In 2010, Mikhaela Mahony began interning at The 52nd Street Project, a non-profit organization for children in Hell’s Kitchen. She has been volunteering there ever since. She works on productions written member playwrights ages 9 to 14, as both director and actor, as well as serving as director for plays by professional playwrights to be acted by teen members of the project. She has served as a coach for Shakespeare monologues and contemporary poetry, and participated in their mentorship program, Smart Partners, from 2012 to 2019. Her work as a volunteer artist with the project is a core tenet of her directing practice.