APDA Conference 2026

Jeni Benavides is thrilled to work with the NAPD as an Executive Assistant. She previously served as the Training Coordinator with NAPD helping to organize training events and is excited to now apply those skills to the organization as a whole.

Prior to her work with NAPD her background focused on theatre, education, and activism. Jeni served as the Education Director at a local community theatre, and taught introduction to theatre part time at the University of Kentucky. She earned her bachelor’s in theatre performance at the University of South Carolina, and her master’s in theatre at the University of Kentucky. As an artist, Jeni has focused on physical approaches to performance and documentary theatre, which became integral to her work with The Girl Project (TGP), now Voices Amplified, an arts-meets activism program designed to inspire, educate, and empower high school aged students to challenge the misrepresentation of women in American media culture through performing arts education.

She is a novice rock climber and taco enthusiast, and you can ask her about her cats any time you’d like.