Kevin Frazier

Kevin Frazier is the co-host of Entertainment Tonight. Mr. Frazier has worked as an anchor at Fox Sports Net, later ESPN, where he hosted Sports Center and a multitude of NBA themed programming including NBA Shootaround, NBA Fastbreak and NBA Fastbreak Tuesday. In 2008, Mr. Frazier founded HipHollywood.com, the premiere online web site for the latest urban entertainment news. The company is a content partner for ET Online and The Insider, and offers breaking news, up-to-the moment pop culture information, photos and exclusive interviews with today’s top stars in music, sports, television and film.

Debra Langford

Debra Langford is a senior-level executive with experience in Fortune 50 organizations, production companies, publishing, and academia. Debra currently serves as the Interim Senior Director of Corporate Partners in the USC Marshall MBA Career Services Center for the University of Southern California (USC), working in a new position to increase company engagement for student job placements for the top-25 business school. In 2012, Debra launched The Langford Company to provide consulting expertise in the areas of corporate external branding, high-impact events, diversity, and inclusion strategies to identify and recruit women and under-represented candidates for executive positions.

Adriane Hopper Williams

Adriane Hopper Williams is an Emmy Award-winning television producer and the co-owner of EnLight Productions, Inc. During her 20 years in the entertainment industry, she has been responsible for the production of over 500 hours of non-fiction television, including award-winning talk shows, documentaries, reality shows, and docu-series. In 2002, she began working on NBC’s first ever daily reality series, Starting Over, which led to her receiving two Emmy nominations and one Emmy award in 2005. Her company, EnLight Productions, is currently partnering with 44 Blue Productions and developing a slate of programming with T.D. Jakes Enterprises.

DeVon Franklin

Oprah Winfrey calls DeVon Franklin ”a bonafide dynamo…a different kind of spiritual teacher for our times.” DeVon is a bestselling author, spiritual success coach, former Sony Pictures executive, and the CEO of Franklin Entertainment, a production company in conjunction with 20th Century Fox. Variety named him one of the ”10 Producers to Watch” and Beliefnet called him one of the ”Most Influential Christians Under 40.” Franklin is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Wait (co-written with his wife award-winning actress Meagan Good) and Produced By Faith.

Carl Gist

BioCarl J. Gist Jr. is a former federal lobbyist, who is now the Executive Director at Reel Image Inc (RII). RII’s mission is to promote the positive portrayal of minorities and women in Hollywood by making sure diverse storytellers are included in the development process. During his tenure with RII, Carl has worked with his board to develop programs aimed at developing the next generation of diverse content creators. They have also forged partnerships with content providers, who share RII’s desire to see more inclusiveness and diversity in film and television. He currently directs several programs and start-up efforts. He is also responsible for fundraising, advocacy and managing external relationships and collaborations. He has a BA Electrical Engineering from North Carolina A&T University.

Tasha Smith

Tasha Smith is a multifaceted actress whose work brings style and intensity to the subjects she plays on the big and small screens. She currently stars in the Tyler Perry television series, For Better Or Worse. Smith’s memorable portrayal of ‘Angela’ in Perry’s box office hits, Why Did I Get Married? and Why Did I Get Married, Too?, sparked the creation of the spin-off series. Smith’s other film credits include Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls. Smith went on to co-star in the #1 box office film, Jumping The Broom. She also appeared in Couples Retreat, ATL, The Good Mother, The Whole Ten Yards, and The Longshots.

Laz Alonso

Laz Alonso can soon be seen in Kathryn Bigelow’s upcoming ”Untitled Detroit Project” as well as opposite Paula Patton and Omar Epps in the independent feature film, ”Stranded.”

Alonso recently starred opposite Debra Messing in NBC’s ”Mysteries of Laura” with starring roles in NBC’s ”Deception”and A&E’s ”Breakout Kings” prior.

In 2011, Alonso starred in the hit romantic comedy ”Jumping the Broom” for which he received a NAACP Image Award for outstanding actor in a motion picture and was also nominated for a BET best actor award. Prior to ”Jumping the Broom,” he co-starred in the highest-grossing film of all time, James Cameron’s ”Avatar.” Alonso also played the lead villain in ”Fast and Furious,” which reunited the original cast.

In 2009, Alonso was chosen as one of Variety’s Top Ten Actors to Watch due to his quick rising success which included his performance inSpike Lee’s ”Miracle at St. Anna.”

His past movie credits include lead roles in ”Stomp the Yard” and ”This Christmas,” a co-starring role in Sam Mendes’ hit ”Jarhead,” and a supporting role in Rod Lurie’s remake of the Sam Peckinpah classic ”Straw Dogs.”

Born and raised in Washington D.C., Alonso always knew he wanted to be an actor. He graduated from the prestigious Howard University School of Business, earning a B.A. in business administration with a concentration in marketing. After college, he worked on Wall Street as an investment banker.

Laz resides in Los Angeles.

Kim Fields

Kim Fields is a veteran actress with an eminent household name, starring in two long – running series, NBC’s ”Facts of Life” and Fox’ ”Living Single”. Both shows remain in worldwide syndication, consistently reinforcing her place as a global, pop culture icon.

Among her diverse talents, Kim Fields has proven to be an award-winning director, as well as a successful filmmaker and producer. She was one of the lead directors for nearly 100 episodes of ”Tyler Perry’s Meet the Brown’s” and ”Tyler Perry’s House of Payne” on TBS. 

2016 was a milestone year for Kim, as it was her 40th anniversary in the entertainment industry; she wrapped up a successful stint on Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Atlanta, segueing immediately into an unexpected (yet amazing) run on ABC’s Dancing With The Stars. Kim then starred in a dramatic faith-based film, ”A Question Of Faith”, which will be released fall/2017. Kim’s performance is generating quite a buzz from audiences and critics attending advanced screenings. 

The start of her next 40 years in the Biz finds Kim currently starring in the new British comedy series, ”Living The Dream” for Sky TV. This summer, Kim is thrilled to return to ABC for the exciting reboot of the hit ”Battle of the Network Stars”. But perhaps nothing is more thrilling for Kim these days than the fall release of her highly anticipated autobiography, Blessed Life. With arresting transparency, humor and chock full of many personal stories of joy, pain, triumphs and challenges as well as wonderfully delightful tales of growing up in Hollywood, Blessed Life is sure to be a inspiring best seller for Kim and its publisher, Hachette. 

Her marriage to Christopher L. Morgan and the birth of their sons Sebastian (age 10 years) and Quincy(age three), made news around the world. 

As a noted and highly sought after keynote speaker, Kim remains in demand to share her knowledge about women’s issues, filmmaking, and faith & family. 

Blair Underwood

Emmy-winner and Two-time Golden Globe nominee Blair Underwood has distinguished himself as an award-winning actor/director/producer who continues to showcase his multitude of talents in the world of film, television, theatre and literature. The multi-talented star has also received 7 NAACP Image Awards and a Grammy Award. Blair Underwood solidified his place as a Hollywood mainstay with his role as attorney Jonathan Rollins on the NBC legal drama ”L.A. Law” from 1987-1994. Since then, he’s gone on to have notable turns in shows including ”In Treatment,” ”Sex and the City,” ”The New Adventures of Old Christine,” ”Dirty Sexy Money” and ”Marvel’s Agents of Shield and has directed and produced dozens of films and advertising campaigns.  In 2016, Underwood joined the cast of ”Quantico” and returns in 2017 for his second season.
  
Through his production company, Intrepid, along with Bungalow Media and Litton Entertainment, filmmaker and philanthropist Underwood brings the idea of supporting non-profits to reality TV by executive-producing the Emmy Award-winning daytime show ”Give” – which he describes as ” ’Undercover Boss’ meets ‘Extreme Makeover’.

The National African American Museum of History and Culture and Blair Underwood joined forces in May of 2017 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Underwood’s directorial debut of ”Second Coming” with a special screening and Blair Underwood’s donation of the original film to the Museum.

Monique Coleman

Monique is most recognized as Taylor Mckessie in Disney’s High School Musical franchise. However, her most significant role came a few years ago when she was appointed the first ever United Nations Youth Champion for the International Year of Youth. With this title, she organized and funded a 6 month global tour to 24 countries and raised awareness about the most pressing issues facing today’s youth.

She is the Founder of GimmeMo, a multi-platform community that amplifies youth voices and supports organizations who are working to make the world better for young people. Season 1 of The GimmeMo Show is currently available on HULU.

Mo works tirelessly to strike a balance between her work on screen & her passion for impacting the world. Her latest projects include NBC Pilot Miranda’s Rights, playing Kayla in the TV One sitcom ”Here We Go Again” and starring as Lain in New Form Digital’s ”The Fourth Door” which can be seen on the Go90 app. She is currently a Celebrity Champion for The UN Foundation’s Girl Up Campaign and appears in the upcoming indie films ”Little Star” & ”The Outdoorsman”. Mo is also executive producer of a short film entitled ”Distortion”.

Monique is starring as Katina in ”Guidance” Season 3 for Awesomeness TV. Acting is my passion, advocacy is my purpose”. ~Monique Coleman
Keep up with Mo on Instagram @_moniquecoleman

Edwina Findley Dickerson

Edwina Findley Dickerson is an award-winning film, television, and theatre actress hailed by critics as ”A marvel to watch.” She made her prime-time debut as ”Tosha Mitchell” on HBO’s critically acclaimed series The Wire, followed by four seasons as ”Davina Lambreaux” on HBO’s Emmy-nominated drama series Treme, set in post-Katrina New Orleans. Edwina now stars as ”Kelly” in Tyler Perry’s hit drama series If Loving You Is Wrong, which premiered as the highest-rated series debut in the Oprah Winfrey Network’s history. Edwina can also be seen as ”Shirlane” in new FOX event series SHOTS FIRED from Gina and Reggie Bythewood. On the big screen, Edwina gave a hilarious turn as Kevin Hart’s wife ”Rita” in Warner Bros’ hit comedy Get Hard, and garnered attention for her role as ”Rosie” in the Sundance award-winning feature Middle of Nowhere directed by Selma’s Ava Duvernay. This awards season, Edwina earned an Independent Spirit Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her ”skin prickling performance” as ”Melva Neddy” in Free In Deed, based on a true story.

Theatrically, Edwina performed in the award-winning play Eclipsed, written by The Walking Dead’s Danai Gurira set during the Liberian war, and historical drama Gee’s Bend for which Edwina was nominated for a Barrymore Award for Outstanding Lead Actress. Other theatrical credits include Winter’s Tale, Twelfth Night, Henry IV, Antigone, Cyrano De Bergerac, Into the Woods, Crowns, and Crumbs from the Table of Joy from Pulitzer prize-winner Lynn Nottage.

Edwina is an alumna of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she was honored with the prestigious Outstanding Artist and Scholar Award, Founder’s Day Award, the Dean’s List, and induction into the Tisch University Scholars Program. During high school Edwina studied theatre and classical music at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in her hometown, Washington, DC, where she was honored with the President’s Education Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement. She went on to intern in the office of Senator Edward M. Kennedy on Capitol Hill.

Edwina and her husband, entrepreneur Kelvin Dickerson, are the Co-Founders of the national nonprofit organization AbundantLifeU. Edwina regularly travels the country speaking, teaching, and inspiring millennials, women, and leaders to uncover their purpose and live their dreams. Learn more at www.edwinafindley.com.

Ashley Blaine Featherson

Born in Washington DC and raised in Gaithersburg, Maryland, actress Ashley Blaine Featherson, can currently be seen starring as one of the leads on the new Netflix comedy series, ”Dear White People.” Based on the successful Sundance film of the same name, Ashley will be reprised her role of ‘Joelle ”Curls” Brooks’ for the TV series. The show is about a group of diverse students at a predominately-white Ivy League college, who must navigate various forms of racial and other types of discrimination. ”Dear White People” premiered on Netflix on April 28th to much critical acclaim and has fast become one of the top series to binge watch on the network!
Ashley graduated from Howard University and past acting credits include a recurring role on the TV series ”Hello Cupid” as well as guest starring roles on such TV shows as ”Glee,” ”My Crazy Roommate” and ”State Of Georgia.”

For More Information contact Shannon Barr at Rogers & Cowan at sbarr@rogersandcowan.com.

Instagram: @ashleyblaine
Twitter: @AshleyBlaine

Isaak Presley

Fifteen year-old Isaak Presley can currently be seen playing Ethan Diaz on Disney’s ”Stuck in the Middle”, which premiered this in March 2016.  The show centers around Harley Diaz, played by Jenna Ortega, an inventor who is the middle child of a large family, and how she copes with the struggles of being a child.  Ethan is Harley’s best friend and her favorite brother. Ethan is laid back, cool, plays guitar, and wise beyond his years.

Isaak will soon be starring in his first feature film, ”One Nation Under God,”playing the leading role of David Guiterrez. The film is a family drama that centers on a magnet high school where the words ”under God” have been removed from the Pledge of Allegiance.

Before ”Stuck in the Middle”, Isaak starred in A History of Radness (2015), A Killer of Men (2015), and ”OMG!” (2014).

Isaak’s first acting gig was in ”Yo Gabba Gabba” when he was 5. He had to do Karate and dance, and he remembers having such an amazing time. He loved being surrounded by so many talented people and be treated so well, it was an incredible experience for him and he holds it in his heart now and always. At age eight he caught the acting bug and decided he wanted to pursue acting seriously.

Fun fact: Isaak was born on June 16, 2002 – on Father’s Day!

Isaak was born and raised in California. Aside from charming audiences on T.V., Isaak loves to play guitar and sing, which is another big passion in his life. He also enjoys writing songs, poems, stories, etc.  Isaak and his father hold riding horses very dear to their hearts.  The two have ridden since Isaak was born and they do it every weekend when they’re free, it’s how they recharge for the following week.  Horses have been a huge part of Isaak’s life and he wouldn’t trade cruising in the wilderness on his horse and taking in the fresh air for anything.

Isaak has 2 horses; Chance and Scarlet, two dogs; Cowboy and Presley, and he also has a 250 pound African tortoise, named Buck!

For more information please contact Shannon Barr at Rogers & Cowan at 310-854-8155.

You can follow him at:

Instagram: . @isaakpresley

Twitter: @isaakpresley

Facebook: IsaakPresleyOfficial

Snapchat: isaakpresley

YouTube: Isaak Presley

Elijah Kelley

An acclaimed actor, singer, dancer and overall entertainer, Elijah Kelley is the true definition of a triple threat. Kelley first exploded on the big screen as ”Seaweed J. Stubbs” in the New Line musical HAIRSPRAY, earning a Critics Choice Award for Best Ensemble in a Motion Picture, as well as a SAG Award Nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. He next starred in RED TAILS, the George Lucas produced film about the famed Tuskegee airmen, opposite an all-star cast that included Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding Jr., and was also in THE BOYS OF ABU GHRAIB, a highly acclaimed independent film starring Sean Astin.

Kelley received widespread praise for his role in LEE DANIELS’ THE BUTLER, which was nominated for a SAG award for Best Ensemble Cast and an NAACP award for Best Film. He was also recently heard voicing ”Sunny” in Disney’s animated STRANGE MAGIC. Additional film credits include 28 DAYS with Sandra Bullock and Viggo Mortensen and New Line’s TAKE THE LEAD.

Kelley got his start on the small screen playing a young Blair Underwood in CBS’ award-winning miniseries, MAMA FLORA’S FAMILY. Other television credits include CBS’ NUMB3RS, UPN’s EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS, FX’s THE SHIELD and HBO’s TV movie, A LESSON BEFORE DYING, opposite Don Cheadle. Kelley’s talents shined as ”Scarecrow” in NBC’s hit live special, THE WIZ LIVE!, opposite Queen Latifah, Ne-Yo and David Alan Grier. He was most recently seen as ”Ricky Bell” in BET’s THE NEW EDITION STORY, which aired in January 2017 with record-breaking ratings for the network.

Richard T. Jones

Richard will next be seen in the upcoming Warner Brothers feature, Chips. Richard can currently be seen in the Netflix series, The Santa Clarita Diet, and on TV Land's Teachers. Richard is best known for his work in The Wood, Event Horizon, Kiss the Girls, Why Did I Get Married?, Why Did I Get Married, Too?, Vantage Point, Super 8, and others. Richard is best known for his starring roles on Judging Amy, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and Brooklyn South. His extensive television credits also include Narcos, American Horror Story: Hotel, Extant, Hawaii Five-O, Nikita, and Girlfriends.

Robert Townsend

”Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” – the Motown classic is the perfect song to describe Hollywood icon Robert Townsend. Townsend started out as an extra in movies and has since become a heralded actor, comedian, writer, director, producer, and cable network programming CEO. That’ s not so bad for a kid from the west side of Chicago who was raised by a single mom of four children on welfare. Never satisfied with his own success Townsend continues to overcome even greater obstacles and climb even bigger mountains in the entertainment industry.

How would one describe Robert Townsend? A talented actor, Hollywood trailblazer, passionate visionary, or just a regular guy seeking to make a difference, these are all phrases that apply to the multitalented entertainer. Townsend is the last of a rare breed of artists that scrutinizes every word and syllable that is expressed in his work. It’ s no wonder that so many people regard Townsend’ s body of work as classics. A Hollywood pioneer well ahead of his time, Townsend, is often referred to as one of the ”Godfathers of the Independent Film World.”With more than 30 years in the entertainment business, he has made an indelible mark in Hollywood with an extensive list of credits.

Although busy as a performer and filmmaker, Robert always makes time to participate in humanitarian efforts and speak to various organizations around the world. As a longtime speaker for the United Negro College Fund and the NAACP, his concern for inner city youth takes him throughout the country to inspire young people to follow their dreams. In addition, Robert shares his business expertise with various Fortune 500 companies. Townsend has been affiliated with Family Foundation an organization created by Lowell and Michael Milken to recognize outstanding educators in the country, and stress to children the importance of education and respect for teachers. He has traveled with The Milken Family Foundation to Chicago, Boston, Sacramento, Philadelphia, Washington, DC and Los Angeles to recognize deserving teachers and inspire and motive students around the country.

Looking to give back and make an even bigger imprint on the movie industry and the community as a whole, Robert Townsend has created his 501 (c) 3 non-profit, The Robert Townsend Foundation, as a venue to inspire, create and fund new film content and set up a new distribution model. The foundation’ s mission is to open the doors to new and underrepresented artists and create a new model to showcase the new filmmakers to the world.

What does Townsend want in the future? He simply wants to continue to create: creating more for the web, creating more for television, and returning to the silver screen with his unique brand of storytelling.

”I am truly blessed to do what I do,” said Townsend. ”And as I write this next chapter of my life I will bring my ‘ A’ game like never before, with more zest, more passion, more vision, and more love.”

Brian White

In production currently, Brian has a major recurring role on Ray Donovan. Recently starred opposite Gary Dourdan in the corporate drama MEDIA from Producers Cathy Hughes and Sheila Ducksworth.

In 2015 White both starred in and produced, the dramatic feature WHERE CHILDREN PLAY, costarring Teyonah Paris & Macy Gray. He also held down 3 Major Recurring Roles on 3 of TV’s hottest shows al at the same time: NBC’s hit show CHICAGO FIRE as Taylor Kinney’s new partner, CHIEF/CAPTAIN DALLAS PATTERSON; on ABC’s hit show, SCANDAL, as Kerry Washington’s new love interest; and heating up the screen with Rochelle Aytes on ABC’s MISTRESSES.

Brian starred in CBS’ HOSTAGES, opposite Dylan McDermott and Toni Collette; the independent feature, ”Walter,” with Neve Campbell, Peter Facinelli, Virginia Madsen, and William H. Macy; the hit CW show, ”Beauty And The Beast” opposite Kristen Kreuk. That year, Brian White also starred in Tyler Perry’s new romantic drama ”Good Deeds” (Lionsgate), co-starring with Tyler Perry, Thandie Newton, and Gabrielle Union. In April 2012, White stars opposite Academy-award nominee Richard Jenkins and Emmy-award winner Bradley Whitford in the Joss Whedon/Drew Goddard horror film ”The Cabin in the Woods.”

White also reprised his popular role of Marcus in the Emmy-award nominated drama series ”Men of A Certain Age” which stars Ray Romano, Andre Braugher and Scott Bakula as three best friends in their late forties dealing with the realities of middle age. White is almost a nemesis to Braugher’s character Owen as Marcus constantly outshines him at the car lot where they are both salesmen. Owen’s father, the owner of the lot, considers Marcus the ”son he wished he had.”

In 2009, White starred in Tyler Perry’s ”I Can Do Bad All by Myself” (Lionsgate) opposite Taraji P. Henson. He also appeared opposite Channing Tatum and Terrance Howard in ”Fighting” (Rogue Pictures) and alongside World Wrestling Entertainment superstar John Cena in the film ”12 Rounds” (Fox Atomic ). In 2008, he starred alongside Jason Statham in the fantasy-adventure epic ”In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale” (Fox International). White also starred in the musical-
drama ”Stomp the Yard” (Screen Gems) and opposite Dwayne ”The Rock” Johnson in Disney’s box office hit ”The Game Plan.” Other notable film credits include the box office hit ”The Family Stone” (Fox 2000) and Independent Spirit Award-nominated film ”Brick” (Focus Features/Universal.

A Boston native and son of a licensed financial consultant mother and professional basketball player father (legend JoJo White of the Boston Celtics), White was instilled with the importance of both sports and education throughout his childhood. He studied Political Science, Psychology and Theatre at Dartmouth College.

He continued to play football and lacrosse throughout his college years and upon graduation was signed by both an NFL (New England Patriots) and NLL (Boston Blazers) team. In 2000, due to an injury, White made the transition from professional athlete to investment broker. Later on, a chance meeting with an entertainment executive led him to leave the world of finance to begin a new career in modeling and eventually acting.

White is most recognizable to television audiences as Detective Tavon Garris on the award-winning FX crime drama ”The Shield.” Other television credits include CBS’ ”Moonlight,” UPN’s ”Moesha,” ”The Parkers,” and ”Second Time Around” as well as MTV’s ”Spyder Games.” He also has a philanthropic side to him and has co-founded a multitude of different ventures including: the Helping Hands Celebrity Weekend (HHCW) in St. Thomas, US VI which creates a unique arena where members of the entertainment industry, professional athletes and corporate leaders can unite and support one another’s charitable efforts; Black Carpenter (www.BlackCarpenter.org) which is a multi-platform youth empowerment brand that includes a book, feature documentary and speaking tour designed to create a ”tool box” that represents the essential life skills for building a successful next generation; a professional dance company/community youth outreach organization called Phunk Phenomenon Urban Dance Theatre. He is also a founding partner of a full-service film, television and broadband production company based in Los Angeles, CA.

GregAlan Williams

GregAlan Williams plays Robert ”Mac” McCready, the brother of Bishop James Greenleaf’s wife, Lady Mae (Lynn Whitfield), on OWN’s new drama, Greenleaf. GregAlan’s broad list of acting credits include recurring roles on the USA Network show, Necessary Roughness, BET’s The Game, and HBO’s The Sopranos. His 250-primetime appearances also include The West Wing, NCIS: Los Angeles, and Castle, to name a few. GregAlan’s film career boasts 42 feature films, including classics such as Remember the Titans and Old School. And, of course, there is GregAlan’s seven seasons as beach cop, Garner Ellerbee, on the most watched television show in the world, Baywatch. GregAlan’s 30-year career also includes work with Pulitzer Prize Winner, August Wilson, the Chicago Shakespeare Theater and Chicago’s Goodman Theater, as well as the Twin Cities’ world-renowned Penumbra and Mixed Blood theater companies.

T.C. Stallings

TC Stallings Bio T.C. Stallings is a former professional athlete now finding success in film and television. After stunning football campaigns in both high school and college, T.C. went on to play professionally in the Arena, Europe, and Canadian leagues. Following his success in athletics, T.C.’s desires shifted to a career in film and television. In 2004, T.C. landed a spot on Animal Planet’s King of the Jungle, a reality show in which he emerged as the show’s champion. He then landed the role of”T.J.” in the 2011 hit movie Courageous, which was his major motion picture debut. A relocation to California and three more film roles followed. But TC’s career reached new heights with his break-out performance as ”Tony Jordan” in the 2015 hit film, War Room, which soared to #1 in the box office in its second week. Nine more films and several commercials would follow.

Since 2003, TC has been busy as a bible teacher and keynote speaker at many events in and out of the country. On December 1, 2015, TC added ”author” to his resume by releasing his new book, ”The Pursuit: 14 Ways in 14 Days to Passionately Seek God’s Purpose For Your Life.” He followed that up with his current new book release, ”Playing On Gods Team”. TC is married to his college sweetheart, Levette Stallings. They have two children and live in Southern California.

Malik Yoba

The three time NAACP Image Award Winner is probably best known for his roles as an actor in the 1993 Disney classic, Cool Runnings, and the hit Fox television series Empire and New York Undercover. Malik Yoba has proven himself to be much more than what first meets the eye. As an actor, writer, director, producer, musician, activist, educator, inspirational speaker, entrepreneur and author, Yoba tackles his quest to live a purpose filled life and not only entertain but also educate young people in communities across the world on the value of accountability, integrity and leadership. Born in the South Bronx and later raised in Harlem NY, Yoba lives his life as an example to young people in inner cities across the country and abroad that those very streets, which breed, apathy, hatred and violence, can give birth to positive ideas and upward mobility. Shot by a stranger and left for dead at the age of 15, Yoba had already realized he had a passion and gift for moving others and raising consciousness. That near death experience in high school solidified his belief in personal and social responsibility and spurred him toward a life of volunteerism, community activism, service and entrepreneurship. He has made it his life’s mission ever since to use the arts as his weapon of choice.

A veteran of 14 network/cable television shows as a series lead, Yoba can currently be seen weekly on the ABC drama Designated Survivor as FBI Deputy Director Jason Atwood and the host of TV One’s true crime series Justice By Any Means. Other past series include Alphas, Bull, Trinity, Kingpin, Raines, Defying Gravity and Thief. Yoba has enjoyed recurring roles on Revolution, Arrested Development, Girlfriends, and Single Ladies. He has appeared in numerous guest-starring roles including Blue Bloods, Limitless, The Good Wife, Person Of Interest, Law and Order and Nikita. He also wrote, directed and starred in the BET.com web series ShopTalk sponsored by Gillette which has led to his current work in branded entertainment and marketing where he has written, produced or directed web content for NESH NYC, The American Cancer Society, The United Negro College Fund and AARP. In 2013 Yoba co-founded iconic32, a lifestyle firm that specializes in brand strategy and marketing via pop culture and social good. His responsibilities include business development, strategy, commercial directing and event production. At the tender age of 13 Yoba was a member of The Metropolitan Opera Children’s Theater Guild and at 16 years old worked with The Negro Ensemble Company. He has 40+ film credits including, but not limited to Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married , Why Did I Get Married Too, Copland, Smoke, Blue in the Face, Soul Food, Hooked Up, Harlem Aria, Vote for Me, Ride, Bad Dad Rehab,  Kids in America , Criminal , Betty and Corretta where he played Martin Luther King Jr opposite Angela Basset and BBC film Turks and Caicos directed by David Hare.

Cited by the New York Times Magazine as ”An artist who will most likely influence American culture in the next thirty years…” (Nov 1994), Yoba is truly multifaceted. His recent stage appearances include The Atlantic Theater Company’s ”The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner” The New Group’s production of ”Everythings Turning Into Beautiful” with Daphne Rubin Vega and The Delaware Theater Company’s ”The Piano Lesson”. His theatre company, The Malik Yoba National Theatre (MYNT) Company, creates, acquires, produces and distributes content for the urban theatre market. He has co-written two musicals for stage: ”What’s on The Hearts of Men” and ”Acoustic Chocolate,” both which have been adapted for screen. Next up for The MYNT Company is ”Harlem to Hollywood” an autobiographical solo show he has written and will perform his original music and portrays over twenty characters. Yoba was also co-musical director for the Jim Henson Productions/ABC produced Saturday morning show ”CityKids” and wrote the theme song for the Jamaican bobsled team in the movie ”Cool Runnings”. He has been a guest on numerous talk shows including Inside The Actors Studio, The Wendy Williams Show, Charlie Rose and Oprah, and has performed as a musical artist at Carnegie Hall and New York’s Theatre at Madison Square Garden among many other venues. Most recently, the title ”Professor” can be added to his list of accomplishments as Yoba completed his first semester teaching a course he developed called ”The Working Actor” at Long Island University’s Brooklyn campus in the fall of 2011.

Respected among his peers in education and community activism, as a teenager he tutored kids in Harlem and taught theater. At the age of 20, Yoba worked with 13 New York City Public High Schools in a program called AIDP (Attendance Improvement Dropout Prevention), in which he assessed students, faculty and parents needs in order to improve the quality, content and form of education, thereby improving attendance which was then presented to the Board of Education in a proposal for reform. From the ages of 19 to 24, Yoba was a full time educator and worked with the City Kids Foundation, a multicultural NYC art based youth leadership organization. By the age of 23 his work had not gone unnoticed as he was appointed vice president of the organization and served from 1991-1993. In 1989, he co-founded the City Kids Foundation branch in Los Angeles. Yoba designed and facilitated workshops on leadership, diversity and inclusion, community organizing; conflict resolution, self- esteem building and occasionally performed with the City Kids Repertory Company . Over the years Yoba has worked with young people all across America and the world from Yale to Rikers Island High School and Spafford Detention Center in New York to students at Johannesburg Secondary School in South Africa, Toronto, Jamaica , Ethiopia and Belize, Central America to name a few. For his dedication to youth, Yoba has been recognized by or worked with US Presidents Bill Clinton and Barak Obama, The Congress of the United States, The Mayor of New York City, NYPD, UNICEF, McDonald’s Black Achievers, Hale House, The Ethiopian Children’s Fund, The Conference of Black Mayors, The Congressional Black Caucus and more. He is also a well sought after inspirational speaker and presents workshops to corporations, colleges, universities, churches and community organizations around topics ranging from Diversity and Inclusion, leadership, team building, mass incarceration reform and more.

Yoba’s book co-written with his sister Akoshia Yoba, ”Please Return My Phone Call! Preventing the Demise of Personal and Professional Relationships”, is a handbook for business and interpersonal relationships that is rapidly challenging the thought processes of students, individuals, business owners and billion dollar corporations as it pertains to interpersonal communication, integrity, accountability, leadership, and proper follow through. This book leaves readers ”switched on” and conscious of their habits and habits of others in business and life. Previous clients include, Edward Jones, BNY Mellon, Citrix, Columbia University Film School, Yale University and Morgans Hotel Group and many others to help them internally implement the books values and messages. Yoba also sits on the board of The Center For Social Innovation, a co working space for social impact entrepreneurs in NYC.

For more information on the book, seminars, workshops, appearances or keynotes please contact his manager Kieran Maguire at kmaguire@arlookgroup.com 323 363 1741

John Singleton

Oscar and Emmy nominated director John Singleton exploded onto the scene with his first film, Boyz N the Hood (1991), a tough, intelligent, plain-speaking look at friends in gang-ridden South Central L.A. It earned him an Oscar® nomination for Best Original Screenplay and Best Director, becoming the first African-American (and the youngest filmmaker) ever to do so.

He directed 2 Fast 2 Furious starring Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson and Ludacris and Four Brothers starring Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson and Andre ”3000” Benjamin. Baby Boy, a film he wrote, produced and directed starring Tyrese, Ving Rhames, Snoop Dogg and newcomer Taraji P. Henson, received four NAACP Award nominations. Singleton wrote, produced and directed the remake of the 70’s classic Shaft starring Samuel Jackson for Paramount Pictures. Before that, he wrote, produced and directed Higher Learning starring Omar Epps and Laurence Fishburne, and wrote produced and directed Poetic Justice staring Janet Jackson and Tupac Shakur. He also produced and funded the independent film, Hustle and Flow, starring Academy Award® nominee Terrence Howard and Anthony Anderson. This film went on to receive an Academy Award for Best Song of 2005 entitled It’s Hard Out Here For a Pimp.

In the past two years, Singleton has made a successful transition into the television arena, and was recently nominated for a 2016 Emmy award for his directorial work on the mega hit event series for FX entitled, People v. O.J. Simpson: An American Crime Story. Singleton directed the controversial episode 5, ”The Race Card” and received a 2016 Emmy nomination for Directing for a limited series, movie or dramatic special.

He entered 2017 with two series greenlit to air, ”Rebel” a female cop drama that premiered on BET in March and had a successful first season. His second series, that is already garnering Golden Globe buzz, will premiere July 5th on FX and is entitled, ”Snowfall.” The highly anticipated series tells the story of how crack cocaine entered into the streets of Los Angeles in the 1980’s. John has also been receiving a lot of accolades for his A&E directed documentary on the LA Riots entitled, ”L.A Burning: The Riots 25 Years Later.”

http://www.aetv.com/specials/l-a-burning-the-riots-25-years-later

In his spare time, Singleton is privately mentoring emerging filmmakers in areas such as story content (writing) and independent filmmaking. He is also on the Board of the Western Directors Council, Member of University of California SCA Alumni Development Council, and the Academy Film Scholars – Institutional Grants Committee.

Tom Allen

Tom Allen is an award-winning filmmaker, writer and industry leader in faith market promotion through churches, dioceses, nonprofit associations, educational organizations, and family-friendly groups. He is recognized as a first-mover in the effort to bring about the current renaissance of faith-oriented filmed entertainment. In the past 15 years Tom has founded and managed a range of faith-based media organizations including Allied Faith & Family, Catholic Exchange, American Family Media, and Kolbe Communications, which provided distribution-expense financing for The Passion of The Christ. He executive produced and directed the multiple award-winning Champions of Faith sports films and is currently a partner at FrontGate Media (www.frontgatemedia.com), a leading Christian marketing agency and media group specializing in the faith and family space.

His perspective on what makes a successful media project is rooted in his highly specialized market and marketing focus; Tom’s innovative promotional efforts include Pure Flix Entertainment’s The Case for Christ and the upcoming Same Kind of Different As Me; Paramount/MGM’s Ben Hur; Universal’s Les Misérables; Mark Burnett and Roma Downey’s A.D. The Bible Continues; Disney’s Planes: Fire and Rescue and War Horse; Warrior from Lionsgate; the Weinstein Company’s Paddington, The Artist, Long Walk to Freedom and The Butler; Kevin Costner’s Black or White; ABC’s Black*ish; Lifetime’s The Gabby Douglas Story; Rio from 20th Century Fox; The Grey from Open Road; Searching for Sugar Man from Sony Classics; Paramount’s Never Say Never; Columbia Pictures’ Jumping the Broom; Tyler Perry’s A Madea Halloween and Madea’s Witness Protection, Broadway musicals Memphis and Sister Act; Cirque du Soleil’s Iris and Ovo, and many others.

Tom has co-published or co-authored a number of best-selling books, including ”A Guide to Narnia” and his million-selling New York Times bestseller, ”A Guide to the Passion: 100 Questions about The Passion of The Christ.” He has been featured on page A1 of The New York Times as well as the Wall Street Journal, Variety, Christianity Today, The National Catholic Register, NBC, CBS, Fox News, C-SPAN, EWTN and TBN, as well as a range of national radio networks including NPR and Salem Communications. He was graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Notre Dame and earned the Certificate in Film Production from New York University. He began his entertainment industry career as founding senior editor of MovieMaker Magazine, and now works closely with leading entertainment, business, political, sports and church leaders to advance quality media products that espouse uplifting, hopeful themes.

Dr. Daina Berry

Daina Ramey Berry is an Associate Professor of History and African and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. She the author of Swing the Sickle for the Harvest is Ripe: Gender and Slavery in Antebellum Georgia (Illinois, 2007). She is also an award-winning editor of Enslaved Women in America: An Encyclopedia (ABC-Clio, 2012) and Slavery and Freedom in Savannah (UGA, 2014). In addition to her written and editorial work, Berry has appeared on several syndicated radio and television shows including Who Do You Think You Are?, The Tavis Smiley Show, C-SPAN’s Book TV, and NPR’s The Takeaway. She is an advocate for public history and served as one of the technical advisors for the remake of Roots the mini-series (A+E and History, 2016). Her scholarship has been supported by: the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Council of Learned Societies, the American Association of University Women, the Ford Foundation, and the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. In October 2016, she was featured in the New York Times for an opinion piece on Nat Turner’s skull. Beacon Press recently published Berry’s second single-authored book: The Price for their Pound of Flesh: The Value of the Enslaved, from the Womb to the Grave, in the Building of a Nation. This new book has received positive reviews in newspapers such as The Boston Globe and The Washington Post, as well as favorable reviews in Vibe and Essence Magazines.

Catherine Brewton

Catherine Brewton is one of the music industry’s leading executives. With an ear for current trends as well as an appreciation of legacy artist, she is a trusted advocate for music’s thriving creative community. As BMI Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations, Brewton directs outreach to song-writers and music publishers in Atlanta, New York, and Los Angeles. She leads many of BMI’s marquee annual events, including the BMI R&B/Hip Hop Awards, the Trailblazers of Gospel Music Awards, and installments of BMI’s popular ”How I Wrote That Song” panel series focusing on the industry’s most talented and successful songwriters and producers. Throughout her career Brewton has worked with A-list stars in both Gospel and R&B/Hip-Hop including Lil’ Wayne, Rick Ross, Diana Ross, Mariah Carey, Pharrell, Yolanda Adams, Kirk Franklin, Al Green, Nicki Minaj and many more.

Lesley Burbridge

As the head of the publicity department of Word/Epic Records for nearly eight years, Lesley organized national publicity campaigns for some of the industry’s top clients. Lesley also directed and strategically formed a mainstream focused publicity division of the label during her time at Word/Epic Records, which eventually launched her into forming her own company, L.A.B. Media, a multi-faceted independent publicity company developing broad publicity campaigns as well as key relationships for clients in numerous areas. Lesley recently merged her business with Rogers & Cowan in Los Angeles, one of the world’s largest and most respected mainstream/entertainment publicity firms, to create, launch, and oversee the company’s new Family Entertainment & Faith-Based initiative.

L. Scott Caldwell

Chicago native L. Scott Caldwell is an award winning actress best known for her roles as ROSE in the hit series LOST and the iconic film THE FUGITIVE. She started her career as a Member of the resident acting company of the famed NEGRO ENSEMBLE COMPANY mentored by DOUGLAS TURNER WARD. Performing in over 30 new plays she made her Broadway debut in the Tony nominated play HOME, creating 11 characters.

She continued to hone her craft starring in productions on Broadway, Off Broadway and At the major Regional companies across the nation.

Ms Caldwell has received numerous accolades for her stage work, including the TONY AWARD for August Wilson’s JOE TURNERS COME AND GONE directed by Lloyd Richards, The Helen Hayes and Dramalogue Award for Neil Simon’s PROPOSALS, his first play starring an African American, The OBIE Award& LUCILLE LORTEL Award for Lee Blessings’ GOING TO ST IVES playing mother of an African dictator., The Los Angeles Drama Critics Award for RAISIN IN THE SUN and The Ruby Dee Award playing Madame CJ Walker in THE DREAMS OF SARAH BREEDLOVE(Goodman Theater), Other stage work includes Lady MacBeth at Berkeley Rep. the Solo Performance of Ursula La Guin’s THE WIFE STORY at Los Angeles Sci-Fi Fest, WHAT I LEARNED IN PARIS(Colony Theater) and world premieres of works by Athol Fugard and Wole Soyinka.

Her film credits include: THE CASE FOR CHRIST, CONCUSSION w/Will Smith , THE PERFECT GUY, DIVISION 19, THE LAMP, DANDELION DUST and GRIDIRON GANG playing The Rock’s mom.. THE FUGITIVE, WAITING TO EXHALE, TWILIGHT MAN, DOWN CAME A BLACKBIRD with Vanessa Redgrave, MYSTERY ALASKA, DRAGONFLY, DEVIL IN THE BLUE DRESS, THE NET, DUTCH.and GOD BLESS THE CHILD playing Mos Def’s mom. She starred in the first film done in a democratic free South Africa, SOWETO GREEN with John Kani.

Her television work includes roles in TV Movies, Movies of the Week and Episodic as a Series Regular, Recurring and over 40 Guest Starring Roles: LOW WINTER SUN, THE SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGER, SOUTHLAND, PRIVATE PRACTICE, CRIMINAL MINDS, CSI, QUEENS SUPREME, JUDGING AMY, CITY OF ANGELS, GREYS ANATOMY, ER, NIP TUCK,GHOST WHISPERER, COLD CASE and the South African drama JOZI H for which she received a Gemini nomination.

She Currently stars in the PBS drama MERCY STREET; in the recurring role of Jasmine, Viola Davis’ cell mate in HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER. This season she will guest on Brooklyn 99 as Andre Braughers mother The Judge and she will star as Laverne Cox’s grandmother in the upcoming ABC series THE TRUSTEE.

A sought after speaker and acting coach, she has served on the National Board of SAG and Sag Aftra and is the National Chair of the Women’s Committee and the Healthcare Safety Net committee and is a member of the Diversity Advisory Committee.

Wendy Calhoun

Wendy Calhoun is a series creator developing content at multiple digital and cable studios. She’s currently writing and Executive Producing FX’s NO PLACE SAFE, a miniseries about the Atlanta child murders to star two time Emmy winner Regina King. Her past credits include Co-Executive Producing and writing the historic first season of Fox’s hit series EMPIRE. In addition, she’s written and produced for ABC’S NASHVILLE, FX’s JUSTIFIED, ABC’s REVENGE, and NBC’s LIFE. Last summer, Calhoun wrote and directed the virtual reality short, LEFT BEHIND, sponsored by Google and honored as ”Best in VR” at Digital Hollywood 2016.  She received a 2010 Peabody Award and WGA Best New Series Nomination for JUSTIFIED. She received her second WGA Best New Series Nomination in 2012 for NASHVILLE.  Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Calhoun studied film and television at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Her faith fellowship home in Dallas is Warren Avenue Christian Church.

Will Campbell

Will Campbell is CEO of Quantasy, the Los Angeles-based creative services agency that creates social brand experiences that occur at the intersection of entertainment, advertising, technology, and culture. Will also brings a rich knowledge of the entertainment space through his work with companies such as Disney, Buena Vista Pictures, and Universal Music.

Jekalyn Carr

Evangelist, entrepreneur, accomplished GRAMMY nominated artist, and a profound speaker Jekalyn Carr, is experiencing success illuminative of the divine presence of God’s grace in her life. Jekalyn Carr, an independent artist who received her first Grammy nomination at 19, has garnered a #1 Top Gospel Album (The Life Project), #1 Gospel Airplay and #1 Digital Gospel Songs for her song ”You’re Bigger”and two Billboard nominations. When Jekalyn was 15, she had a song, ”Greater is Coming,” to a appear in the top ten of Billboards’ gospel music chart, debuting at #3 as an independent artist. Jekalyn received her first Stellar Award at the age of 16. As compelling as she is as a vocalist, she is equally as dynamic as a speaker.

This embryonic artist’s burgeoning national acclaim is evinced by the distinct honor of being listed by Jet Magazine as ”One of the Top Ten Faces You Need to Know.” Ebony recognized Jekalyn Carr as a Ebony Power 100 of the most influential people, alongside Bishop TD Jakes, Lebron James, Pharrell Williams, the Legendary Quincy Jones and many more. On the heels of all this Jekalyn is prepping, to release her first book entitled You Will Win. This book will feature a host of personal experiences, inspirational messages and exhortations that will inspire people to live better lives. Soul Train published an article on an article; it asserted that her message offers ”hope of a better day to countless individuals across the world.” Jekalyn was featured in a documentary, Rejoice and Shout, produced by Magnolia Pictures. The documentary also spotlighted Smokey Robinson, Andrae Crouch, Kirk Franklin, and many other prominent artists. Carr is no stranger to being in the company of music greats.

Jekalyn Carr has appeared on many notable televised programs, such as the Triump Awards Show, Black Music Honors, Trumpet Awards Show, Joyful Noise, TBN and many more. A number of the U.S. cities in which she has performed in have honored her, by giving her official proclamations and keys to the cities. Carr’s heartfelt messages and songs touches all genres, young and older people.

Jekalyn wants you to know, that you can be successful if you believe, pursue the vision and most of all trust God.

Pia Catton

Pia Catton is the Editor-in-Chief of Dance.com, a new website that celebrates dance for all.Previously, as a reporter at the Wall Street Journal from 2010 to 2016, she covered the performing arts and nonprofit arts institutions. She also wrote for the Journal’s sports section, covering horse racing, as well as the Olympic Games in 2012 and 2014.

Prior to the Journal, she was the features editor of POLITICO. From 2006 to 2008, she was the Culture Editor of the New York Sun newspaper. In her six years at the newspaper, she served as a reporter, dance critic and features editor before editing the arts coverage.She is the co-editor of ”Be Thrifty! (Not Cheap),” a 2010 title from Workman Publishing, and the co-author of ”The Comfort Diner Cookbook.”

She has written for the New York Post, Baltimore Sun, ArtNews, Elle Décor, City Journal, the Weekly Standard, National Review, Playbill, and ArtInfo.com.

Dr. Margena A. Christian

Dr. Margena A. Christian is a lecturer at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) where she teaches English, media, and professional writing. In 2016, she developed and designed UIC’s first-ever Writing for Digital and New Media course along with its Advanced Professional Writing course. The St. Louis native is the owner of a Chicago-based professional writing/editing company, DocM.A.C. write Consulting. Before joining EBONY magazine in 2009 as a senior editor/writer, she was a contributor for EBONY.com at Johnson Publishing Company (JPC), headquartered in the ”Windy City.” She had been with JPC since 1995. As a features editor for JET magazine, she covered arts/entertainment, fashion, and more. During her tenure, she also covered the Academy Awards, Grammy® Awards, and NAACP Image Awards.

At present, she is the only editor in JPC’s history to have written for EBONY, JET, EBONY Man, EBONY South Africa, Ebony Fashion Fair, and EBONY.com. After leaving EBONY in 2014, she made history as the last editor to have worked under the tutelage of JPC’s pioneering founder, John H. Johnson, whom she conducted research for her dissertation. A recipient of National-Louis University’s (NLU) Distinguished Alumni Award, she holds a doctorate and a master’s degree from NLU. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in mass communications, with a concentration in journalism, and a certification in creative and professional writing from St. Louis University.

Michelle Duffie

Michelle S. Duffie is the CEO of D3 Entertainment Group based in Nashville, Tennessee, a world-wide strategic-marketing, branding, and public relations company. She is also an active and voting member of NARAS, the FBI Citizen’s Academy, serves on many national boards, and is active in speaking and teaching globally.

Wanda Durant

Wanda Durant is a strong leader, advocate, and philanthropist whose passion is to help single mothers, women, and children. She is the mother of businessman, Anthony (Tony) Durant and NBA star, Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors. After years of raising her sons, witnessing their incredible success, and her 20+ year career with the federal government, Wanda’s dream to become an inspirational speaker was realized. She began inspiring women, single mothers, and children to follow their dreams and set life goals. As President and CEO of ”Hope, Dream, Believe, Achieve” LLC, she shares her message of empowerment with people from all walks of life, in addition to corporations, non-profit organizations, communities, faith-based organizations and youth groups. Wanda lends time and support to The Kevin Durant Charity Foundation, The Tony Durant Reach Higher Foundation, The National Single Parents Network, Baller Moms, Positive Tomorrows, Mothers’ of Professional Athletes, as well as numerous other non-profit organizations. Wanda recently shared her life story in the Lifetime biopic, The Real MVP: The Wanda Durant Story. Wanda has been featured on CNN, Access Hollywood, ESPN, Fox Sports, NBC, Comcast Sports, ABC, and CBS to name a few. Wanda continues to travel the country as an inspirational speaker.

Paula Dofat

Paula Dofat, Director of College Counseling, Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women, was a first generation student who received very little guidance/support from my guidance counselor because she wasn’t in the top 10% of my graduating class. Her parents could not help me; they did not know what to do because they had never been to college. As a result, she ended up being a ”serial” transfer student, racked up enormous student debt, dropped out of college, and then finished my bachelor and master degrees in my 40’s.

Realizing all this could have been avoided with the right support system, it became her mission to make sure as many students as possible did not experience what she went through. Her eye opening/ah ha moment came when she was the Program Director for a high school based YMCA program. She was placed at what was deemed the worst high school in the state of Connecticut but all she saw was great potential. The students she was working with that had 2.5 and lower GPAs began to complain that they did not have help for their next steps after high school. Paula made some inquiries and found the guidance office’s case load was enormous. So, she created an after school College Prep Club and started helping any student that attended.

Paula fell in love with the work and the more she researched and networked, it became evident that if a student had desire, no matter their GPA/SAT/ACT, there was a college for them if they were willing to work. She found colleges and programs that were willing to take a chance on a late bloomer student, a student who woke up at the end, or a hardworking student that just could not reach or exceed a 3.0. Paula knew then she needed to change careers and focus on this work because she had found my life’s mission and my passion.

Fast forward, she landed a job at The Young Women’s Leadership School – Queens and although my commute was 5 hours round trip daily there was nothing else she could imagine doing. Her time there resulted in the first year the school had ever achieved 100% four year college acceptance and an undocumented Valedictorian receiving a full ride scholarship to the University of Notre Dame. One year later, she accepted the position of Director of College Counseling at the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women to create and build the college counseling department.

Paula does what is necessary for families to know and understand the college application, financial aid, and college acceptance process which includes home visits, meeting as early as 6:45am at school, staying late, and over 400 parents and students have my cell phone number and text/call mornings, nights, and weekends. We guarantee 100% college acceptance, 100% of our juniors are enrolled in a pre-college residential summer program, our top seniors have the option to visit their #1 out of state college choice paid for by us, we partner with local college Financial Aid Counselors to insure that 100% of our graduating seniors complete the FAFSA, and we have an Alumni Support Coordinator who visits every graduate on her campus no matter how close or far and follows/supports her through the next four years.

Shawn Edwards

Shawn Edwards is a journalist, pop culture guru and TV and film producer. As a nationally recognized film critic for Fox 4 News in Kansas City, Missouri he has won numerous national awards including Best TV Film Critic twice by the LA Press Club’s National Entertainment Journalism Awards. Edwards, the co-founder of AAFCA (African American Film Critics Association) also created I Love Black Movies the popular website, web series and movie community. He is a life-long lover of movies who began making his own films in the 7th grade. He is currently writing a book on the history of black film and the executive producer of ”Movie Trip TV.”

Julie Fairchild

Julie Fairchild and team are the go-to publicity firm for theatrical films with a national distribution footprint and a faith or family perspective. As co-founder of Lovell-Fairchild (LoveChild) Communications, Julie pioneered several of the grassroots film promotions now commonplace across niches.

For movies subjects like heaven experiences (HEAVEN IS FOR REAL and 90 MINUTES IN HEAVEN), a Roman tribune (RISEN), a unexplained recovery (MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN), a journalist’s evidence for God (THE CASE FOR CHRIST), U.S. soldiers (BROTHERS AT WAR), police (COURAGEOUS), a hermit (GET LOW), monks (OF GODS & MEN), a shark-attack survivor (SOUL SURFER), rock & roll backup (TWENTY FEET FROM STARDOM), a destination wedding (JUMPING THE BROOM), and childhood sexual abuse (WOMAN, THOU ART LOOSED), Lovell-Fairchild has set the strategy, drawn the publicity, staged the junkets and premiers, promoted the players, laid the messages, alerted the media, fielded the interviews, and generally turned theaters into echo chambers.

Lovell-Fairchild speaks faith and entertainment for client studios such as Columbia/TriStar, Sony AFFIRM Films, Provident Films, Samuel Goldwyn, Sony Classics, Universal, Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company/Radius. Of the company’s 25 most recently completed theatrical campaigns, 14 opened in the top 10 at the U.S. box office; TWENTY FEET FROM STARDOM received the Academy Award for best documentary.

Across television, books, events and causes, at any stage, Julie helps shape project strategy and connect right people.

Monique Pressley

Monique Pressley is a skilled trial attorney, television legal analyst/contributor, crisis manager, radio host, noted speaker, adjunct law professor, certified leadership trainer and ordained minister. She has appeared on numerous national and international news networks, including ABC News, NBC News, CBS News, CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, Al Jazeera America, and Arise News, and has appeared regularly as a legal analyst on NewsOne Now with Roland Martin on TV One. Monique’s work has also been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Legal Times, Essence Magazine, and Jet Magazine, among others. Monique is principal of The Pressley Firm PLLC. Based in the DC Metropolitan area, her firm specializes in complex civil and criminal litigation, crisis management and communications, and new business incorporation and development. She hosted the radio show, Breathe Through It with Monique Pressley, a webcast listened to weekdays around the world.

Originally from Galveston, Texas, Monique received her B.A. from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas and her law degree from Howard University School of Law in Washington, DC. She previously served as a Senior Assistant Attorney General for the District of Columbia Office of the Attorney General where she was responsible for the defense of the city’s mayor and agencies in civil litigation matters. Monique was an adjunct professor at Howard University School of Law for five years where she taught Trial Advocacy and coached the award winning Trial Advocacy Moot Court Team. Prior to law school, Monique served on the U. S. Congressional staffs of Rep. Jack Brooks and Rep. Charlie Wilson. She is also sought-after speaker, bringing her ”Be The Boss” entrepreneurship seminar and other messages of empowerment to thousands across the United States.

Matthew Faraci

Matthew Faraci is the host of Frankly Faraci on Dove Channel and President of Inspire Buzz, a marketing agency specializing in the values audience, 52 million Americans actively seeking family-friendly entertainment. Beginning his career as a producer on the legendary political TV talk show The McLaughlin Group, Faraci has never lost his journalistic passion for a great story. And as a marketer and communicator, he’s succeeded by bringing excellence to every task, applying a unique blend of persistence, creative thinking, and fusion of the very latest innovations to proven, time-tested strategies.

Faraci is a former political strategist who has served on more than 35 campaigns and on Capitol Hill, held leadership roles with three respected Washington, D.C. public policy groups, and was appointed by President George W Bush to serve as a spokesman at the U.S. Department of Labor. In his time as a journalist, Faraci produced award-winning TV shows and documentaries.

Following his career in politics, Faraci played a leading role in creating several new enterprises with a focus on deploying highly-targeted grassroots strategies to reach family- friendly audiences. During this time, he promoted a number of well-known, highly successful film and TV projects. In 2016, Faraci returned to Los Angeles — where he had once tried his hand as a standup comedian — from the East Coast and founded Inspire Buzz with a singular focus on delivering the values audience, one-in-three U.S. moviegoers.

In 2017, Dove Channel approached him with the idea to create and host an inspiring series designed to break new ground in entertainment. The result is Frankly Faraci, Dove Channel’s first original program, highlighting well-known personalities in entertainment, music, sports, business, and politics whose faith drives them to do the extraordinary. The show is currently in its first season with season two in the works, in addition to a weekly Podcast by the same name. Frankly Faraci has already earned rave reviews and broad media coverage, as well as a growing following across the country.

Derek Folk

Derek Folk is the President of Williams Tax & Financial Group Inc. He oversees Operations and Business Development efforts for the firm. He advises high net worth clients, entertainers, and professional athletes on a wide array of personal and business financial matters. He also maintains his efforts as the CEO for Taylormade Management Group, a talent management firm with offices in Los Angeles and New York. He is responsible for building a team around the client that best supports the client’s career path. Derek is currently the Executive Director on the Advisory Board at Living Praise Christian Church.

Jackie Folk

Jackie Folk is the CEO of Williams Tax and Financial Group (WTFG), established in 1958 by her father. Jackie oversees the daily management of the company’s multitude of services: bookkeeping, business management, personal financial planning, estate planning, tax preparation and planning, and non-profits and foundation planning. Jackie’s roster of high profile clients includes singers, songwriters, DJs, producers, actors, athletes, and industry executives. She is currently an active board member of the Living Purpose Community Center and L.A. Focus Charities. Previously, she sat on boards for Man Jr. Productions Inc, Judah Music, and the Tripod Parent Association.

Ron Hall

DENVER MOORE was a dangerous, homeless drifter who grew up picking cotton in virtual slavery – in the 1960s. RON HALL was a successful art gallery owner who had a healthy bank account but emotionally was running on empty. Although worlds apart, their destiny collided when Ron’s wife Debbie insisted that Ron join her in serving food at a local homeless shelter. As soon as she met Denver there, she had a vision that he would change the city and that her husband must befriend him. Sadly, she didn’t live to see the incredible result of the unlikely friendship she initiated. Their story, immortalized in the New York Times best-selling book, Same Kind of Different As Me, inspires people to take off their racial, social, and economic blinders in order to find common ground.

Ron Hall’s life was centered around a successful career as an international art dealer and a passion for his Rocky Top ranch on the Brazos River west of Fort Worth, Texas. All this changed in 1998 as a result of an encounter with a homeless man who was threatening to kill everyone in sight in the homeless shelter where Ron and his wife Deborah had begun to volunteer two weeks earlier. They had gone there as a result of her prophetic dream they would meet a homeless man who would confound them with his wisdom.

This life changing encounter, featured on many television and radio shows such as CNN, Fox News, and NPR, inspired Ron to write his first book Same Kind of Different As Me, a story of hope and redemption. The word of mouth hit became a New York Times platinum bestseller and stayed on the list for more than three and a half years.

Ron’s fascinating and compelling story is told in an upbeat motivational program at collegiate, non-profit, corporate and church events across the nation. The story has helped raise more than $70,000,000 for the less fortunate.

Ron Hall was born on his grandfather’s Texas farm while his father was fighting the big war in the Pacific. He grew up dreaming of being a cowboy but after receiving a master’s degree from TCU, he got sidetracked in the world of high finance. While in Houston, Texas in 1971 to buy municipal bonds, he met an art dealer whose envious lifestyle caused Ron to rethink his career. Within a month, banking took a back seat to art dealing, thus launching a successful career buying and selling museum quality masterpieces in major countries around the world. His new book,The Poopsie Chronicles: American Dreams and Fine Art Schemes, spins many humorous and unbelievable tales from behind the scenes of the highfalutin art world.

In connection with his travels across the nation raising awareness and funds for the homeless, Ron has received numerous awards and recognitions. On the National Day of Philanthropy in 2006, Union Gospel Mission named Ron and Denver Philanthropists of the Year and more recently in 2011 the Krist Samaritan Center honored them both as Good Samaritans.

In 2007, President Bush appointed Ron to the State Department Cultural Property Committee to advise the President on diplomatic matters regarding international art and antiquities. He served through December 2011.

In 2014, Paramount Pictures announced a film adaptation of the book with the same name. The cast consists of Renée Zellweger (Deborah Hall), Djimon Hounsou (Denver Moore), Olivia Holt (Ron’s daughter), Jon Voight (Ron’s father) and Greg Kinnear (Ron Hall). Currently Ron is co-producing with Mary Parent and Michael Carney is directing. The film will release on October 20

Fred Hammond

Fred Hammond (Film): For more than 35 years, music lovers around the world have known Grammy, Stellar, Dove, and NAACP Award Winning artist Fred Hammond as a gifted vocalist, songwriter, musician, producer and arranger. But as his peers and supporters alike including some of the world’s most notable figures including Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, and Chaka Khan have so reverently declared that Hammond is without debate the architect behind the creation of a phenomenon in Christian music, Urban Praise & Worship-a genre of music that did not exist prior. As a result, Fred Hammond has become one of the most respected names in the music industry! Throughout his professional career, Hammond has maintained a reputation for excellence and few gospel artists can boast of the consistency of sales, radio airplay and concert appearances that Hammond has achieved over the course of his career independent of the cross-over boost. As a solo artist, founder of the pioneering urban group, Commissioned, and his work with Radical for Christ combined, Fred has sold over 8 million albums and these endeavors have made him a mainstay on Billboard’s Gospel Chart top 10. His previous release {Pages of Life} Chapters I & II exceeded Double Platinum status and held the #1 position on the Billboard Gospel Charts for over 15 weeks. His 2006 project entitled Free To Worship earned him the highly esteemed Grammy Award, bombarded Billboard’s #1 position on the Gospel Charts and was hailed as one of the year’s best-selling albums!

Beyond Hammond’s individual success, his achievements as CEO of Face to Face Productions and the FHammond Music Label have placed him in a class by himself. Since their inception, Hammond has served as producer on more than 100 album projects, racking up numerous awards and nominations including the Grammy, BET, N.A.A.C.P. Image, Stellar, Dove, and GMWA Excellence Awards. His debut independent release entitled ”In Case You Missed… And Then Some” sold well over 200,000 copies.

Over the years, he went on to produce several other incredible specialty projects including his Jazz album Grandad Turner, the project dedicated to love, relationships, and marriage–God, Love, and Romance, and the formation of the United Tenors-an incredible, relevant yet nostalgic presentation of the ultimate, modern-day quartet with hit after hit, earning several stellar awards and nominations in 2013.

The pages continue to turn for the platinum recording artist! Hammond has taken his creative savvy to a higher level moving into from the stage to the big screen with the movie, The Gospel. This feature film was both Executive Produced and Inspired by Hammond, and boasted a stellar cast including Boris Kojo, Nona Gaye, Donnie McClurkin, Yolanda Adams, Hezekiah Walker and Martha Munizzi. His first independent film venture, ”Christmas…Who Needs It” written by Hammond and PamKenyon M. Donald, took first place at the 2009 Hollywood Black Film Festival, is hailed as ”…an intriguingly-hilarious dramedy which cleverly captures the true essence of Christmas,” and has found a home on multiple television networks around the world annually as a favored Christmas film during the holiday season!

In addition to Hammond’s studio career, he has continued to take his special brand of gospel to audiences around the world, performing an average of 30 weeks per year. Hammond has headlined thousands of concert dates with an average audience attendance of over 5,000, in addition to television appearances on the nationally syndicated Stellar Awards, Lou Rawls Parade of Stars, BET’s Celebration of Gospel, BET’s Walk of Fame, N.A.A.C.P.’s A Tribute to Stevie Wonder, 106 & Park and TBN’s highly-rated shows The Pat Boone Show, Praise The Lord, and The 700 Club. Hammond continues to find touring success year after year and shows no signs of slowing down, recently wrapping the highly successful, annual 50+ city FESTIVAL OF PRAISE TOUR, which he headlined along with Donnie McClurkin, Hezekiah Walker, Israel Houghton, and Kim Burrell. In 1997, he shared the stage with Kirk Franklin & Yolanda Adams performing before more than 500,000 people on The Tour of Life, the most successful tour in gospel music history! He also served as the Creative Director and Featured Artist on Walt ”Baby” Love’s Power 98, ALW’s The Living Proof and ALW’s The Shout 2000 Tours just to name a few.

Hammond continues to take the entertainment industry by storm! He co-wrote and directing the smash hit musical drama ”Been There, Done That” with America’s favorite TV Judge, Greg Mathis. As for Hammond’s acting career, this production merely rekindled the fire! In addition to his work on the hit plays ”Only The Strong” and the 2013 Broadway smash ”Cain and Abel” with JD Lawrence, Hammond has debuted in several Daimler-Chrysler commercials as well.

Among his multiple entrepreneurial successes, Hammond also launched the Urban Entertainment Company fHammond Family Entertainment, Inc. providing a complete portfolio of integrated entertainment services collectively addressing the exclusive needs of the urban family market with core offerings including: A film division releasing direct to-DVD titles; a music and book publishing division; an online multi-media website including radio programming and streaming video content; theatrical presentations; as well as continued perpetual music production from new and established artists.

In January 2014, the 55-year-old Detroit native’s faith was tested in a profoundly personal way: He underwent an excruciating double knee replacement surgery – the same procedure that claimed the life of his biological dad in the early ’90s – and as a result was unable to walk. Forced for months to rely on family members, friends and sometimes total strangers to get around – the experience was almost too much for the staunchly, self-reliant singer, who found it to be both excruciatingly painful and humiliating at times.

To cope during this dark, soul-searching period, the father of two leaned heavily on the Word and of course his beloved music, the result of which is I Will Trust, arguably the most intimate album of Hammond’s more than three decade-long career. A stunningly honest collection of songs balanced equally between stomp-worthy praise reports and deep, in-the-valley ballads, Hammond gathers his best and brightest – including go-to producers (and MD) Calvin Rodgers and Phillip Feaster- to deliver this powerfully transformative musical sermon. Hammond’s latest venture is nothing short of sheer excellence! WORSHIP JOURNAL LIVE debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Gospel Albums chart in October of 2016. This is Hammond’s first live recording in 17 years and is filled with the dynamic ministry and acclaimed live musicianship that has made him one of gospel’s most popular and influential artists over the past 30 years. Hammond never ceases to amaze as he consistently exceeds the bounds of mediocrity!

Ri-Karlo Handy

Oakland native Ri-Karlo Handy began working in the film industry at the very young age of 14. While still in high school, he collaborated with some of the bay area’s most popular artists including E-40, En Vogue, and Too Short. Starting off as a production assistant, he hustled his way up to director by the age of 18, helming music videos for Master P, Bone-Thugs and Harmony, Mack 10, and countless others. He’s also directed commercials, films, and a collection of documentary projects including the underground hit ”Unsigned” which he shot, produced, and edited.

In 2003, Ri-Karlo shifted his focus to television, editing such shows as Kitchen Nightmares for FOX, Pros Vs. Joes for SPIKE TV, and many more. Shortly after, he began show running unscripted programs for BET, MTV, TLC, and OWN, including serving as the executive producer for Keyshia Cole’s ”The Way It Is” for BET and Nick Cannon’s ”Son of A Gun” for MTV.

By 2011, Ri-Karlo was creating new TV shows as VP of unscripted development at New Wave Entertainment, including ”Buying for Billionaires” which premiered on E!

Ri-Karlo Handy was the lead creative force behind all original programming for Bounce TV, executive producing all of the network’s dramas, sitcoms, music specials, stand-up specials, and unscripted content. Serving as the network’s Senior Vice President of Original Programing, he co-created the network’s hit drama ”Saints & Sinners”and produced the popular sitcoms ”Mann & Wife”, ”Family Time”, and ”In The Cut”. Currently, Ri-Karlo is President of a new company, Sunwise Media and Distribution, and is looking forward to this new chapter.

Ashley Holland

Ashley Holland is a Television Literary Agent at leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Holland works in the Los Angeles office, where she represents writers and directors who work on such shows as Insecure (HBO), Queen Sugar (OWN), American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson (FX), Empire (FOX), The Americans (FX), and Marvel’s Luke Cage (Netflix) and upcoming anticipated shows such as The Last Tycoon (Amazon) and Seven Seconds (Netflix).

Holland has helped to package shows for clients’ production companies, including Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment, Eva Longoria’s UnbeliEVAble Entertainment, Justin Lin’s Perfect Storm, and Queen Latifah’s Flavor Unit Entertainment, among others. Additionally, she spends time in the multicultural business development practice focused on internal as well as external diversity initiatives and creating additional opportunities for enterprise around CAA’s clients of color.

Holland began her career at CAA in 2009 after interning for the company in the summer of 2008. She has been featured twice in Variety Magazine, most recently in 2016 on their New Leaders list, and in 2011 on the inaugural 10 Assistants to Watch list, and was featured in Essence Magazine’s 2014 Hollywood Hot List.

Holland graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Urban Studies and a Master’s Degree in Communication.

Reginald Hudlin

Director and producer Reginald Hudlin is a pioneer of the modern black film movement, helming some of the most influential films and TV series of his generation. His most recent efforts include directing the legal thriller Marshall, starring Chadwick Boseman, Josh Gad, Kate Hudson and Sterling K. Brown as well as producing the 30th Anniversary of Showtime at the Apollo for FOX.

In February 2016, Hudlin was one of the producers of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences’ 88th Annual Academy Awards, for which he subsequently received an Emmy nomination in the category of Outstanding Special Class Program. Also for AMPAS, he produced the 6th Annual Governors Awards and The Black Movie Soundtrack, the recurring live cinematic concert experience at The Hollywood Bowl. Additionally, he has been the executive producer of the NAACP Image Awards for the past five years (2013-2017).

In 2012, he was nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award as one of the producers of Quentin Tarantino’s Academy Award- and Golden Globe-winning film Django Unchained, one of the top-grossing Westerns of all time.

In his more than 30-year career, Hudlin has written, directed and/or produced numerous popular feature films including House Party (1990), Boomerang (1992) and Bebe’s Kids (1992). Hudlin was also an executive producer and writer of the animated TV series Black Panther and executive producer of The Boondocks. Along with the original founding members, Hudlin revived the beloved comic book company Milestone Media.

As Black Entertainment Television’s first president of entertainment (2005-2009), Hudlin shepherded some of the networks biggest hits, including Sunday Best, BET Honors and The BET Hip Hop Awards. He also built BET’s profitable home entertainment division and revamped the network’s news division, which went on to win more than a dozen awards during that period.

Dwayne Johnson-Cochran

Dwayne Johnson-Cochran is a writer, producer, director and educator based in Los Angeles. Born and raised in Chicago, Johnson-Cochran trained as ageologist at the University of Illinois at Chicago,worked for an oil company briefly until he found his true calling as a filmmaker. Accepted into the MFA program at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, his concentration was filmmaking and film.

After working as a journalist/cameraman for local newspapers and television stations, he found a position as a writer/producer with Burrell Advertising producing numerous commercials and short films. A few years later, Johnson-Cochran joined the local PBS station WTTW-Chicago producing, writing anddirecting documentaries including ”Going Home to Gospel with Patti LaBelle (producer), ”Babies at Risk”on infant mortality in Chicago (producer) and ”School Reform-Power to the Parents”, (associate producer). He also was a field producer for the nightly news show ’Chicago Tonight featuring John Calloway.

Johnson-Cochranmakes documentaries through his company Johnson-Cochran Films; ”Story of a Village”(2007), starring actress/producer Regina King and ”Side by Side”(2008), executive produced by Secretary of State Madeline K. Albright and theNational Democratic Institute(NDI); ”Be Known” (2015) about jazz percussionist Kahil El-Zabar,executive produced by Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance. The 2016 Black Reel Awards nominated ”Be Known” as Best Independent Documentary.

Johnson-Cochran produced the period feature film ’White Water’ for the cable network TVONE, starring Larenz Tate and Sharon Leal. The film aired to record high ratings in Feb2016. ’White Water’ won the Special Jury Prize at the 2016 Iran Film Festival in Tehran andnominated for two 2016NAACP Image awards. In addition, Johnson-Cochran’s script ’Bibi’ won the Writers Guild of America West 2014 Best Unproduced Screenplay Award.

Currently, Johnson-Cochran is slated to direct ’Bibi’ for Kylin International Pictures (”Birth of a Dragon,Hacksaw Ridge) script by Johnson-Cochran, from a story byJohnson-Cochran and three-time Oscar nominated director SergeiBodrov (Mongol). Johnson-Cochran isalso the creator ofthelimited series ’Heist88’being developed at FX.

Mr. Johnson-Cochran has taught screen writing for eleven years as aninstructor at USC in the Guy Hanks and Marvin Miller Screenwriting Fellowship Program. He has taught screenwriting workshops for UNESCO in Kenya, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Russia, Sierra Leone and South Africa. Heis a two-time winner of the ’Mentor of the Year” for the Fulfillment Fund of Los Angeles and hasworked with Oxfam, Save the Children, NDI and Doctor’s without Borders on various missions in Africa.

Jelani Johnson

Jelani Johnson is a Motion Picture Agent at leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Johnson represents many of the world’s leading creators and innovators including: Will Packer, T.D. Jakes, Melina Matsoukas, Cheo Hodari Coker, Jesse Williams, Tyrese Gibson, Mara Brock Akil, and André Holland.

Johnson began his career in entertainment as an intern at CAA, and subsequently founded The Mission Entertainment, a management and production company. He was previously a manager atGenerate. He joined CAA in 2015.

Johnson graduated from Columbia University with a degree in History and Anthropology.

Marcus King

Marcus King has a reputation for catapulting entertainers into international success and being an executive producer with a golden touch especially in television and music. A well-respected name in the entertainment industry (especially urban comedy and the RnB world), Marcus King has a love for comedy, music and entertainment. He has most notably managed the triple threat, Jamie Foxx into stardom. One of the most impressive accomplishments for King is that he is the only black manager (in conjunction with partner Jaime King) to manage an actor (Foxx) who was honored with an Academy award for Best Actor. Beyond his role in managing Jamie Foxx from up and coming comedian to Academy Award winning megastar, King’s career spans multiple sectors of the entertainment industry like no other. His name has been behind award winning television series, Grammy winning albums, critically acclaimed T.V. films and has even broken ground in the world of radio.

As an executive producer, Marcus King has a long list of credits that attest to his consistent ability to create noteworthy television shows, movies, music and live events for over 25 years. He has a strong foundation of success with 2 sitcoms that launched his executive producer career, The Jamie Foxx Show and Hangin’ With Mr.Cooper. Both shows went on to make over 100 episodes and went to syndication – reflecting King’s vision and persistence. King has also been called on to produce many Comedy Specials for television. His first HBO Special was the show, Jamie Foxx: Straight from the Foxxholeand many other specials including the comedy special based on King’s live event, Laffapalooza (Comedy Central).

King has a golden touch in creating and transforming projects from obscurity to prominence as he partners with networks to create sustainable entertainment. His projects also span to Television Movies, which includes the critically acclaimed, Redemption: The Stan ”Tookie”Williams Story (FX), theaward-winning Life Support (HBO) staring Queen Latifah and theaward-winning music special, Ray: The Genius Of Love (CBS).

King also plays a prominent role in the radio world. He created and co-owned the only black comedy radio channel in the world: Foxxhole Radio on Sirius XM. The radio station serves as a hub for comedians and lovers of comedy and has cultivated a reputation for interactive engagement with radio remotes and coverage of live events and shows.

As a manager, Marcus King, is infamous for building artists into profitable brands that delight and engage international audiences. In addition to managing world renowned artist Jaime Foxx for over 20 years, King’s clientele list has been as impressive as diverse. Working with comedians, musical groups, actors, and legendary singers reflects King’s versatile ability to up level artists of all walks. With an eye on strategic vision and a focus on creating high value entertainment he partners with the best of the best.

Marcus King has also been a strong presence in the music industry aside from being a manager. With a long standing love of quality music, it is no surprise that King has been asked to step in to executively produce his artist’s records. His work has included the Grammy winning record he executive produced with Jamie Foxx (Blame It), and executive producing a record for the legendary Ronald Isley (Mr.I).

King continues to fuse his passion for urban comedy and community into his projects. The Foxxhole is a forum for comedians to showcase their talents and an arena for conversations in the urban community. He is currently executive producer of the BET show Apollo Live, now in its second season, which revives the classic Harlem-based show in a new light. With a penchant for creating successful shows and nurturing the long-term vision for them—and a focus on giving back to the community, King represents the best that the film and television industry has to offer.

Jon Klein

Over three decades as a producer, director, executive, and media disrupter, Jon Klein has won every major broadcast honor including multiple Emmys, Peabodies, and DuPont-Columbia awards. In the early 1990’s, Jon helped to usher in reality television with his acclaimed series, ”Before Your Eyes,” unscripted CBS movies of the week featuring real people going through dramatic life crises. He later became executive vice president of CBS News, overseeing ”60 Minutes” among other programming. In 1998 Jon launched The FeedRoom, a pioneering online video aggregator that became one of the largest streaming sites in the world. As President of CNN/US from 2004-2010, Jon led the network to its highest ratings ever and doubled profits, while introducing game-changing innovations like the CNN/YouTube debate, user-generated newsgathering, the ”magic” touch-screen wall, and the integration of Twitter into newsgathering and on the air.

Leshawnda Larkin

Leshawnda Larkin, a senior manager at Samsung Electronics on the Immersive Products team, is responsible for driving Samsung’s virtual reality (VR) strategy and initiatives in the U.S., in support of Gear VR powered by Oculus headset and Gear 360 camera.  A well-seasoned executive, Leshawnda held various marketing positions at PepsiCo – Frito-Lay, Dr Pepper Snapple/Cadbury Schweppes, and Johnson & Johnson. She has worked on high profile brand programs integrating with top entertainment properties, including The Celebrity Apprentice, The Amazing Race, and the music group Maroon 5. Leshawnda has been named to Who’s Who in Black Dallas and Diversity MBA magazine’s Top 100 under 50 Diverse Emerging Leaders. She was recently recognized by Get With The Program for her work in advocating VR with diverse audiences.  Most recently, Leshawnda was featured in Black Enterprise.

With a passion for storytelling, Leshawnda served as an executive producer of Jerico, an independent film, which premiered at Cannes Pan African Film Festival in Cannes, France. The film won a total of 13 awards at multiple film festivals around the world. She is also a featured co-author in the Amazon best-selling book Shift Happens: Inspirational Stories on Finding Happiness, Achieving Success and Overcoming Obstacles. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Leshawnda earned an MBA degree from Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from Howard University. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and Junior League of Dallas.

Sharon Liggins

Sharon Liggins is a communications strategist with extensive experience in managing dynamic PR campaigns for creative visionaries with ground-breaking, fan-favorite content airing across a variety of platforms, including broadcast, cable and digital outlets.

Ms. Liggins current projects include working with emerging cable network POP TV on the launch of their series HOLLYWOOD DARLINGS and RETURN OF THE MAC, promoting the 2017 AAHH! Fest by Common, and consulting with independent film incubator ITVS. Previously, she served as publicist for award-winning director Ava DuVernay for the premiere of her Oscar-nominated documentary 13TH for Netflix and the series launch of her NAACP Image Award winning drama series QUEEN SUGAR for OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. Liggins also handled talent relations for the 2017 AAFCA/African America Film Critics Association Awards, worked with marketing company Allied Moxy and for cable network WGN America on PR activities for the first season of the ground-breaking hit series UNDERGROUND.

Liggins was previously head of PR for NBCUniversal’s Universal Cable Productions, overseeing all publicity, corporate communications and event activities for the studio and its critically acclaimed scripted and digital content, including hit series SUITS, COVERT AFFAIRS, ROYAL PAINS and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: BLOOD AND CHROME.

Ms. Liggins’ earlier PR positions include some of the most recognized global brands in the industry, including The Walt Disney Company/ABC Entertainment, Hallmark Channel, Creative Artists Agency and PBS. She also honed her skills at the independent agency DVG Communications.

Besides her executive roles, Ms. Liggins has been a committed member of the Television Academy. She has served two terms on the board of governors representing the Public Relations peer group. She also co-chaired the Diversity Committee, producing events with the mandate of raising awareness of diversity issues to Academy members. Ms. Liggins also initiated the idea for the Academy’s annual Emmy Awards reception to recognize diverse nominees, Dynamic & Diverse. Additionally, she is a member of The Television Academy Honors committee, which recognizes programs that tackle social issues and use television as a forum advocate for social change.

Among Ms. Liggins’ passions are mentoring aspiring entertainment executives and advocating for diversity initiatives within the industry. She holds a B.A. in Communications from California State University, Fullerton.

Janice Littlejohn

Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn has a master’s degree in Fiction from the University of Southern California, and a BA degree in Communication from Loyola Marymount University. Her first script, Those People: A Love Story (previously titled Lovers in Their Right Mind), was selected by the DreamAgo 2016 Plume & Pellicule international screenwriting atelier. Prior to filmmaking, Janice has had an extensive career as a journalist. She is a senior editor for Los Angeles Review of Books and co-author of Swirling: How to Date, Mate, and Relate Mixing Race, Culture, and Creed (Atria, 2012). She is a Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities fellow.

Nancy Lovell

Nancy Lovell belongs to Lovell-Fairchild Communications, the match.com for films and audiences wanting to spend weekends together, where she concentrates on the media and the message.

For movies subjects like near-death experiences (HEAVEN IS FOR REAL), a Roman tribune (RISEN), a unexplained recovery (MIRAClES FROM HEAVEN), a journalist’s evidence for God (THE CASE FOR CHRIST), U.S. soldiers (BROTHERS AT WAR), police (COURAGEOUS), a hermit (GET LOW), monks (OF GODS & MEN), a shark-attack survivor (SOUL SURFER), rock & roll backup (TWENTY FEET FROM STARDOM), a destination wedding (JUMPING THE BROOM), and childhood sexual abuse (WOMAN, THOU ART LOOSED), Lovell-Fairchild has set the strategy, drawn the publicity, staged the junkets and premiers, promoted the players, laid the messages, alerted the media, fielded the interviews, and generally turned theaters into echo chambers.

Lovell-Fairchild mixes faith and marketplace entertainment for client studios such as Sony AFFIRM Films, Columbia/Tri-Star, Provident Films, Samuel Goldwyn, Sony Classics, Universal, Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company/Radius. Of LF’s 25 most recently completed theatrical campaigns, 14 opened in the U.S. box office top 10. TWENTY FEET FROM STARDOM received the Academy Award for best documentary. Current projects: IN OUR HANDS, JONAH: ON STAGE and INDIVISIBLE … and an exciting new book called TRADE UP.

Monique N. Matthews

Monique N. Matthews is a Los Angeles based writer and director. Prior to filmmaking, this Harlem, USA-native, was an entertainment journalist and managing editor of a national hiphop magazine. Monique’s work has appeared in Ebony.com, Vibe, The Source, Slam, TV Guide, and Rap Pages, among others. She has also been a guest panelist on NPR’s ”Tell Me More,” KKLA’s ”The Dialogue,” and more. Monique transitioned into filmmaking after graduating from the UCLA School of Film and Television. She has written for several studios including MGM, Walt Disney Pictures and Paramount Pictures.

Monique has received several accolades including Daily Variety’s ”10 Writers to Watch” and was selected to participate in Film Independent’s prestigious Directors and Writers Labs.

Monique wrote and directed ”It Looks Just Like You,” an awareness commercial about breast cancer, starring Omari Hardwick (Power, Being Mary Jane, For Colored Girls). Her most recent project is extraORDINARY, a 60-second digital docu-series exploring every-day people excelling in their daily loves.

In addition to writing, Monique serves as a professor at Santa Monica College in Film and Media Studies. She has also taught at California State University Los Angeles and Los Angeles City College.

Darrell D. Miller

Darrell Miller, Chair of the Entertainment Department at Fox Rothschild LLP and Office Managing Partner of the Los Angeles offices, has more than two decades of entertainment law and deal-making experience, with an emphasis on the creation of multiple streams of income for clients with high brand equity through cross-promotion of film, television, music, theatre, multimedia, and licensing opportunities. His first book, The 16th Minute of Fame: An Insider’s Guide for Maintaining Success Beyond 15 Minutes of Fame, was recently nominated for a NAACP Image Award. He is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and frequent speaker on the business of entertainment.

Michele Ohayon

Michèle Ohayon is an award winning director, writer and producer. Born in Casablanca and raised in Israel, Michèle graduated from Tel Aviv University (Film & Television). Michele moved to Los Angeles, where she directed the following acclaimed documentary features, and was nominated for an Academy Award: ’IT WAS A WONDERFUL LIFE’ (1987), ’COLORS STRAIGHT UP’ (1997), ’COWBOY DEL AMOR’ (2005), ’STEAL A PENCIL FOR ME’ (2007), ’S.O.S/STATE OF SECURITY’, (2011) , ‘SOLAR ROADWAYS, (2012), ’CRISTINA’ (2016), ’100 YEARS ’, (2016-17), ’POWER’, (2016-17).

Michele is a Supervising Producer on CNN's Believer, with host/ EP Reza Aslan (2016-17). And was EP on the documentary feature East Jerusalem/West Jerusalem by David Broza.

For her body of work, Michèle received twice the Artist’s Grant from the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department and was recognized for her fiction writing in the Chesterfield Writing Competition.

Michele is an active member of the Academy of Motion Pictures, where she serves on the Executive committee of the Documentary branch, the International committee, the foreign film committee and the educational/grants committee. She is also a member of the WGA, DGA and IDA, and an original co-founder of Cinewomen.

Michele founded and is the CEO of Kavana Entertainment LLC, in Los Angeles, with a mission to bridge between Hollywood and the rest of the world. As such, she is co-producing ’Mother of Beauty’ with a Dutch company, ’Hear my Voice’ with a German company, and is a consultant to a Chinese film fund. www.kavanaent.com, www.micheleohayon.com, www.imdb.com/name/nm0644977

Connie Orlando

Constance M. Orlando was recently named the Head of Original Programming and Production at BET Networks, a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB) and the leading provider of entertainment for the African-American audience and consumers of Black culture globally. She is one of the leading creative forces in television and media today. Recognized for her creativity and risk taking, Orlando leads the creative and production teams responsible for powerhouse productions such as ”The Quad”, ”Being Mary Jane”, ”The BET Awards”, ”Hip Hop Awards”, and ”Black Girls Rock!” among many others.

Prior to this role, Ms. Orlando held the position of Senior Vice President of Specials, Music Programming and News and before that VP of Original Programming at BET Networks, where she was a part of the network's largest expansion into original programming in its history, including scripted hit series ”The Game”, which scored record-breaking ratings. Orlando has also overseen a host of variety and unscripted series including ”Sunday Best”, ”TD Jakes Presents: Mind, Body, & Soul”, ”The Steve Harvey Project”, ”Monica: Still Standing”, and ”The Mo'Nique Show” . In 2010, Orlando successfully introduced a spectacular new award show, as both an Executive and Executive Producer of the annual ”Black Girls Rock!”, an unprecedented worldwide broadcast that celebrates outstanding Black women from Angela Davis to Ruby Dee to Misty Copeland to Ava DuVernay. ”Black Girls Rock!” is dedicated to honoring exceptional women of color around the world who stand as inspirational and positive role models.

In addition to Specials and Music for BET, Orlando also leads the BET News department. With critically acclaimed specials on Ferguson and Baltimore, she launched the ”BET Truth Series”. A series that produces original documentaries and in its inaugural year the banner produced award the winning projects”Katrina 10 Years Later” and”Muhammad Ali: The People’s Champ” .

Orlando’s achievements are decades in the making. Prior to joining BET Networks, the Syracuse University graduate kicked off her career intrepidly—with her own full service production company, CMO Productions, Inc. Among CMO's crowning triumphs was a partnership with music icon and businessman Jay-Z to produce the first of its kind, direct-to-video movie soundtrack The Streets Is Watching. While running CMO, Orlando also served as Executive Producer of award-winning director Hype Williams' Big Dog Films, where she oversaw all budgets and productions.

Outside of work, Orlando is a passionate advocate for providing support to women and children in need by launching her very own non-profit foundation, ’ Just The Girls' . She also serves on the Advisory Board for Clark Atlanta University’s TV department as the Programming Committee Chair. Orlando is highly regarded and well respected in the television industry and has been acknowledged in NAMIC’s ”Top 40 Under 40” as one of cable’s top executives. Her work has earned her nine NAACP Image Awards (”The Mo' Nique Show” 2010, ”Sunday Best” 2011, ”Black Girls Rock!” 2012/2013/2014/2016, ”The Game” 2012, ”Ali: The People’s Champ”2015, and Love & Happiness: an Obama celebration 2016). As well as five NAMIC Vision Awards (”Black Girls Rock!”).

Ngozi Paul

Ngozi Paul is an award-winning stage and screen actress, writer, director and producer. Born and raised in Toronto, Canada to pan-African parents from the Caribbean islands, her upbringing created the foundation for her work as a social and cultural innovator.

With academic roots from the prestigious Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre, Ngozi began her acting career on stage at the Stratford Festival of Canada.
Following the groundbreaking and successful run of the theatre production Da Kink in my Hair, Ngozi co-created, executive produced, and starred in the television series of the same name. This top-rated sitcom has been broadcast in over a dozen countries and garnered multiple nominations and awards. In addition, Ngozi has been cast, most notably, with fellow actors Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor (Talk to Me), and Rachel Weisz (The Whistleblower).

Ngozi recently received rave reviews for her self-penned play The Emancipation of Ms. Lovely. This hilarious and evocative tale weaves personal stories with the story of Sarah Baartman (The Venus Hottentot) in a transcontinental allegory on the black woman’s multitudinous identity. Lovely prompted Toronto’s Now Magazine to write, ”The magnetic Paul holds every moment onstage in a fierce, funny and moving performance.” The play garnered six Dora nominations and has been invited to tour internationally.

Paul remains steadfast in her mission to produce innovative, evocative, and compelling content that showcases the diversity of human experience. She currently has a docu-series on-air entitled Care for Color and is in advanced development of The 1st Time Project, a multi-platform documentary exploring female sexuality from inter-generational and inter-cultural perspectives.

She has traveled the world extensively in both her personal and professional capacities, most notably as global ambassador for Because I’m A Girl and the Steven Lewis Foundation.

Ngozi Paul has received many industry awards, including a Spotlight Performance Award, a CAB (Canadian Association of Broadcasters) Award, and has been nominated for the Gemini Hottest TV Star Award, the Gemini Best Ensemble Cast Award, and the Dora Award.

Sitarah Pendelton-Eaglin

Sitarah Pendelton-Eaglin is a multi-talented creative executive with over 20 years experience in alternative and reality programming. A seasoned television veteran, she has worked as both an Executive Producer and Network Executive on award-winning game shows, music programming, comedy and reality docuseries.

In her current role as an Executive Producer at WEtv, she is responsible for creatively guiding the production of such shows as Braxton Family Values, Tamar & Vince, LA Hair, Growing Up Hip-Hop and Million Dollar Matchmaker.

Previously, she has produced some of the highest rated programming for a variety of networks including MTV, BET, TV One and the Style network. Her programming credits include Tia & Tamera, Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane, Sunday Best, Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is, Turn up the Heat with G. Garvin and Living It Up with Patti LaBelle.

Sarah Poage

Sarah has been a part of the industry for more than 20 years. A fierce drive & love of production has driven Sarah to pursue, produce & be a part of many diverse projects. She began her career in NYC by co-founding a Theater Company and producing off-broadway plays & events. After relocating to the West Coast she worked on her first television project: The Big-Help-A-Thon for Nickelodeon, an 8 hour- live event, telethon and concert for 10,000 kids, broadcast from the Santa Monica Pier. Talk about being thrown into the fire!!

Sarah’s passion for TV production was ignited by the Big Help which led her to work for a variety of networks and production companies on everything from interstitials to live shows to docu-series. She had the great pleasure of working on a broad range of programming including projects involving Foodies in Napa, Beauty Queens, Ghosts in Scotland and sliming Tom Cruise!

Sarah landed at 44 Blue in 2002 as a Line Producer. She quickly realized that 44 Blue was a place she wanted to stay and call home. In 2006 she was asked to join the corporate staff as the Executive in Charge of Production. Sarah has worked hard to become an expert in all aspects of physical production including finance, legal, talent negotiations, budgeting, cost analysis, tax incentives, vendor negotiations, line producing, production management, post-production, insurance and HR. From big budget to shoestring budget, she has done it all. Now she serves as the company’s Executive Vice President overseeing all company operations, including Business Affairs/Legal, Finance, Production, Post-Production and HR.

When she isn’t working on corporate strategies or negotiating contracts with networks, Sarah loves to hit the tennis courts. She is also the proud mother of a beautiful 9 year old daughter, Madison, who is already following in her mother’s footsteps as a fiercely independent and confident leader.

Santiago Pozo

Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Arenas, Santiago Pozo is considered one of the foremost authorities in the advertising world for marketing entertainment and film to U.S. Latino audiences. In 1988 Pozo founded Arenas, the largest and most recognized Latino company in Hollywood, specializing in marketing motion pictures and television.

Over 27 years, he and Arenas have worked on more than 400 films, including The Book of Life, Annabelle, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Transformers, The Avengers, Toy Story 3, Star Trek, Madagascar, The Conjuring, Son of God, Shrek, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto, along with Selena, My Family, Like Water for Chocolate and Born in East L.A. Also, Pozo is an accomplished film producer as well as distributor of such films as Imagining Argentina, Empire, The Three Wise Men, Culture Clash in Americca: Live!, and Bless Me, Ultima.

His box office hit Empire, starring John Leguizamo and Denise Richards, broke box office records in the US for a movie that opened in less than 800 theaters.

Other titles owned by Arenas include: the 6-time Ariel winner Nicotina, starring Diego Luna; The Three Wise Men, featuring the voices of Martin Sheen, Emilio Estevez and Marcus Witt; and Imagining Argentina, with Antonio Banderas and Emma Thompson.

In recognition of his accomplishments, Pozo has received many awards and honors during his career: In 2009 he was the first recipient of the ”Outstanding Marketing in Film and Television Impact Award” presented by The National Hispanic Media Coalition; in 2007 The Imagen Foundation presented him the award ”For Powerful and Influential Latinos”; in 2005 he was presented with the ”Minorities in Business Magazine Prism Award” for outstanding contributions to the entertainment industry; the ”Nosotros Golden Eagle Entrepreneur of the Year Award” was presented to him in 2004; for his contribution to Arts and Sciences the prestigious ”Premio Riojano del Mundo” was presented to him by the government of La Rioja and EL MUNDO, the largest newspaper in Spain; in 2003 Pozo was chosen by Hispanic Business Magazine as an Entrepreneur of the Year finalist as well as one of their 100 Most Influential Hispanics.

Santiago is a member of the USC School of Cinematic Arts Alumni Council. He is also a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, where he serves on the Public Relations Branch Executive Committee.

Tanika Ray

Entertainment Journalist, Pop Culture Specialist, Director, Producer, TV Personality, Host and New Mommie Tanika Ray, known for her insider Hollywood & Pop Culture POV, is truly a renaissance woman. Not only does she deftly manage the multi-layered responsibility of hosting and producing live red carpet events, but she has a unique ability to connect with guests one-on-one and holds her own as a pop culture expert on multiple platforms, including TV.

Most recently seen hosting Hollywood Today Live, Lifetime’s The Rap Game’s Reunion show, 2 seasons Lifetime’s Little Women LA Reunion specials and 2 shows for the wildly popular HGTV network,Design Star and HGTV’d.

Though many became familiar with Tanika as the go-to girl at Extra on NBC for 6 seasons, Tanika is forging her path into creating, directing and producing content that inspires & unites.

She directed and produced 2 mini films for TVOne’s award winning Black History Month salute titled Change Agents.

And she satisfies her community responsibility by producing content for #BlackWomenLead whose mission is to amplify the voice of Black Women and inspire them to harness their political power for election 2016 and beyond.

Gil L. Robertson IV

Co-founder and President of the African-American Film Critics Association (AAFCA), Gil L. Robertson IV leads the world’s premier body of Black film critics. AAFCA’s purpose is to provide career support to current and next generation Black film journalists and filmmakers. The organization annually produces a slate of community, academic, and industry programming that includes collaborations with some of the world’s leading film festivals, universities, and premier film studios. The AAFCA Awards, AAFCA’s tent pole activity, is held annually in Hollywood and celebrates the very best in film and television.

During his 20 plus years as an entertainment journalist, Robertson authored over 50 national magazine covers; his byline has appeared regularly for publications, including the LA Times, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Fortune, and EBONY magazines. He is the founder and editor of the nationally syndicated Arts & Lifestyle column, the Robertson Treatment, which boasts a national readership of more than 2 million. He has edited three successful anthologies, including Not in My Family: AIDS in the African American Community (2006), which was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Nonfiction. His first children’s book, Book of Black Heroes: Political Leaders Past & Present (Just Us Books) will hit shelves in 2017. Robertson earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Cal State Los Angeles.

La'Porsha Renae

La’Porsha Renae started singing at six years old. Her first stage? The bathroom in her mother’s beauty shop.

”Her clients heard me singing Alicia Keys’ ‘Fallin’,’ one of my absolute favorite songs. But they thought it was the radio,” La’Porsha recalls with a laugh. ”Then after turning the radio off, they realized it was me in the bathroom. From that point on, my mom had me sing for all of her clients.”

La’Porsha’s riveting voice has been wowing music fans from bigger stages since then: as runner-up on the 15th and final season of American Idol to her single ”Battles” being tapped as the theme song for the gold medal-winning U.S. Women’s Gymnastics team at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. The 19 Recordings/Motown Records singer/ songwriter now finds herself back on center stage preparing to introduce her winter 2017 debut album. Leading the way is the yet-untitled set’s first single, the midtempo anthem ”Good Woman.”

The track’s gritty, soulful tone—paired with La’Porsha’s distinctive, power-packing vocals—definitively underscores the singer’s hard-won but sweet career victory in the face of such challenges as domestic abuse, divorce and single motherhood. ”’Good Woman’ is that in-your-face song that many fans have requested from me,” says La’Porsha, who co-wrote the lyrics. ”It’s a relatable song that celebrates who a good woman is and her sense of empowerment.”

But as the singer also stresses, her upcoming full-length project is more than just ”another mad album about cheating.” While channeling the greats she admires like Tina Turner, Michael Jackson, Prince and Whitney Houston, La’Porsha brings a fresh, young vibe to a collection of original songs conveying a range of emotions from being in love to just having fun.

”R&B, funk, dance … you’ll hear all of that and more,” notes La’Porsha of her diverse style. ”But there are two constants in my music: I never sing something I don’t believe in, and I never sing a song without having a vision for it. If I’m listening to a song and nothing comes to my head visually, then that’s not the song for me.”

It’s ironic then that even though she loved to sing, the one vision that didn’t come to her was turning that talent into a career. Instead, the precocious youngster saw herself as a teacher, writer and then a lawyer. ”I’ve got a mouth, so I was always challenging my parents,” says La’Porsha. ”In fact, they’d always tell me, ‘You’ve got the mouth of a lawyer. That’s what you need to be.”

However, a turning point occurred in ninth grade after her family settled in McComb, Mississippi, a small town outside of Jacksonville. Having sung duets in church, La’Porsha and her younger sister had begun entering and winning school talent shows and vocal competitions at neighboring music festivals. So when one of La’Porsha’s ninth grade instructors asked the class to talk about the careers they envisioned, the teen declared, ”I’m going on American Idol,” one of her family’s favorite TV shows. ”And there’s no plan B. It will work out.”

She did audition, but it didn’t work out. She only made it as far as the show’s general cattle call, with the show’s producers suggesting the 16-year-old return when she was a bit older. ”My dream was crushed,” she says. ”But I took it as God saying I didn’t have enough to sing about at that time.”

Over the next several years, La’Porsha experienced more about life than she anticipated. Married at 18, she soon became a victim of her air force husband’s domestic abuse. And that’s when her lifelong love of music kicked back in as her salvation. ”God saved me through music,” she remembers of that period. ”I sang a lot and wrote a lot. I even started a song interpretation journal that I still keep. I write down the title of a song that really moves me and then dissect the song by time codes, detailing exactly what I feel at those precise moments.”

But it was the birth of her now 18-month-old daughter that served as La’Porsha’s ultimate wakeup call (”When she came, all games were set aside”). Having built up the courage to press charges, she left her ex-husband in April 2015 and found herself auditioning a second time for American Idol that June. ”I was living in a women’s shelter when I first auditioned again; my circumstances were crazy,” says La’Porsha. ”But as I started doing all these auditions, this time I was hearing yes after yes after yes.”

Indeed, her compelling performances of such songs as Mary J. Blige’s ”No More Drama” and Rihanna’s ”Diamonds” captivated a growing contingent of fans each week. And though La’Porsha’s season finale performance of ”Battles” earned her the runner-up crown, there was no denying her natural, God-given talent. A recording contract with 19 Recordings/Motown quickly followed.

Having come a long way from that beauty shop bathroom, La’Porsha is ready to musically reveal everything she wasn’t able to on the show. And that all boils down to one word: authenticity. ”I never ever want fans to start idolizing me,” she explains. ”I go through what they go through. I’m real; someone who’s never been afraid to say what I feel I need to say. And that’s not going to change because more people know my name.”

Bre Scullark

Entrepreneur, Model, Speaker and Actress Bre Scullark is most commonly known for her appearance on America’s Next Top Model Cycle 5 as the outspoken and confident young woman from Harlem, New York. After finishing the show at a strong third place, Bre went on to correspond for the Tyra Banks Show and BET Networks before becoming an official model with FORD MODELS MANAGEMENT. While with FORD, Bre landed national and international campaigns including but not limited to Garnier Fructis (HerbaShine), Pantene ProV, Ambi Skincare and Dove Chocolate. In 2011, Bre returned to television for America’s Next Top Model, All Stars. After completing the competition, Bre was given the opportunity to become a reoccurring guest star on Tyler Perry’s sitcom ”For Better or Worse”.

Throughout the next few years, Bre made the transition from New York City to Los Angeles. She began to embark on a life-changing journey of self-awareness. Although Bre’s career began in the spotlight of the entertainment industry, her desires and passions started to shift towards promoting a life centered on peace and spiritual growth.

In 2013, Bre founded her first company; a collection of hand poured scented soy candles, which she coyly named BrVelle, a mixture of her first and middle name. BrVelle’s mission is to promote a handcrafted experience curated with love for its consumer; hopefully evoking positive affirmations, emotions and above all, peace.

Extending her brand, Bre is a 200hr RYT instructor of Vinyasa Flow technique instructor through Pure Yoga East, Equinox, CPR certified and trained in Yoga for Trauma. Bre has channeled her own need for peace and spiritual connection into a contributive practice for students alike. Bre passionately shares her practice through Liberation Prison Yoga, a non-for profit organization that provides yoga for women, men, youth and officers affected by the prison system. Bre currently instructs yoga sessions for the female inmates of Riker’s Island and the Correctional Officers of Manhattan Detention Complex.

Bre spreads her practice outside of correctional facilities in a peace workshop she created titled ”Urban Peace Squad”. Urban Peace Squad is a donation based yoga/meditation and open discussion workshop focused on trauma integrated environments. The peace workshop offers fellowship; realistic tools and resources practitioners can apply to their own personal practice.

Today, Bre offers her experience, strength and hope in various seminars and workshops to help men, women and adolescences begin to heal, forgive and love wholeheartedly.
Bre resides in both Los Angeles and New York with her dogs Poppa and Dexter.

Endyia Kinney-Sterns

With over 20 years of Entertainment and Television experience, Endyia Kinney-Sterns is an accomplished television producer and network executive. Named one of the ”Top Female Executives in Hollywood” by Essence Magazine, Kinney-Sterns has been instrumental in identifying and developing new programming for various networks, including VH1, CBS, NBC, HGTV and production companies such as Buena Vista Television, Arnold Shapiro Productions and LMNO just to name a few.

Most recently as Vice President of Development and Programming for OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, Endyia was responsible for overseeing day-to-day development of new original programming including popular docu-series ”Raising Whitley” and ”Deion’s Family Playbook.” She was an integral part in developing the new hit series ”Flex and Shanice” in addition to many presentations and pilots.

Kinney-Sterns held the title of senior director of programming and development for TV ONE, where she was responsible for the day-to-day supervision of production and programming for popular series including ”Baisden After Dark,” ”Who’s Got Jokes” and ”Black and Men Revealed.” Her most notable accomplishment there was co-developing and co-creating the brand defining, multiple NAACP Award winning hit show ”Unsung.”

In the early days of her career, Endyia spent over four years working in programming and development at BET where she was responsible for overseeing production and post production for the network’s top-rated series ”College Hill” and ”Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is.” She was also responsible for helping to develop and launch ”The Mo’Nique Show,” and the hit music competition show ”Sunday Best.” Her impressive slate also included overseeing development for the following shows: Lil Kim: Countdown to Lockdown,””DMX,” ”Soul of a Man”, ”Exalted” and ”Hell Date.” Prior to her positions at BET and TV ONE, Kinney-Sterns produced reality, talk/variety and lifestyle shows including the Emmy Award-winning syndicated series ”The Wayne Brady Show,” ”Big Brother 4” and ”The Other Half”.

As Founder and CEO of EKS Consulting Firm, a highly sought after development consulting company, Kinney-Sterns offers development and programming strategy direction for networks and production companies. In addition, as a content provider and creator, Kinney-Sterns is Founder and CEO of Seraphim Entertainment and Co-President and Co-Founder of One Room Productions, both are full service production companies that have overall deals with Invent TV.

In addition to a celebrated professional career, Endyia and her husband of 15 years Brigg Sterns work with a number of organizations including the Children’s Hunger Fund as well as Zoe Ministries an organization geared at stopping child trafficking overseas, making her volunteer and charitable efforts a family affair.
In the Spring of 2018, Kinney-Sterns will add published author to her list of many accomplishments with the release of her highly anticipated book, ”Why Me? The Power of Embracing Adversity (Atria/Simon and Schuester/Monami Books), which helps women embrace and sift through the adversity in their lives.

Serving as Senior Executive Consultant over unscripted original programming, for BET, Endyia, resides in Los Angeles, California with her husband, Brigg Sterns, and her two sons, Judah and Cairo.

Amber Thompson

Amber Nelon Thompson, granddaughter of Rex Nelon and daughter of Kelly Nelon Clark, is doing her part to continue the family legacy in Christian music. Since joining her family’s group, The Nelons, at the age of 13, Amber has been recognized as one of the brightest young stars in the industry, taking home awards for AGM’s Female Vocalist of the Year, the Singing News’ Best Young Artist, and as the Dove Awards’ youngest ever nominee. Her acting career began as a child doing all the Gaither Homecoming Kids Video series. Since then, she has been involved in several Gaither videos and a the winner of the ”Silver Telly Award” concept video, Excuse Me Are You Jesus? Currently, Amber tours with The Nelons all around the world.

Brad Tiemann

Brad Tiemann (born July 21, 1971) is an American filmmaker who produces, directs, and writes, writes feature films, short films, episodic television, and music videos.

Tiemann is known as the executive producer /director of the MTV series The Buried Life and MTV’s animated comedy Greatest Party Story Ever. He wrote and produced the feature film, Circle, a dark thriller featuring Silas Weir Mitchell, Gail O’Grady and America Olivo. His most notable music video Is It Over by Thievery Corporation, starred Jason Thompson, Julie Marie Berman, and Lil Buck. His short film, Owl Farm, about the alter ego of Hunter S. Thompson, was accepted to the Cannes Film Festival and New York International Film Festival. Tiemann has produced and directed upwards of 200 episodes for A&E, Bravo, Discovery, MTV, Oxygen, OWN, TruTV, Red Bull, and Sony.

After a bout of screenwriting, Tiemann’s feature film Circle was greenlit. Immediately following Circle, Tiemann helped create, direct, and produced the feature-length documentary The Buried Life, it caught national attention and was acquired by MTV to be made into a television series. Tiemann directed two seasons of the groundbreaking documentary series, which resulted in a front page article in the New York Times and an episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show.

In 2012, Tiemann was hired as Director of Photography for Bravo’s Gallery Girls, a docu-drama and then went on to produce Married to the Army; Alaska, for 44 Blue Productions and the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). Married to the Army: Alaska took a deeper look into the lives of seven families and their sacrifices of deployment in Afghanistan. Married to the Army:Alaska was nominated and won a Gracie Award for Outstanding Reality Show. It was also nominated and won the Reality Wanted Award for Most Heartfelt Moment, and won the Hollywood Health and Society Award for Outstanding Reality Series.

In 2013, Tiemann continued on as Supervising Producer for Philly Throttle[8] for Discovery, and produced four seasons of Bad Girls Club for the Emmy Award winning Bunim/Murray Productions and Oxygen.

Tiemann went on to produce A&E’s highly profiled Mark Wahlberg reality series Breaking Boston[9]. The series showcases the real women of Boston, featuring the day-to-day life of four tough, hard-as-nails women who juggle family, work, and relationships, all while remaining true to their way of life. Tiemann then went on to produce MTV’s The Challenge. In 2014 Tiemann produced another inspirational feature documentary, Drop In,[10] that followed paraplegic Jeremy McGhee on dangerous and exciting adventures teaching us that nothing should stop anyone from realizing their goals.

Tiemann went on in 2015 and 2016 to help create, produce, and direct the animated comedy Greatest Party Story Ever. He also created and executive produced Fuse’s award winning transgender series, Transcendent.

In 2016 Tiemann went to A&E backed Propagate Content, as Head of Production. Tiemann, along with its founder and former president of National Geographic Network, Howard T Owens, helped with the inception of the company in addition to building its development slate.

Dani Van De Sande

Dani’s expertise focuses on identifying and bringing to market emerging technologies for communication and marketing. She is heavily involved in the fast-growing, grassroot community of Virtual and Augmented Reality creators and developers. She recently launched The Reality Experiment, a collaboration uniting leading women creators in the VR/AR industries. She has consulted companies that focus on VR/AR Livestream software, Education, Investment, and Spatial audio. She helped launch Kaleidoscope VR in Los Angeles – a Virtual Reality film festival that features groundbreaking, indie content in the space.

Talitha Watkins

Talitha Watkins is an Executive in the Lifestyle group at leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency. Based in the Los Angeles office, Watkins helps build out the agency’s multicultural business and capabilities, and creates enterprise opportunities around diverse talent. Watkins also provides insights on multicultural audiences and markets to CAA’s motion picture, music, marketing, and television clients.

Watkins came to CAA after six years as Vice President of Multicultural Marketing at Universal Pictures, where she worked across all marketing divisions, including publicity, media, digital, creative, research, and partnerships, to maximize the studio’s outreach efforts to African-American audiences. While at Universal, she worked on numerous films, including the multicultural blockbusters FAST & FURIOUS 6, FURIOUS 7, and the record-breaking STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON. She was also instrumental in supporting the success of African-American films, such as the box-office hits THE BEST MAN HOLIDAY and RIDE ALONG.

Prior to Universal Pictures, Watkins was an Assistant General Manager with Telepictures Productions, Inc. and oversaw operations, sales, and marketing for five female-focused digital properties in the Warner Bros. portfolio, including Ellentv.com, Extratv.com, and TyraShow.com, as well as worked in a development capacity for Essence.com.

She received her B.B.A. in Marketing from the Fox School of Business at Temple University.

Kiyah Wright

Kiyah Wright is a TWO-Time, Emmy Award winning celebrity hairstylist whose genius has not only set the precedent for image making, but has redefined the appearance of sexy, successful and confident women around the world. As a highly sought after beauty and style trendsetter and recipient of a Hollywood Beauty Award and Golden Scissor Award, Kiyah draws much of her inspiration from her deep love of fashion when creating her signature hair designs and transforming the image of her clients. Kiyah’s diverse clientele reflects her impeccable ability to reveal and effectively translate a woman’s beauty, inside and out.

”Behind every gorgeous celebrity is a fabulous hairstylist.”

As a charismatic visionary, her life and career caught the attention of Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network. ”Love and The City” gave viewers an inside peek into Kiyah’s world. As a Clairol Professional Ambassador she continues to inspire with cutting edge developments. She has established her mark in the industry and has made groundbreaking achievements and this is just the beginning.

Kiyah’s first big break came when she met entertainment mogul, Sean ”Diddy” Combs at a party, he was so impressed with her personal style, he hired her on the spot to work with his newly formed Bad Boy Records artists Mary J. Blige and Faith Evans. Here, she began mastering the arts of style, color, cuts, hair weaving and full imaging.
The buzz around Kiyah spread like wildfire, and her list of distinguished clients began to expand further with stars such as Tyra Banks, Kerry Washington, Ciara, Laverne Cox, Jennifer Hudson Iggy Azalea, Brandy, Gabrielle Union and more, all hiring her to glamorize their tresses.

Kiyah’s innovations over the years have been featured on hit television shows like Black-ish, The Late Late Show with James Corden, Celebrity Apprentice, Jimmy Kimmel, America’s Next Top Model and America’s Got Talent. In addition, Kiyah’s creations have been prominently displayed in publications like Vanity Fair, GQ, Elle, InStyle, Essence, and Vogue. Alongside her remarkable work schedule, Kiyah still manages to remain loyal to her client base in Los Angeles at her Beverly Hills salon.
Kiyah has also launched her Muze|Hair by Kiyah Wright Hair Collection which aims to address the unique needs of the ethnic and texture hair markets and bring awareness and knowledge to the proper care of ”textured hair,” whether it is curls or kinks.

Her Muze|Hair by Kiyah Wright Collection consists of Celebrity Wigs, Hair Extensions,
Hot Tools and Hair Maintenance Products, all exclusively available online.” (www.muzehairproducts.com)

Josh Webber

A multi-talented Director, Producer, and Screenwriter. Josh A. Webber is an independent filmmaker born in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1986 and was raised in Montreal, Canada. In 2009, he graduated from NYFA in New York City, then moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue his career. He quickly gained notoriety racking up multiple awards for his work on both commercials and feature films. BATTER UP (2009) a true story of a heroic act of sportsmanship & heroism between opposing teams during a Girl’s Softball Championship. BATTER UP won multiple awards for ”BEST FAMILY FILM”, ”BEST DRAMA”, ”BEST SHORT-FILM” and ”BEST CANADIAN FILM” in 2009.

A BROKEN CODE (2012) His first feature film, won the ”EXCELLENCE IN FILM MAKING” award at the Canadian Film Festival in 2012.

THERE IS MANY LIKE US (2015) His second feature film is a documentary/narrative about his grandfather’s astonishing survival escape during the holocaust, losing the love of his life while saving seventeen others and reuniting with her years later. An incredible true story featured in numerous publications such as THE JEWISH PRESS, THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS ect.

AMERICAN RACKETS (2017) His third documentary feature film based on true life events of Rocco and James Napoli, members of the Genovese crime family, both arrested in 1988 for the plot to kill John Gotti. James Jimmy Napoli ran the largest number racket dating back to the 1930’s, accredited with what is now known today as the modern day lottery. SECRETS OF DECEPTION (2017) His fourth feature film, a story about a loving husband’s dangerous path of revenge and destruction. Stars Tom Sizemore, Lorenzo Lamas, Robert Lazardo, Richard T. Jones, Noelle Gugliemi. NEVER HEARD (2017) His fifth feature, an urban faith based gospel film, starring David Banner, Romeo Miller, Robin Givens, Dorien Wilson, Karrueche Tran, Jackie Long, Jay Moss, Karen Abercrombie, Master P, Brian White and Diezel Braxton. A compelling story about second chances, forgiveness, and redemption. Currently, Josh is actively focused on directing and producing multiple feature films simultaneously.

Jasmine White-Killins

A native of Cincinnati, OH, Jasmine began her dance training at the Cincinnati School for Creative and Performing Arts. In addition to earning her BFA in Dance Performance from Southern Methodist University and minor in Arts Management, Jasmine has studied on scholarship at The Ailey School, Martha Graham School, Cincinnati Ballet Academy and other intensives across the country. Jasmine performed two seasons with DBDT: Encore!, two seasons with Dallas Black Dance Theaters main company, and is an instructor at both Dallas Black Dance Academy & Texas Ballet Theater.

Tony D. White

Tony D. White is the Founder and CEO of DejaView Films, actively engaged in the business of feature film production and distribution, worldwide DVD & digital assets distribution, urban market consulting and some productions in television programs.

Mr. White started his career in the music industry as one of the most ambitious, motivated, and persistent producers in this field. During that time he worked as an A/R Rep for Universal Records & Music Group, Koch Entertainment, and Faithworks/STL, working with artists such as, Shy, Men at Large, Silk, Mikki Howard, The Pilgrim Jubilees, Mighty Clouds of Joy, Leon Robinson, H-Town, and Pastor Troy –just to name a few.

In 2004, Mr. White shifted gears by entering into the theatrical genre with Tommy Ford from the Martin Lawrence Show. This experience propelled his career in the film industry. After leaving Universal Records & Music Group in 2006, the world of film and production unfolded before him. Mr. White formed DeJaView Films as a multimedia entertainment vehicle in motion pictures, television, and home video (DVD). Reaching the refined urban generation, multiple cultures and international segments, Mr. White is focused more now on getting faith-based films into the market place. With a GOD given vision to undergird those who have gone before him in producing family-oriented, inspirational content, Mr. White is currently collaborating with several Christian production/distribution companies in the Dallas area to bring the saving grace of Jesus Christ to the big screen in a real-life depiction. For Mr. White, his dream and mission is to make Christ famous again.

Mr. White resides in Dallas, TX with his wife and 2 children.

FILMOGRAPHY

PRODUCER

2017 Never Heard (executive producer) (post-production)

2017 Steele Justice (executive producer) (post-production)

2017 Bella’s Story (executive producer) / (producer) (post-production)

2017 Henri (producer) (post-production

2017 Secrets of Deception (executive producer) / (producer)

2016 Hunting Season (executive producer) / (producer)

2014 The Shop (executive producer)

2014/VII Dead End (producer)

2013 Why She Cries (producer)

2013 Miles Away (executive producer)

2013 Merely Players (executive producer)

2014 Watch Phoenix Rise (executive producer)

2012 Bullish (executive producer)

Director (1 credit)

2015 Why She Cries

Teddy Zee

Teddy Zee is one of the most visible champions of Chinese and Asians in Hollywood. The films Zee produced and supervised have amassed over $2.6 billion in revenue. He served as Executive Vice President at Columbia Pictures, Senior Vice President at Paramount Pictures, President of Sony- based Overbrook Films, President of Fox-based Davis Entertainment, and now hails under the banner of Teddy Zee Productions. In addition to film and entertainment, Zee has built an active advisory and consulting practice that spans media, technology and commerce while bridging Hollywood with China and Asia.

Zee is a venture partner in Xcelerate Limited, an investment platform focused on building lifestyle companies in China and Asia and the affiliated Magic Concepts Asia. For the fourth year, Zee has guest programmed foreign shows for the Shanghai TV Festival. Zee also worked with GSMA to help program entertainment and media related content at Mobile World Congress: Shanghai.

Zee is Executive Advisor for Oben, an AI start-up with proprietary voice and visual software that humanizes technology. Other companies he advises include: SparkLabs Songdo, a 6-month accelerator program for IoT based in Korea; SmartEar, a start-up that makes a revolutionary in-ear smart device; ParagonOne, a platform that connects foreign students with a network of mentors and advisors in the US; and Lifesite, a cloud-based secure storage system for life’s most important documents. Other companies that he has advised include Meitu, the Chinese photo and video app company has downloads to almost one billion unique devices and their video platform Meipai has more than 175 million users after debuting in May 2014; ThinOptics, a startup that delivers lightweight and durable reading glasses that store on the back of smartphone cases; Starmaker, a tech driven media company focused on music and discovering new stars; and Ooyala, a leading online video platform company acquired by Telstra. Zee served as Head of Creative, Mobile Technologies Division for Rambus. They acquired Silicon Valley interactive media start-up Mozaik Multimedia, where Zee held the post of Chief Creative Officer.

In partnership with Fusion 3 Media, Zee optioned the Vietnamese format rights to the Warner Bros. reality TV show The Bachelor. Zee managed a successful marketing, promotions and licensing collaboration between Chinese fashion retailer Semir and Marvel Studios on Iron Man 2. He was executive producer/consultant on Quantum Quest, a 3-D, CGI animated film for Taiwan’s Digimax in cooperation with NASA and Jet Propulsion Lab. Zee executive produced Mashbox for Myx TV, which was nominated for the NAMIC Vision Awards 2013 in the category of Digital Media – Long Form. He also supported Japanese pop star Jin Akanishi’s US debut in 2012 by executive producing the web series Jin Akanishi: The Takeover.

Zee was Executive Producer of Pursuit of Happyness, a Columbia Pictures film featuring Will Smith that earned $300 million in worldwide ticket sales. Zee produced West 32nd for Korea’s CJ Entertainment. The movie was selected for World Narrative Competition at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. Zee produced Hitch, a Columbia Pictures release that earned over $365 million in worldwide box office sales. He also produced Saving Face starring Joan Chen, an official selection for the Sundance and Toronto Film Festivals. As President of Davis Entertainment, Zee was the Executive Producer of Life or Something Like It, a New Regency release starring Angelina Jolie. Zee was executive producer of the Asian Excellence Awards that was broadcast on E! and AZN-TV to 100 million homes in the US.

As Executive Vice President of Production at Columbia Pictures, Zee oversaw such films as Anaconda, Cable Guy, Devil’s Own, First Knight, Fools Rush In, Hero, Mo Money, My Girl, and Sleepwalkers. Charlie’s Angels grossed $264 million worldwide and spawned a sequel. Zee championed Chow Yun Fat’s Hollywood debut in Replacement Killers. As Senior VP of Productions at Paramount Pictures, he shepherded such films as Cousins, Indecent Proposal, Presidio and Star Trek VI.

Zee earned an MBA from Harvard University and a BS from Cornell University. He is a member of: Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (Oscars), Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Emmys) and Producers Guild of America. As a member of Committee of 100, he co-founded the Leadership and Mentoring Program. Zee serves on the Board of Directors for Koreatown Youth + Community Center in Los Angeles.