massini. Her play *I’m Gonna Let It Shine* was a Kennedy Center John Cauble Award finalist. Recently, she worked as an Artist at Work Resident with Ashé Cultural Arts Center and the Office of Art and Film, focusing on artistic civic engagement. Simone is also a partner with Loud Queer Youth Theatre and founder of Bulbancha Beholders, supporting young Black queer artists.