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= Linda Nieves-Powell = Linda Nieves-Powell is a Nuyorican photographer, playwright, entrepreneur, director and producer. She is a member of the Writers Guild of America/East and SAG signatory producer. Linda is the founder and president of Latino Flavored Productions and Odd Girl In Entertainment film company.

Biography
Linda Nieves Powell was born in Manhattan, New York, in the Greenwich Village. Her father was a superintendent and worked for the MTA, while her mother was a stay-at-home parent to three daughters, Linda and her two younger sisters. When she was 9 years old, she moved to Long Island with her family where she was raised in a predominantly white neighborhood, a factor that later influenced a lot of her work.

After deciding not to continue her high-school education in sophomore year, she began to work at the age of 16 to support herself. When she was 17, she got her GED and began to take college courses. Which inspired an exploration of self that eventually led her to John Leguizamo’s one-man show, “Mambo Mouth.”

As a child, Nieves-Powell was always interested in the Performing Arts. Her passion for the arts began with a natural talent for dance, but she soon found herself exploring the world of acting. Unfortunately, her parents would not support her interest in applying for a performing arts high school. Nonetheless, her aspirations would follow her into John Leguizamo’s “Mambo Mouth,” changing her life almost overnight, as she straight away began to write about her experiences.

This not only led her to film creating, but also playwriting.

In 1995, Linda Nieves-Powell founded the Latino Flavored Productions, Inc. which was dedicated to developing multimedia productions. The company was incredibly sought after and gave Nieves-Powell the legitimacy that would then impulse her play Yo Soy Latina! into public recognition.

In 2011, Nieves-Powell started the film company Odd Girl In Entertainment.

She recently became a certified teacher through the New York City Teaching Fellows program and is continuing to write and produce work.

Distinguished Works
=== Yo Soy Latina! === Her award-winning play, Yo Soy Latina! begun as a solo piece in 1997 with only the introduction monologue to the published play being written. The play, after being written, would then be performed at theater festivals, under the direction and production of the playwright. It wasn’t until the early 2000s where her play began to get recognition. Not only was it picked up by the Crossroads Theater Company, but also colleges from around the nation began to ask for rights to perform Yo Soy Latina! The play became incredibly successful, winning Nieves-Powell various awards including the 2005 Imagen Award and the HOLA Tespis Award.

Photography
==== Tribute to Afro-Latina Icons  ==== In 2012, Nieves-Powell decided to take a step away from her play and found herself becoming attracted to the world of photography. Nieves-Powell then took it upon herself to learn everything she could of photography and, through a process of self-teaching, released her series “Tribute to Afro-Latina Icons” in 2017.

Plays

 * Soul Latina
 * José Can Speak
 * Yo Soy Latina!

Short Stories and Novels

 * 2012 - The Fly Ass Puerto Rican Girl from the Stapleton Projects - Short Story
 * 2008 - Free Style - Novel

Filmography
* Her script, Six of Me was a finalist at the 2013 Sundance Screenwriter’s Lab.

== Honors, Awards, and Recognitions ==
 * Honorable Merit Award at the Best Short Competition for her short film Stereotypically Me
 * "Mas Que Belleza" by People en Español
 * Named one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics by Hispanic Business magazine
 * 2002 - Named one of El Diario/La Prensa 's 50 Most Outstanding Women
 * 2003 - the Harvard University's Fuerza Latina Award
 * 2003 - Awarded the Texas A&M University SCOLA Award her presentation of positive Latina images.
 * 2004 - HOLA Tespis Award by the Hispanic Organization of Latino Actors
 * 2005 - Imagen Award
 * 2005 - Comité Noviembre Award