MAHYAD TOUSI is a writer, producer, and media strategist whose work spans over two dozen high profile projects, ranging from museum pieces to blockbusters, across mediums, genres, and platforms. He is the co-founder of BoomGen Studios — a company he founded with his writing and producing partner Reza Aslan in 2007 that has become a premier pipeline to produce and launch premium entertainment media about the peoples, myths, and cultures of the Greater Middle East.

Read Mahyad’s interview with Nasdaq Faces of Entrepreneurship.

ALESIA WESTON is the Creative Director of Starfish, and a Curator for the New Zealand Film Festival. For a decade, she ran Sundance Institute’s International Feature Film Program where she spearheaded the labs and grants program for emerging filmmakers from the Middle East, Latin America, Europe and Asia. She also shepherded US writers and directors through the Sundance/NHK and Sundance/Mahindra Filmmaker Award Programs and was Executive Director of the Jerusalem Film Festival, the Jerusalem Cinematheque and National Archives.

NINA SPENSLEY is the Program Co-Director and Operations lead at Starfish. Nina also is a producer and an operations strategy consultant. Currently, she is developing a documentary about the commonalities between Haiti and the Dominican Republic and a television series about female con artists written by Richard Sparks. Spensley served as COO for Lithic, a virtual reality production company. She produced the episodic series Ambiance Man for MOCATV (Museum of Contemporary Art LA) with artist-director Alix Lambert, starring Fred Armisen and Jack Black.

SIAN MORSON is the Strategy & Investments lead at Starfish. Sian is the ultimate multi-hyphenate: Entrepreneur-Author-Investor-Producer. In 2010, she founded Kollective Mobile, which specializes in native mobile development. In 2014, she started working on what would be Cast Beauty, a data-driven beauty recommendation platform. At launch, Cast Beauty won L’Oreal’s prestigious Women in Digital award presented to women founders of companies with the potential to revolutionize the beauty industry.

MAHA CHEHLAOUI is the Impact Coordinator at Starfish. Maha is a creative producer and consultant interested in building connections through narrative across multiple platforms. She has produced films, theater, and events, and developed online tools for clients in the arts, environment, and other advocacy spaces. Her latest endeavor, Pass the Mic Media, is aimed at amplifying diverse voices primarily through film and television. Maha has almost 20 years of experience sourcing, developing and producing emerging storytellers.

VIKRAM SINGH is the In-House Ninja at Starfish. Singh is a storyteller and a communications strategy consultant who currently weaves brand narratives for creative design firm Design Spinners. Vikram previously worked at the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative, where he oversaw internal and external communications for the non-profit. Before moving to Los Angeles, Vikram drank from the firehose of information that is journalism in New Delhi with NDTV 24×7 and the SFBay.ca in the Bay Area.

REZA ASLAN is a co-founder of Starfish and is an internationally renowned writer, commentator, professor, Emmy-nominated producer, and scholar of religions. A recipient of the prestigious James Joyce award, Aslan is the author of three internationally best-selling books, including the #1 New York Times Bestseller, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth. His producing credits include the acclaimed HBO series The Leftovers, the Chuck Lorre comedy United States of Al. He is the host and Executive Producer of Rough Draft with Reza Aslan and Metaphysical Milkshake with Rainn Wilson.

KAMAL SINCLAIR is a producer, theatrical director, community arts leader and multi-disciplinary artist. Kamal serves as the Director of the Sundance Institute’s New Frontier Labs Program, which supports artists working at the convergence of film, art, media and technology; as a Consultant to the Ford Foundation’s JustFilms program; and as artist and producer on the Question Bridge: Black Males transmedia art project. At New Frontier, she partners with Chief Curator Shari Frilot to development and platform landmark projects in the evolution of story.

ALEXIS GARCIA is a partner at Endeavor Content, a division of global entertainment leader Endeavor (formerly WME | IMG). In his role, Alexis packages and sells films and advises financiers on their entertainment strategies, which has included work on such recent films as The Favourite and Mid90s.Garcia has been at the forefront of Endeavor Content’s entry into the financing space, which has included investments in films such as the Paramount hit Book Club and Peanut Butter Falcon.

MELISSA BRADLEY, with more than 20 years of entrepreneurship, investment and leadership experience, has been continuously committed to serving founders of color for quite some time. We wouldn’t be exaggerating if we said she’s done it all — as a Presidential Appointee under Presidents Clinton and Obama — and also, in the private sector at Sallie Mae, CIT GAP Funds and UBS. Now, her company, 1863 Ventures (previously Project 500) is bridging the gap between entrepreneurship and racial equity.

LUIS CASTRO is a highly regarded innovator and strategist whose mission is to fuse storytelling and social impact. Luis is an independent producer and consultant who brings authentic stories by women and diverse creators to multiple platforms. His unique background working at senior levels in entertainment, philanthropy, and the government gives him a fresh and comprehensive perspective on finding original voices and powerful stories that illuminate the kaleidoscope of the American experience.

ALANA MAYO is president of Orion Pictures and served as Head of Production and Development for Outlier Society led by actor Michael B. Jordan. Alana led the charge with Jordan to create opportunities for more equitable hiring in Hollywood, with the launch of a first-of-its-kind company-wide inclusion policy. “We are at an exciting and critical tipping point in our industry. Filmmakers and creators who have been considered and treated as outsiders have nonetheless persisted in creating visionary films that drew audiences across the globe and defined culture.”

KARIM AHMAD has over 15 years of talent and story development experience, from film to TV to digital/interactive, as a development executive, a producer, a writer, an experienced designer, and a content strategist. He currently runs inclusion strategy and cross-program outreach initiatives at the Sundance Institute, sourcing, and tracking emerging talent across all genres and formats, and devising /implementing organization-wide inclusion initiatives, including sustaining partnerships with key industry allies. He was the Creator and Senior Producer of Indie Lens Storycast, and the Creator and Showrunner of the iconic sci-fi series, FUTURESTATES.

WAYNE SUTTON is a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Change Catalyst and its Tech Inclusion programs. Change Catalyst builds inclusive tech ecosystems through strategic advising, startup programs and resources, and a series of events around the globe. Sutton’s experience includes years of establishing partnerships with large brands to early-stage startups. As a leading voice in diversity and inclusion in tech, Sutton shares his thoughts on solutions and culture in various media outlets such as TechCrunch, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal.

JOHN JENNINGS is Professor of Media at UC Riverside and Cultural Studies and a Cooperating Faculty Member in the Department of Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside. John’s work centers around intersectional narratives regarding identity politics and popular media. Jennings is co-editor of the Eisner Award-winning essay collection The Blacker the Ink: Constructions of Black Identity in Comics. Jennings is also the curator of the Megascope list and illustrator of the graphic-novel adaptations of Octavia E. Butler’s Kindred and Parable of the Sower.

MIKHAEL TARA GARVER is the founder of 13EXP. Mikhael has been a leader in immersive and experiential storytelling for over two decades. She is the leading Experiential Architect having built creative content across multiple platforms. She creates large-scale, social impact, multi-platform, experiences that combine technology and live events. She makes creative ecosystems for brands, agencies, and social impact. Mikhael was one of six international artists awarded the International Sacatar Fellowship in Bahia, Brazil to complete her book on “How xExperiential Content Leads Change through Entertainment.”

SHAWN TAYLOR is the founder of The Nerds Of Color. Lovingly called an “O.G. AfroGeek”, Shawn is a writer, university lecturer, and scholar of Afrofuturism, science fiction, comic’s culture, propaganda, hip-hop, fandom, mythology/ folklore, and popular culture. He strives to find the people-facing value of his scholarship and praxis. He invites for pop culture fans to use their powers and the communities they have built to help millions of people imagine and co-create a new just and pluralist future together.

HEIDI BOISVERT is the CEO and Creative Director of futurePerfect lab. Heidi is an artist, scientist & creative technologist who interrogates the neurobiological and socio-cultural effects of media and technology. Simply put, she studies the role of the body, the senses and emotion in human perception and social change. Boisvert is currently mapping the world’s first media genome, while taking great care with its far-reaching ethical implications. She founded futurePerfect lab0, a creative agency and think-tank and is currently a research affiliate at MIT Open Doc Lab.

CHERYL SLEAN is the Creative Director of Rewrite the Future, NRDC. Cheryl is a climate communicator, playwright and filmmaker with a diverse academic background in physics, literature and sustainability. She’s taught filmmaking and creative writing at several universities and started a video production company specializing in narrative strategies for educational media. She co-founded the grassroots collective Vision LA Climate Action Arts to produce a multidisciplinary arts festival concurrent with the U.N. Paris Accords. She currently works with the NRDC as Creative Director of Rewrite the Future, a climate storytelling in entertainment initiative.

NADIA SAAH has served as an entertainment and business development executive including: Discovery Communications Inc., Nintendo, Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU), Arab Fund for Arts & Culture and the Gere Foundation, and is a co-founder of BoomGen Studios. As a producer and consultant for Palestine themed projects and advocacy campaigns, Nadia most recently launched Project Forty-Eight, a Nakba education initiative that centers Palestinian eye-witness testimonies and scholarship.and strategist for leading media companies, rights organizations and foundations. She was also recently appointed to the board of directors for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees USA National Committee.

JESSICA TUCK is the Director of Spark Off Rose, an intimate, authentic space that attracts storytellers who reveal their most intimate selves – candidly, humorously, and with heart. She has been a working actress for 30 years. Her extensive television credits include series regular roles on HBO’s acclaimed “TRUE BLOOD”, the Emmy-winning “JUDGING AMY” and a starring role on the daytime drama “ONE LIFE TO LIVE,” for which she received an Emmy Award nomination as Best Actress.

SARAH VITTI is a Culture Change Manager at Caring Across Generations, an Associate at Moore + Associates and an Executive Team Member and Lab Producer for Yes And Laughter Lab. She is also a producer and impact strategist for *The Immigrant is Staying/Mohamed’s Green Card Special as well as a founding member and collaborator for The Root Community. Sarah is a board member of the Lower East Side Film Festival and sits on the advisory board for GOLD, a comedy school that works to amplify girls’ and women’s voices.

SANAZ ALSEFAR is a Program Director for Storyline Partners. Alesafar is an entertainment impact strategist working within the intersection of art, culture, film, and television to promote social justice issues and narrative change. In her current role, she is Program Director for Storyline Partners, a nonprofit collective of issue-based organizations that advise and collaborate with the industry to promote accurate and authentic narratives and inclusive content in film and television. Sanaz also consults for the Film Narrative team at Participant.

ALICIA VAN COUVERING is currently producing partners with Nick Kroll in his latest venture ‘Good At Business’. Alicia’s first film as a producer, Lena Dunham’s TINY FURNITURE, won the SXSW Film Festival in 2010 as well as accolades from the Independent Spirit Awards, Gotham Awards, New York Film Critics Awards and more. She went on to produce Joe Swanberg’s DRINKING BUDDIES and DIGGING FOR FIRE, Jon Watts’ COP CAR, Ry Russo-Young’s NOBODY WALKS, Ava Warbrick’s STEPHANIE IN THE WATER, Gimlet Media’s inaugural scripted podcast, HOMECOMING, as well as numerous short films and commercials.

JEFF YANG is the Head of Global Futures and VP of Cultural Strategy at sparks & honey. Yang is a featured contributor for CNN, a columnist for the South China Morning Post’s Inkstone magazine, and can be regularly heard both on NPR and on his podcast, THEY CALL US BRUCE. He co-wrote Jackie Chan’s best-selling autobiography, I AM JACKIE CHAN, and is the editor of three graphic novels: SECRET IDENTITIES, SHATTERED and NEW FRONTIERS.

MICHELLE SUGIHARA is the Executive Director of Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE), the pioneering non-profit professional organization creating systemic change in Hollywood from the writers’ room to the boardroom to the living room. She is a fourth generation Japanese American born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. Prior to joining CAPE, she was an entertainment attorney, film producer, and adjunct professor for the Claremont Colleges’ Intercollegiate Department of Asian American Studies.

KEITH JOSEF ADKINS is a playwright and screenwriter. His plays include SWEET HOME (MPAACT Theater, Chicago), SUGAR AND NEEDLES (Epic Theater), THE FINAL DAYS OF NEGRO-VILLE, THE DANGEROUS, a commission at The Public Theater, SAFE HOUSE, a commission honoring August Wilson @ Alliance Theater (Goodman Theater New Stages), FAREWELL MISS COTTON (Black Dahlia Theater), to name a few. He has won a constellation of awards for his work as a playwright and has been published in Humana Festival 2003 – The Complete Plays, Playscripts, and The Best Women’s Stage Monologues 2005.