Amy Gottlieb and Susan Shah to be Celebrated at Houses on the Moon Gala

Houses on the Moon will present its AMPLIFY 2025 Gala Celebration, to be held Monday, October 6, 2025, at 6:30 PM at Chelsea Table + Stage.

This year’s gala, hosted by actor and comedian Miles Grose, will honor Amy Gottlieb & Susan Shah, and present this year’s Mauricio Leyton Award to Musicambia, an organization bringing music and community to incarcerated people across the U.S. The evening will also feature live performances, including music by singer-songwriter Kenyatta Emmanuel and Broadway’s Curtis Wiley, and sneak peeks of “Your Hands Are The Road,” Houses on the Moon’s new musical developed in collaboration with national LGBTQ+ advocacy group History UnErased and the Library of Congress.

All funds raised will support Houses on the Moon’s 2026 season, including the world premiere of Jeremy Kamps & Trixie Ndanu Kioko’s SKIN TO SKIN, new work development programs, and vital educational partnerships.

“We are deeply honored to celebrate Amy Gottlieb, Susan Shah, and Musicambia at this year’s AMPLIFY Gala. Amy and Susan have each dedicated their lives to advancing justice, equity, and human dignity—values that are at the very core of our work at Houses on the Moon. And Musicambia’s extraordinary programs remind us of the transformative power of art, even in the most challenging circumstances. Together, these honorees embody the spirit of amplifying unheard voices, and we are thrilled to lift them up on this special night.” — Emily Joy Weiner, Co-Founder & Artistic Director, Houses on the Moon Theater Company

2025 Honorees

Amy Gottlieb

serves as the U.S. Migration Director of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), where she leads national efforts to address the drivers of migration and uphold migrants’ rights. With decades of experience practicing and teaching immigration law, she has advanced immigrant-led organizing, advocacy, and legal services nationwide. Amy is the former chair of the steering committee of the Detention Watch Network and has proudly served on the board of Houses on the Moon for more than 20 years.

Susan Shah

is an accomplished lawyer, public health professional, and policymaker. She has devoted her career to criminal justice reform, immigrant rights, and public health. She is the inaugural Executive Director of Women Building Up, an organization that uplifts women, girls, and gender-expansive individuals impacted by carceral systems. Susan previously served as Managing Director for the Racial Justice Initiative at Trinity Church Wall Street Philanthropies and Director of Programs and Strategy at the Vera Institute of Justice. She currently serves on the boards of Activating Change and Houses on the Moon Theater Company.

The Mauricio Leyton Award honors the memory of actor and Houses on the Moon artist Mauricio Leyton by annually recognizing an individual or organization championing unheard voices through community service. This year’s award recipient is Musicambia, an organization founded on the belief in the transformative power of music. Musicambia helps incarcerated individuals write, play, and perform music, fostering teamwork, empathy, and creative expression. Launched at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in 2014, Musicambia now operates programs at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in New York, as well as in Kansas and California—reaching over 125 incarcerated participants and 220 audience members each year. Learn more at musicambia.org.

Singer-songwriter Kenyatta Emmanuel is an artist and activist who has shared his music from Sing Sing to the Carnegie Hall, offering a full live concert the same day of his release after serving 24 1⁄2 years in prison. Kenyatta has collaborated with a range of stakeholders in and out of carceral spaces to impact the world artistically and socially, forming initiatives such as Voices From Within, which serves the children of incarcerated parents. He is an example of a tireless advocate for the wealth of potential awaiting discovery in the nation’s carceral spaces. His offering of music and message remains consistent, from his 2014 TEDx talk to his presentation at the 2022 International Wellbeing Summit, where he explores the beauty of life, love, and the human condition, reminding us of all that we hold in common. Kenyatta was a 2022 Galaxy Leaders Fellow and 2021-24 Artist in Residence for the Initiative for a Just Society at Columbia University School of Law. He is also a Teaching Artist with Musicambia.