Lizette Barerra

Deborah Riley Draper

Deborah Riley Draper is a filmmaker and advertising executive. Her first documentary Versailles ’73: American Runway Revolution made its first appearance at the Marche du Film in 2012. The film had a limited theatrical run in the U.S and is distributed by Filmbuff. The film won both festival, critical and audience acclaim, including The New York Times, The LA Times and the St. Louis International Film Festival. Versailles ’73 had its cable TV premiere on Viacom’s Logo TV in September 2015. The documentary is optioned by Director Tate Taylor (The Help). Deborah Riley Draper’s second project Olympic Pride, American Prejudice, narrated by veteran Hollywood Actor Blair Underwood, reveals the seminal moment in Civil Rights when 18 African American defy Jim Crow and Aryan supremacy at the 1936 Olympics. Draper’s next project is a twisted love story set in the Harlem Renaissance.

Vanessa Ellison

Appears in: Social Justice- Environmental Justice Panel

Appears in:  Enhance your films with 2d animation; and Social Responsibility of Media Makers

David Hunter is the Manager of Watershed Protection and Industrial Pretreatment for the City of Denton, TX and has worked in water resources management for 24 years. His job involves management of the Cities Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Permit and the City’s Industrial Pretreatment Program. He also provides technical support for many surface water and wastewater issues including various grant research and model development. Additionally, Mr. Hunter is an Aerographer’s Mate Chief Petty Officer with the United States Navy Reserve. In this capacity he currently serves as a tactical meteorological and oceanographic forecaster. He has been involved in various research projects with the University of North Texas, Baylor University and many professional consultants. His research areas have been water quality, environmental modeling, environmental monitoring and analysis, toxicology and materials science. He has been an “A” certified water and wastewater operator and is currently a Registered Sanitarian, a Certified Floodplain Manager and Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control. One of the favorite parts of his job is being able to give tours of the wastewater treatment plant or talking to audiences of all ages and connecting water and engineering and science to all levels of society by talking about processes big and small related to water.

Workshop: Social Justice- Environmental Justice Panel

Dr. Irene Klaver

Dr. Irene Klaver is Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion at the University of North Texas. Her research and teaching interests explore the socio-political and cultural dimensions of water. She has written extensively on issues related to water usage, conservation, global environmental change, and cultural diversity. Klaver was a leading co-editor of the UNESCO book Water, Cultural Diversity & Global Environmental Change (Springer, 2012); co-editor of From Biocultural Homogenization to Biocultural Conservation (Springer, 2018); and Co-Director and Research Specialist of the award-winning documentaries “The New Frontier: Sustainable Ranching in the American West” (2010) and “River Planet” (2011). Currently she is finalizing a book about the Trinity River in North Texas (Texas A&M University Press) and working on a monograph on Meandering, River Spheres and New Urbanism. Dr. Klaver was Water and Culture Advisor for UNESCO, 2008-2013 and Co-Director of the International Association for Environmental Philosophy, 2010-2014.

Appears in: Social Justice- Environmental Justice Panel

Vaun Monroe

“I am a bluesman, drama is my axe.”

Monroe is currently the Executive Director of the Nate Parker Film Foundation Program at Wiley College. He was previously the Senior Story Analyst for Ithaca Entertainment and President of the National Association of Black Screenwriters. He was the Artistic Director at Chicago Scriptworks where he produced numerous staged readings of award winning screenplays. He has produced, written and directed narrative films that have screened in film festivals both nationally and internationally. Monroe was a professor at Ithaca College after having won the prestigious James Pendleton fellowship in Screenwriting and also taught film courses at Cornell University, Morgan State University, and Columbia College Chicago. He is also one of the founding members of EDIT Media: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Teaching Media, a faculty-driven initiative dedicated to researching, developing, and educating about best practices in inclusive teaching in college-level media production. Monroe was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles. He earned his BA in African American Drama at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA, and his MFA in Film and Media Arts from Temple University in Philadelphia.  

Appears in: The Art of the Short Film

Christina Raia is a New York City-based Writer/Director and the Founder of CongestedCat Productions. She focuses on character-driven narrative projects that explore social issues through humor and horror. Her work, consisting of over a dozen short films, a web series, and two feature films, has screened at film festivals around the world and gained a large online following through multiple crowdfunding campaigns and coverage on press outlets such as Indiewire and BuzzFeed. Through a desire to support other filmmakers, she works for Seed&Spark as the head of education, teaching and empowering creators to build their audience and crowdfund their work. She also runs IndieWorks, a monthly screening and community-building series showcasing short films by other New York filmmakers. Find Christina on social media: @craia9.

Appears in: Art of Pitching workshop; Distribution Down Low; and Social Responsibility of Media Makers

Dr. Gabrielle Smith

Dr. Gabrielle Smith is an assistant professor of psychology at Texas Women’s University. Her research and teaching interests focus on stereotype threat and the social consequences of intersecting identities. Dr. Smith’s work has been published in numerous outlets such as Health Education and Behavior, Journal of College Student Development and the Journal of Youth and Adolescence.

Appears in: Social Justice: Criminal Justice Panel

Micahel Thielvoldt

Michael Thielvoldt is the Program Manager of Filmmaker Resources at the Austin Film Society where he works directly with filmmakers through various support programs, oversees management of the AFS Grant, and writes and reports for the organization’s federal, state, and municipal grants. Michael is a former film professor and film festival programmer. During his time as a film programmer at Other Worlds Austin Film Festival, he helped introduce and manage the Dan O’Bannon Filmmaker Award, a production grant for Texas filmmakers working on science fiction film projects. 

Appears in: Grantwriting Workshop

Gregory Timmons

Gregory Timmons, moderator, Flint Water Recovery Resource Coordinator Reverend Gregory Timmons is pastor of Calvary United Methodist Church, Flint. A mission-oriented leader with 25 years of organizational strategy in his background, he has served corporate, religious, non-profit, health care, and community wellness organizations. Since the start of the Flint Water Crisis, he has led UMC’s recovery programs and help centers to support the people of Flint. He has been an active member of the local steering committee surrounding Flint: The Poisoning of an American City and appears in the documentary. His wife is the Reverent Faith Timmons of Bethel United Methodist Church. They are parents of a 12-year old son Greg II and a 6-year old daughter Olivia.

Appears in: Social Justice- Environmental Justice Panel

Calvin J. Walker

Calvin J Walker is an award-winning filmmaker based in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Calvin has been active in the independent film world since 2012. During that time, he’s written for producers from various parts of the world. He’s directed a multitude of projects within the webseries and short film space. Calvin’s casting agency WM Casting Group is becoming one of the go to agencies for production companies looking to cast diverse talent. Calvin has been married to his beautiful wife, Rayanna, since 2008. They have three amazing children.

Appears in: The Art of the Short Film

Appears in: Social Responsibility of Media Makers; Film screening January 25, 6:50 p.m. at Alamo Drafthouse Theater 8

Kameishia Wooten

Originally from Goldsboro, North Carolina, Kameishia Wooten earned her B.A. in Media Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and M.F.A. in Film Writing and Directing at Columbia College Chicago.

Kameishia has written, directed, and produced 6 short films.  THE TEST received first runner-up in IFP’s Fly-Over Zone Film Festival. SOUTHERN CROSS placed as a semi-finalist in the HBO/Chase Film Legacy challenge and has screened in over 20 film festivals around the world, including Chicago International Children’s Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival’s Emerging Showcase.  Most recently, her feature screenplay, DESTINY’S ROAD, was selected as 1 of 12 projects for the 2019 Women In Film Financing Intensive. Also, her proof of concept short film of the same name placed as a semi-finalist in the 2019 Tribeca Film Institute Pond 5 Program and will be touring the festival circuit in 2020.

She currently works at Netflix, where she oversees document delivery for the Original Studio Film group. Kameishia resides in Los Angeles where she’s a member of Alliance of Women Directors, Women In Film, Women In Media, and Film Independent. Kameishia’s mission as a filmmaker is to create content that fosters culture, diversity, and community.

Appears in: The Art of the Short Film; Film screening shorts block January 26, 2:55 p.m., Alamo Drafthouse Theater 8.

Cyndi McCoy is the multifaceted founder of the DCOM Corporation, a company that provides new product development and digital transformations for enterprise and startup Business-to Business customers in the Financial Services, Healthcare, Information Technology, and Retail industries. She is the author of Keep Your Feet Moving and Navigate Challenges on the Road to Entrepreneurship.
www.thecyndimccoy.com
www.instagram.com/thecyndimccoy

Workshop: Augmented Reality’s growth inspires career and business growth

Ernanda White, Growth Hacker, Executive Coach and Entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience as an Entrepreneur, Techie and Creative. She has served as an Advisor for technological advancement in school districts, Advocate for at risk youth from underserved  communities and Educator to young adults in career development. Forever philanthropic, she has volunteered her time and fundraising to help implement social justice systems within disenfranchised communities. Currently studying to become a Drone Pilot, she is launching her 2020 STEAM initiatives for Black Girls Drone. In her quiet time you can find her bird watching, framing art, sipping tea from her collection and spending quality time with her family.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ernanda-white | Facebook page @blackgirlsdrone
Twitter @GirlsDrone | Website: https://blackgirlsdrone.webstarts.com
Email: blackgirlsdrone@gmail.com

Workshop: Taking Flight in the Pursuit of Equality, Education, and Visibility for Underrepresented Women and Girls from Underserved Communities with Aeronautic Training, Opportunities and Certified UAV aeronautics.

Heidi D. Edwards, M.Ed, MDiv, is an experienced educator with 13 years in the classroom. She specializes in working with children with learning disabilities and language acquisition needs. In her years of teaching, she spent 7 years in Indonesia where she gained incredible experience learning about the Eastern methods of educating children and young adults. Upon her return to the States, she has engaged in online platforms that allowed her to teach children and adults in China. Currently, Heidi is developing a virtual classroom that appeals to the
imagination and creativity of children and teens. She believes that children are more apt to learn when they are fully engaged and feel apart of the environment where learning is taking place.

Heidi D. Edwards Email – doneshaedwards8@gmail.com

Workshop: Virtual Reality in the Classrooms and Beyond

Anthara Patrice has been in the beauty industry for 23 years, since the age of 8 coming from a successful family salon enterprise in Southern Dallas. A UNT Alumnae who had a lifestyle marketing company until 2017, along with a full-time career in Project Management for over 7 years has provided hands on business experience, increasing her passion for serial entrepreneurship.

A 2018 Black Enterprise Tech Cnxt Fellow, 2019 Black Tech Week Tulsa Feature, Tech Chair of Wrightway Tech Co-op and recent AfroTech feature, Anthara is an emerging tech mogul leveraging technology to provide community resources through her first application Mybeautyfill, a B2B SAAS Cloud Solution for the Salon Industry. With multiple projects on the horizon and a love for technology, Anthara continues to increase diversity and inclusion throughout Tech.

MJStechnologies.io Coming Soon
Mybeautyfill.app
IG, Facebook : AntharaPatrice
LinkedIn : Anthara Carr

Workshops: Leveraging Tech to Advance Socio-Economic Status and Experiential Technology

Andrew Scott works at the intersection of digital fabrication technologies, traditional fine arts practices and collective cultural ideals. Utilizing laser cutters, CNC mills, 3D printers and scanning technologies, he fabricates sculptures,
creates installations and immersive visual experiences by using projection mapping to bring static objects to life. His creative practice spans more than three decades. Working in diverse scales, materials, and digital platforms, he has
exhibited worldwide in galleries, museums and other venues. He has also created several permanent public art projects and participated on design teams with architects and engineers on major civic projects.

andrew.scott1@utdallas.edu ; https://www.afsart.com/

Workshop: 3D Printing and Film

Stephenetta (isis) Harmon is a Black beauty editor and multi-dimensional creative with 20+ years experience in journalism and beauty. In her current position as digital media director and editor for Hype Hair magazine, she explores the politics, nuances and perception of Black hair and beauty. Via Sadiaa.com, she aims to further explore the business, economics and marketing of Black hair beauty.

sharmon@sadiaa.com

Workshop: Beauty and Bias Behind the Camera

Kevin Powell is a Game Designer at Gearbox Software currently working on Borderlands 3. In his current role he uses Unreal Blueprint to create various objects used for missions and proofs out system designs throughout the title. Kevin has been in the industry for 10 years and has worked on titles such as Global Agenda, Tribes: Ascend, SMITE, and Battleborn. Kevin graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design in 2010 with a BFA in Interactive Design and Game Development.

Pamela Jackson is a global marketing executive with a with a diverse background and proven track record of innovation, strategic and results oriented marketing. Her more than 20 years of global marketing experience with U.S. multinational companies as well as early stage start-ups include brand marketing, global marketing communication, digital marketing, public relations, product marketing and product management. She has lead marketing efforts for multi-billion dollar brands from initial branding and launch strategy through to digital marketing and sales execution for both consumer and B2B products and services. Pamela is a passionate marketer and is always exploring new and different approaches to marketing. She holds a B.S. and an MBA.

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Angel Mosley, CISA, Founder, CyberSecurity GameChangers Youth Outreach has 15+ years of Consulting, Training and Leadership experience in CyberSecurity, Privacy, and Risk Management and serves as a strategic advisor to multiple CISOs, Executives, and Non-profit Boards. She has spoken, presented and instructed at over 20 Tech & CyberSecurity conferences, organizations, and workshops. In 2018 Angel created CyberSecurity GameChangers, a non-profit that hosts NextGen Symposiums and Beyond School programs for youth 11 – 17. ‘GameChangers’ exposes kids from all walks of life to the benefits of learning sustainable skills that will strengthen their family dynamics for future societies. In addition, in 2019 Angel became the first ‘Beyond School’ Program Director of Geekletes Esports. Geekletes’ Beyond School offers project-based afterschool and summer programs. We work with afterschool organizations, school districts, and charter schools to offer professional Esports curriculum, workshops, industry speakers and job-embedded training that equip students with the techniques needed to promote career and college Esports readiness. CONTACT – #SecKidHero | Contact Info: Angel Mosley ~ 214-232-8324 | Angel@SecKidHero.org | @SecKidHero | #SecKidHero