Born and bred in Brooklyn, Monique "Orisha Love" Letamendi has been in love with theater, poetry and music for as long as she can remember. In 2010, Orisha Love had graduated from BCHS, with a sights on activism and providing for her community. In an attempt to extend herself into other fields, Monique began to teach poetry and literacy in various state funded programs and non-profit organizations, such as viBe Theater Experience in 2014 and Sankofa Empowerment Program in 2010. Orisha became program director at viBe Theater Experience in 2015, and directs, produces and collaborates with high school girls from the tri-state area to create full length stage plays and albums. Nicknamed “The Mouthpiece”, Monique has extended her talents to various social reform movements and campaigns such as #fightfor15, reclaiming the black woman’s body with Black Woman Blueprint at the Roulette Theater, unconstitutional stop and frisk policies with MTR in Bushwick and #sayhername with the African American Policy Forum for an Evening of Action at Pratt University. Monique has facilitated workshops with NBWC at Medgar Evers, performed at various universities all over NYC such as Pratt University, NYU, Hunter College and Barnard College in Boston as well as performing original work at Brooklyn Museum, MOCADA Museum and BRIC. Orisha is teaching young girls and homeless youth to love themselves through expression, poetry, performance and the arts.