Executive Staff

Toni Simmons Henson, MPA

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Founder, Producing Director and Director of pARTnership Development and Strategic Marketing

Shelton Land, PhD

Atlanta Black Theare Festival Staff, Shelton Land

Artistic Director and

Director of Educational Programs on loan to the ABTF from LandMindz, Inc., a 501(c)3 corporation.

Durrell Daniels

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Technical Director

consulting staff

Wanda Simmons

Atlanta Black Theatre Festival Co-founder, Wanda Simmons

Co-Founder, Festival Director (Emerita)

Adjudication Coordinator

Kiplyn Primus

Atlanta Black Theatre Festival Staff Kiplyn Primus

Marketing/Brand Strategy Consultant

Primus Marketing, LLC

Taurean Blacque

Atlanta Black Theatre Festival Board Chair Taurean Blacque

Lifetime Honorary Board Chair 

The first recipient of the Atlanta Black Theatre Festival Theatre Legend Award, Taurean Blaque is a prolific stage, NAACP Image Award winning and Emmy nominated actor. 


After becoming one of the first single African-American men in the country to adopt a child, in 1989 he was asked by President George H. W. Bush to serve as the national spokesman for adoption. Blaque has since adopted 11 children. He credits his strong Christian faith for his desire to adopt.