12 Feb Walton Family Foundation Commits $20 Million for Arkansas State Park
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Walton Family Foundation Commits $20 Million for Arkansas State Park
Nancy Dionne is a award-winning documentary filmmaker and photojournalist. She says that “A good film can show you what a person or situation looks like but a great film allows you to feel what it’s actually like to be that person in that situation.”
No matter what her task at Odyssey, she connects people together to inspire calls to action that foster change for new future outcomes for both with filmmakers and with the Impact Team. She leads the #MyJustice Film Award in partnership with DOC NYC and with generous support from Paramount.
Nancy is a Yahoo!Japan Creator artist, founder of both “Express Your Last Wishes: Leave in Love” and “On A Threshold Films” and has worked and judged for the IDA, SF Film Festival and graduated on the Dean’s List from the New York Film Academy’s intensive documentary program and with honors in photography from the San Francisco Art Institute.
Nancy Dionne is an award winning documentary filmmaker, producer and photojournalist. She says that “A good film can show you what a person or situation looks like but a great film allows you to feel what it’s like to BE that person in that situation.” She is a Yahoo!Japan Creator artist, founder of both “Express Your Last Wishes: Leave in Love” which helps people clarify their intentions for loved ones and founder of “On A Threshold Films.”
Past projects include her own “All I See is the Future” and the “Future is Rotten”, Transform Films, Inc. “Stranger/Sister” 2020, BreakThru Films “New Voices” segment for the 2018 Oscars, Lizzie Gottlieb’s “Turn Every Page”, Lost Footage Films for The Wall Street Journal Magazine “Columnists” series, Hitman Productions ITVS series pilot “Should We Kid or Not?” and Director Dempsey Rice’s “The Animated Mind of Oliver Sacks”.
Nancy has worked and judged for the IDA, SF Film Festival and graduated on the Dean’s List from the New York Film Academy’s intensive documentary program and with honors in photography from the San Francisco Art Institute and is working on her third film about musical conductors.
Follow her @photonancydionne @AllISeeistheFuturedoc @TheFutureisRottendoc
Xiaoxiao Chen is a professional editor managing post production processes and storytelling techniques for feature and select short documentary and fiction films, TV, commercials and art exhibitions. Clients include HBO, Apple, New Balance and more with works screened at Cannes Film Festival, DOC NYC, Museum of Modern Art, TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood and the United Nations.
Rudy Valdez is an Emmy Award-winning Michigan-raised, New York City-based filmmaker committed to creating social, cultural, and political stories through a cinematic and meaningful lens. He got his start in film as a Camera Operator on the Peabody Award-winning, Sundance series Brick City and went onto direct a true passion project, The Sentence (HBO). Shot and directed by Valdez over the course of a decade, this feature documentary tells the very personal story of his sister’s plight in the criminal justice system while tackling subjects like mandatory minimums and sentencing reform. For this work, the filmmaker won the 2019 Primetime Emmy Award for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking, US Documentary Audience Award at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and was a 2018 Critics Choice Documentary Awards Best New Director nominee.
Prior to The Sentence, Valdez has worked as a Cinematographer on a multitude of projects including: The Last Patrol (HBO), directed by Academy Award-nominated Director Sebastian Junger; Whoopi Goldberg presents Moms Mabley: I Got Something To Tell You (HBO) produced and directed by Whoopi Goldberg, premiering at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival; Remembering the Artist, Robert De Niro, Sr., (HBO), premiering at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival; The Conversation Series, a New York Times OpDoc; the series Second Coming?: Will Black America Decide the 2012 Election? (BET); Prison Dogs, directed by Primetime Emmy Award-winning Director Geeta Gandbhir and Perri Peltz, premiering at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival; Buried Above Ground, directed by Ben Selkow, premiering at the Woodstock Film Festival; as well as, The Talk (PBS), directed by Academy Award-nominated Director Sam Pollard.
Valdez’s most recent project, ReOpening Night, a feature film about The Public Theater’s staging of a beloved New York City institution, Shakespeare in the Park, following the COVID-19 pandemic. It will premiere on HBO Max December 20th. This summer, Breakaway, a feature film following WNBA superstar, Maya Moore and her fight for criminal justice reform, premiered on ESPN in July 2021 (produced by Rockin’ Robin Productions); and its complementary short, Make Him Known, premiered at the 2021 Miami Film Festival and made appearances at the Sarasota Film Festival, The Brooklyn Film Festival, Minneapolis Film Festival, and Nantucket Film Festival. His four-part docu-series, We Are: The Brooklyn Saints (produced by Imagine Documentaries), is currently streaming on Netflix. He also co- directed the premiere episode of Through Our Eyes (HBO) alongside Academy Award-winning director, Geeta Gandbhir, a four-part docu-series from Sesame Workshop that explores the lives of American families from the perspective of children; how they navigate their circumstances with their families and the world at large. He is also in production on the definitive feature documentary of Carlos Santana (produced by Imagine Documentaries) and Disney +’s CHOIR, a docu-series following the Detroit Youth Choir after their star turn on America’s Got Talent (also produced by Imagine Documentaries). Valdez’s repertoire now extends into the scripted arena as he recently sold a genre TV series he created to Amazon that is loosely based on his family and life experiences.
You can interact with him on Twitter and IG: @thereelrudyv
If you have read the above and still have questions, email: info (at) transformfilmsinc.com
Cassidy Friedman’s films have been called “powerful” by Mother Jones, “must-see” by The Mercury News, and “an audience favorite” by SF Chronicle. Our award-winning documentaries have premiered at festivals like Hot Docs, Cinequest, and Nashville and are widely available through our distributors, Lionsgate and Indican Pictures.
He directed the feature-length critically-acclaimed documentary, Circles (2018), which follows a dedicated high school counselor who struggles to balance the energy he pours into supporting his at-risk students and his relationship with his own son. (World Premiere Hot Docs; Winner Best Feature Documentary Covellite International Film Festival; Winner Best Feature Documentary Huntington Beach Film Festival; Winner Documentary Jury Award Special Mention Milwaukee Film Festival; Best Documentary Feature Nominee Nashville Film Fest; Official Selection Heartland International Film Festival; Virginia Film Festival; SF DocFest, and distributed by Indican Pictures).
He produced the documentary feature, Voices Beyond the Wall (2017), with Executive Producer James Franco, an Official Selection of the Miami International Film Festival; Winner of the Interfaith Award for Best Documentary at the St. Louis International Film Festival and Winner of the Frank Little Award for Self-Sacrifice and Social Change at Covellite International Film Festival, a coming-of-age story of girls in Honduras’ only orphanage for girls (distributed by Vision Video).
Cassidy directed the docuseries, Detroit Rising (2020), with Producer Kerra Bolton, a columnist at CNN, which won Best Web Series at Cyrus International Film Festival, and received Special Mention for Best Documentary at the Venice Shorts Film Festival.
He also directed a score of documentary shorts, both independent and for clients, including Finding Hope (2021), an Official Selection of Nassau Film Festival, New Hope Film Festival, Media Film Festival, Flicks4Change and The Film Collective and Unstill Life (2014), Official Selection of the 2014 Long Island International Film Expo and The SoCal Creative & Innovative Film Festival. And he directed the virtual reality experience, A-Block, US History, featuring slam poet champion, CeCe Jordan.
Through Stories Matter Media, he continues to make films that prioritize relationship, employ collaboration between filmmaker and film subject, and veer away from antiseptic plot lines in order to complicate narratives, and capture the authentic lived experiences of the characters.
He is in post-production on the feature documentary, Soledad, which follows three men seeking a second chance after prison as the nation explores reforming its prison system.
He and his wife, Becca Vershbow, Stories Matter Media’s Impact Producer, dreamed up their company as an engine for high-impact stories that make us fall in love with the characters, break our hearts at the hurdles they must overcome, and model for us how we can turn the signature trait of our humanity, our empathy, into action, communicate across difference and reform the core American institutions that are not living up to our common values.
Cassidy is a fellow of CIFF’s Points North Fellowship, Film Independent’s Fast Track program, and Film Independent’s Documentary Lab. His films have won grants from the International Documentary Association’s Pare Lorenz Doc Fund, Pacific Pioneer Fund and Center for Investigative Reporting. His prior work as a journalist earned him the Idaho Governor’s Award for Excellence in Journalism in 2009.
You can interact with him on Twitter @CassidyFriedman and on IG: @friedmancassidy
Apo W. Bazidi was born in Eastern Turkey to Kurdish parents. He grew up amid the social injustices and inequality that beset his community. These experiences drove his desire to become a storyteller so he could shed light on these important issues. After high school, he immigrated to the United States and went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Film & Television Production from the University of Southern California in 2011.
Apo’s films are primarily concerned with social issues and the importance of global cultural interactions. His feature film, Resistance is Life, won eight festival awards including six for Best Documentary Feature. Apo believes in making a positive change through visual storytelling. His lifelong motto is to “be creative and inspire”.
You can interact with him on various social media platforms @BurnALight
Samah Ali is a distributor and film programmer based in New York City and Toronto. A lover of documentaries and virtual reality, she programs for Academy Award qualifying festivals DOC NYC, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, and Hot Docs Film Festival. She is also the founder of Sisterhood Media, a production and distribution company streaming films on their platform, Sisterhood Media TV. You can interact with her on Twitter @sistersamah.
Melissa C. Potter currently serves as the Vice President of Strategy and Impact at Paramount formerly, ViacomCBS/MTVEntertainment Group (MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, CMT, Logo, SmithsonianChannel, Paramount, POP Tv, and TV Land). The role enables her to supervise each network’s commitment to the long-term social impact of cultural shifts in society.
Prior to her position at Paramount, Potter served as the Head of Social Impact and Communications for Odyssey Impact® and Transform Films, she used film, technology, and new media as a catalyst for social change. For the film “The Rape of Recy Taylor” which won the prize for Human Rights at the Venice Film Festival, she received the 2018 NAACP Image Award nomination as Impact Producer for the film. By building awareness and changing attitudes towards issues of social justice such as women’s rights, gender based violence, criminal and gun law reform, and religious freedom, she led conversations around subjects concerning our nation’s diverse and often underrepresented populations.
As the Head of Social Responsibility and Partnerships at The National Family Engagement Alliance, Potter identified and measured solution-oriented practices for public and private partnerships such as the Scholastic Corporation. She launched the national Read2BGreat campaign with an emphasis on community engagement utilizing social influencers, garnering sponsorships, and fostering a culture of charitable giving.
Potter was at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund where she served as the organization’s primary media contact and spokesperson to develop communications strategies for federal, state and Supreme Court initiatives. She went on to work at the American Civil Liberties Union, where she led strategies on voting rights, criminal justice, disability rights, juvenile justice, and racial justice at the non-profit advocacy organization. While at the ACLU, as a team leader, she created and managed several multi-tiered advertising and marketing campaigns and was the direct liaison to celebrity spokespersons.
Fully committed to working with mission-driven organizations, Potter brings her talent, drive, extensive skills, and analytical focus to any organization. She has been featured and quoted in The New York Times, New York Daily News, The Washington Post and Essence Magazine, as well as others, and has been a speaker at SXSW, ImpactROI and Classy.org amongst many more.
A native of New York, Potter received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Northeastern University and Masters in Corporation Communication and Public Relations from New York University. Potter joined the NJCA Board of Directors in 2020. She also serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors of Fostering Change for Children. She was awarded “Change Agent of the Year” in 2018 from the Digital Diversity Network, is a Webby Anthem Awards juror and a Diversity Committee Member for Transform Films. She is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Potter currently resides in Mt. Vernon, New York with her husband and daughter.
She can be found on Instagram @melissacpotter and Twitter @melissapotterpr
Evy Constantine is the Head of Social Impact at Odyssey Impact® where she leads the impact team, and strategy and execution for all impact campaigns and initiatives. She is a graduate of Northwestern University’s School of Communication where she earned a Master’s degree in Leadership for Creative Enterprises, graduating summa cum laude. She holds a Bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, from The New School in New York City where she majored in Film and Media Studies, concentrating on all aspects of screenwriting. She holds a certificate in Negotiation Mastery from Harvard Business School. She has produced Award-winning films with KaplaniKid Productions, which have had their debut screenings at the Festival de Cannes.
Evy has held positions at various film and media companies, including Media Strategist at Spark Foundry, and handling Acquisitions and Development Strategy for film streaming start-up, Flix Premiere. She is a member of IDA, ACLU, NAACP and the Impact Guild, and a very proud and active member of both The New School Alumni Association and the Northwestern University Alumni Association, where she serves on the Alumni Admissions Council.
Evy Constantine is the Head of Social Impact at Odyssey Impact® where she leads the impact team, and strategy and execution for all impact campaigns and initiatives. She is a graduate of Northwestern University’s School of Communication where she earned a Master’s degree in Leadership for Creative Enterprises, graduating summa cum laude. She holds a Bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, from The New School in New York City where she majored in Film and Media Studies, concentrating on all aspects of screenwriting. She holds a certificate in Negotiation Mastery from Harvard Business School. She has produced Award-winning films with KaplaniKid Productions, which have had their debut screenings at the Festival de Cannes.
Evy has held positions at various film and media companies, including Media Strategist at Spark Foundry, and handling Acquisitions and Development Strategy for film streaming start-up, Flix Premiere. She is a member of IDA, ACLU, NAACP and the Impact Guild, and a very proud and active member of both The New School Alumni Association and the Northwestern University Alumni Association, where she serves on the Alumni Admissions Council.
Ashley Mason Brown (she/her/hers) believes that every soul has the humanitarian right to feel safe and is dedicating her life to embracing her call in peacework for the Presbyterian Church, (USA). She is a Senior at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and volunteers extensively with local refugee populations in helping new families acclimate to life in the United States and grow in their autonomy and agency.
Ashley’s experience growing up in Greenville, South Carolina as well as her time with Montreat Conference Center provided her with a strong spiritual foundation and a curiosity for how peace and religion intersect. Her decision to attend Seminary stemmed from a life-altering visit to Cuba in 2019, on a special religious visa where she was granted the opportunity to visit with Presbyterian leaders and their religious work throughout Cuba. She desires to work internationally in peace-keeping missions for the Prebyterian Church upon her graduation from Seminary in 2023, and is seeking ordination in the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Ashley has an undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina (2013) in International Studies, with emphasis on International Security. She additionally studied International Security in the UK at University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, in 2012 as an exchange student. She was named as USA Today’s South Carolina’s Free Spirit (2009), as well as the SCSPA Journalist of the Year (2009) and has maintained her own blog of over 500 articles from the past decade on religious and political concepts. She currently contributes monthly writing to Presbyterian Outlook, and embraces creativity as a reflective healing modality.
Ashley is interested in continuing to learn about how interfaith dialogue can empower relationships between religious leaders of all faiths to help maintain peace and balance in local communities.
Yazeed Kamaldien was born in Cape Town, South Africa, and has worked in various countries as a journalist and photographer. He has reported from a number of conflict zones, including the Gaza Strip, Yemen, Syria and Darfur in Sudan. He has also worked on documentary films and was the production manager on Miners Shot Down, which won an international Emmy award in New York in 2015. This film told the story of South African mineworkers who were shot dead by the country’s police officers, while they were striking for better living and working conditions in the lucrative mining sector.
In 2021, Yazeed was awarded a scholarship to do his master’s degree in international peace-building at the Hartford International University for Religion and Peace in Hartford, Connecticut. As part of his course, he also studied the ethical and religious thought of Martin Luther King, Jr, at the Harvard University Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Yazeed is currently also part of the Global Exchange on Religion in Society (Geris), a two-year project funded by the European Union, set up to facilitate a global conversation on diversity, coexistence and social inclusion. His research focus was on Being a Minority in the United States and he was part of a group of journalists and activists who traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, in December 2021 to meet various roleplayers working to advance the rights of underrepresented communities in the United States. Yazeed is interested in understanding how organisations work towards peace-building and intends to work also on race and reconciliation projects. Furthermore, he wants to gain experience in peace-building dialogue processes, including mediation.
Kevin Staton (he/him/his) is a public school educator of over two decades who has welcomed the transition from public educator to public theologian. Kevin has an undergraduate degree from Howard University in Business Administration, and a Masters Degree in Education from the University of New Haven. He has almost completed his first year as an MDiv student at Chicago Theological Seminary, where his area of emphasis is the Study of Black Faith & Life. Kevin subscribes to what theologian Howard Thurman refers to as “The Religion of Jesus,” which focuses on dismantling the existing structures of oppression as part of our moral obligation as Christians. Professionally, Kevin is involved in various local/state organizations that advocate for initiatives around diversity, equity, and inclusion in education, and is currently working on initiatives that involve local churches being more active in local school board politics.
As a licensed Baptist minister, Kevin has worked in the Baptist Church on scholarship programs that promote student academic equity/success. He has also conducted free workshops for students and parents that deal directly with issues around college preparation, high school course selection, and the disproportionate labeling of students of color as special needs. Kevin bases his ministry work on the scripture I Thessalonians 4:11-12, which tells us to “ make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”
Keith (he/him/his) is a hospice chaplain, teaching pastor, and ambassador of aloha – similar in actual meaning to shalom/salaam as in peace (the absence of injustice) & flourishing. Born and raised in Uptown Chicago, he is no stranger to the social dynamics of race, class, and gender as well as the intolerance so ubiquitous in America. In middle school, Keith experienced significant prejudice and bullying that initially resulted in a profound sense of loneliness and self-loathing. Through God’s grace, community, and love, Keith eventually found the freedom to recognize the imago Dei he and all humanity bears. Keith is proud to be of Okinawan and “local” Hawaiian ethnic/cultural heritage, and is passionate about justice, compassion, and forging a multiethnic society where everyone is seen for the sacred beauty they inherently embody. After graduating from the University of Illinois, Keith worked as an aide to a Japanese governor and then at the Consulate General of Japan in Chicago as media affairs coordinator. He was then called to serve a collegiate ministry, mobilizing university students and faculty to recognize their privilege and sacrificially serve God and others domestically and internationally. Today, Keith is a part-time teaching pastor in downtown Los Angeles and a hospice chaplain striving each day to carry the aroma of God’s presence, compassion, and peace to the dying and their loved ones. He loves to play the ʻukulele for his patients and ride his Harley Road King with his MC (motorcycle club) brothers. To them he is simply known as “Shepherd.” Keith runs toward danger and occasionally jumps into fights to break them up. He credits many trainers and mentors for building the foundation to his passion for diverse communities and justice but especially the First Nations founders of NAIITS (an indigenous theological learning community), his former COGIC church family and pastor, and the civil rights activist and legend, Rev. CT Vivian. He has been blessed to journey life’s ever mysterious path as husband to Amy and father to Kyra and Kaeden.
A Florida native, Grace Okerson (she/her/hers) is a second year Master of Divinity Student studying at Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. She is pursuing a concentration in Chaplaincy with the hope of going into hospital and/or hospice chaplaincy. She wants to journey with people through their grief and in their points of crisis, putting her own gifts, talents, and lived experience of grief to use. Equipped with a Master of Arts in Public Ministry from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, Grace’s passions surround dismantling white supremacy and prison abolition. Grace graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Science with minors in Diversity and Social Inequality, Women and Gender Studies, and Journalism Studies from the University of Central Florida. From 2017-2019, Grace then served as Global Mission Fellow with the General Board of Global Ministries as the Lunch & Volunteer Coordinator at the NOAH Project, an agency tackling issues around homelessness in downtown Detroit, MI.
Grace currently works with McCormick Theological Seminary’s Solidarity Building Initiative as the Specialty Projects Manager and Administrative Assistant. Through a praxis of curious-learning, innovative-action, and active-reflection, Grace has imagined into existence life-giving solutions and collaborative partnerships towards justice-making and solidarity-building with those who have been marginalized by hyper incarceration. Grace is a certified candidate for ordained ministry in the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church and plans to continue her ministry as a deacon. When she is not working or in school, you can find Grace exploring the city and traveling the globe. Grace enjoys long walks, baking new recipes, reading, writing, and taking naps on the beach.
Isabella Sherwood-Reid is currently working on her Master’s in Divinity at the Iliff School of Theology and serves as the Pastor of New Ministries and Communications at Cameron United Methodist Church in Denver, Colorado. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religious Studies from Whitman College, where she wrote her thesis on sexual ethics in the church and engaging in sexual abuse crises in Christianity. In between, she has been working in digital ministry, exploring new means of connection and community-building through online avenues. Isabella is excited to see what the future of the church holds as we learn together what it means to be Christian and follow the teachings of Jesus, especially in the ways that we can live into his message of equality and social justice. When not studying, Isabella Sherwood-Reid enjoys baking— the more complicated the better— and walking her dog around local parks.
Windy Cooler (she/her/hers) is an embraced public minister in the Quaker tradition. As a teenage mother she began her career as an anti-poverty organizer. Today she is a frequent guest of Quaker communities as a workshop leader and speaker. Marrying Quaker discernment processes with ethnographic tools, Windy’s ministry of caregiving in times of crisis is grounded in the wisdom present in each community. She is the 2020 Cadbury Scholar at the Quaker center, Pendle Hill; a 2021 MDiv graduate of Earlham School of Religion; and a current doctoral candidate at Lancaster Theological Seminary where she is deepening her scholarship and call to caregiving and justice. She lives with her husband Erik and son Ob in Greenbelt, Maryland, and has an adult daughter, Maggie, who lives nearby.
David Hazan, raised in the Jewish community of Northwest London, is training to be a Rabbi to serve the wider Jewish community and to be an ambassador for his people. Drawing inspiration & strength from his family’s Turkish Sephardic tradition, as well as from others, David is, and has been, conscientiously searching for authenticity and a wholesome connection with his Jewish practice and beliefs that exists in harmony with the outside world. He has studied in various different Rabbinical institutions, including the Judith Lady Montefiore College of the Spanish & Portuguese Jewish community, and worked for different Jewish Institutions and schools both in England and Israel. Committed to finding ways of helping the Jewish community be inspired and connected with its universal mission and unique spirituality; and especially to help support people on their individual spiritual journeys, David looks to further his training in different areas such as meditation, counselling and mental health in the future alongside his Rabbinical career. He holds a Diploma in Philosophy & Religious studies from the Open University and Certificate in Jewish Education from the London school of Jewish Studies. After organising a 3-day Jewish Meditation retreat in the Peak District, his first own communal project, David attended a year and a half programme at the Rabbinical Training Academy which he has just graduated from. Since then, David has been officiating as a Rabbi, Sephardic Hazan & Bar Mitzvah Tutor for different communities throughout London and Hertfordshire. Recently married, He currently lives in Edgware with his wonderful and supportive wife, Tehilla, who is working towards being an equestrian therapist.
Natalia Pierson (she/her/hers) is a social worker and therapist. She is currently pursuing her Masters of Divinity at Vanderbilt Divinity School with a concentration in Chaplaincy as well as Religion, Gender, and Sexuality. She earned a Bachelor and Master of Social Work from Texas State University-San Marcos. Over her 16 years as a social worker, she has worked with many different populations; single adults, families, teens, children, people experiencing mental health crises, substance misuse issues, homelessness, unemployment, child-welfare involvement, and incarceration. After leaving the evangelical church, Natalia found radical welcome, embrace, and acceptance at the Eucharist table of Church of the Apostles in Seattle, WA. She started to see the equalizing power of sitting together at a table for a meal, whether at church, in a pub, or in a day center for families experiencing homelessness. She is in the candidacy process with the ELCA Lutheran Church. She is called to be a part of the Church’s resurrection into a decolonized, inclusive, and antiracist community. She wants to be with people as we heal from wounds inflicted by spiritual trauma and reconstruct their relationship with the Divine. As an Odyssey Fellow, she looks forward to co-creating with others as we strive to make spaces for radical love, leaving the world better than we found it. She enjoys running and sharing time with others around a table with homemade bread.
Meredith is wildly uncomfortable writing about herself in the 3rd person. She’s a mom to three, spouse to one and friend to many! After 23 years of on and off study, Meredith finally completed an undergraduate degree at UW-Whitewater and then began seminary. She has collected at least 10 student IDs proving that she is a lifelong learner. She is currently working on an Mdiv. at Emory University in Atlanta, as part of the first ever remote cohort. She’s been a member of St. Mark’s in Beaver Dam for the past 12 years, and until recently, was the Executive Director of the Haiti Project. She is currently a postulant in the Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee, serving at St. Paul’s Episcopal in Watertown, WI. Meredith is a big fan of art, conversation and the New York Times Puzzles section.
Andrea Steinkamp (she/her/hers) is originally from Michigan but has resided with her husband and two sons on the Upper West Side of Manhattan for the past 11 years. She is currently pursuing a Master of Divinity degree at Union Theological Seminary, concentrating in cross-testament biblical studies and is also a Member in Discernment pursuing ordination in the United Church of Christ. For the 2022-2023 school year, Andrea has been elected by her peers at Union to serve as the student representative to the Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees. Andrea has a Bachelor of Science degree in both Finance and Accounting from Miami University in Oxford, OH and spent twelve years utilizing these skills as a consultant, business owner and for-profit financial executive; her move to New York City in 2011, with a six-year-old and nearly two-year-old in tow, compelled her to take a break from her career and deploy her expertise in alternative settings. During that time, she brought her technical skills and leadership competency to volunteer roles for her children’s public-school PTA, serving as both Treasurer and Co-President over five years. She also became increasingly involved in lay leadership with her local church congregation and was ordained a Deacon in 2015 and an Elder in 2016, before being elected Chair of the local consistory (governing board) in 2017. In 2020, Andrea was elected Chair of the Full Consistory of the Collegiate Church of New York. Her call is to the work of a pastor, one who creates spaces of respite and community where people can be fed both physically and spiritually, nourished to encourage and sustain their ethical action in the world. She has spent the past year as an intern at St. Paul and St. Andrew United Methodist Church developing programming and providing spiritual care for its young adult population, a majority of whom identify as LGBTQIA+. When she’s not at school or at church she’s working out, walking in the park, baking or cooking for anyone who needs to be fed, or cheering her two teenage sons on at their various events and activities.
Peter Michael Tanaka (he/him/his) is the son of Amy Orlando (married to Mike) and Richard Tanaka (married to Ann Lyons). He is the older brother of Keiko, Tori, and Spencer (married to Stephanie). He was born in Peoria, Illinois, and he and his family moved to Brighton, Michigan, Boise, Idaho, and Toronto, Canada, before they settled in the west suburbs of Chicago when Peter was eleven years old. He attended Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois and studied biology. Upon graduation in 2010, he moved to Detroit, Michigan, to work in a neuroscience research lab at the medical school of Wayne State University. With guidance from his boss and mentor, Dr. Rodrigo Andrade, Peter chose to not pursue a career as a doctor or researcher, and to instead use that period of his life for long term travel with the purpose of self-discovery. After leaving to travel through Europe in 2013, and then spending three years teaching English to elementary students in Chino, Nagano, Japan, Peter returned home in 2017. Shortly thereafter, he committed to pursuing theological studies. He has just completed his first year as a Master of Divinity student at Union Theological Seminary. He is a multiple religious belonger, seeking ordination in the Episcopal church, as he begins to also cultivate his foundation in Buddhism. Singing is a central expression of faith. His experiences in community organizing in Detroit in the wake of the killing of George Floyd have profoundly impacted his understanding of justice. As an Odyssey Fellow, Peter will complete his field education assignment at Rikers Correctional Center while working with the Brooklyn Zen Center, Christ Church Cobble Hill, and advocacy groups for individuals impacted by the justice system to help facilitate a multireligious, communal dialogue that leads to a more nuanced understanding of, and deeper sense of engagement with mass incarceration in the United States.
Hamzah is a student of traditional Islamic scholarship, an economist, social researcher, teacher, and writer.
Born and raised in London, Hamzah grew up in a deprived area. He took a keen interest in faith at an early age, though his professional aspirations took him to study Economics at SOAS University of London. He graduated at the top of his cohort, receiving the Finalist Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement. During his time at university, he founded and operated a scholarship fund for students from impoverished backgrounds. He also conducted research at the Institute of Economic Affairs on the economic potential of Zakat, the Islamic alms-tax.
After graduation, Hamzah was accepted onto the Civil Service Fast Stream, where he worked on several high-profile policy areas in the British Government as an Economist. He also sat on several committees and boards representing faith groups and Muslims in workplace and policy networks. Concurrently, Hamzah also began training in traditional Islamic scholarship on a part-time basis.
After 3 years of working full-time, Hamzah was awarded the Jameel Scholarship from the Islam-UK Centre, Cardiff University, through which he studied MA Islam in Contemporary Britain. His dissertation explored spiritual seclusion among British Muslims and is the first-ever autoethnographic study of Islamic spiritual seclusion.
Following this, Hamzah enrolled at the Cambridge Muslim College, where he is currently studying BA Contextual Islamic Studies. Alongside his studies, Hamzah is working as a Social Researcher at the Institute of Community Studies, conducting primary research with grassroots community initiatives to explore community-based resilience to deprivation. He is currently also a teacher at the Cambridge Central Mosque. Hamzah has attended a number of faith-based leadership and training programmes, including the Young Muslim Leadership Programme run by the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, the Emerging Peacemakers Forum by the Rose Castle Foundation, Countering Extremism through Wasatiyya run by the Markfield Institute, and print media training.
He has also engaged widely with and written for a variety grassroots Muslim organisations, including the British Board of Imams and Scholars, the Muslim Council of Britain, the National Zakat Foundation, and the Muslim Vibe. Hamzah has often been found spelunking between various cafes, indulging in tea and cake. He also boxes, and occasionally dabbles in Brazilian Ju Jitsu.
Shereetha J. (she/her) is an advocate, audio maker, and innovator who brings stories from the margins to the forefront. She encourages others to lead with love, peace, and to not only survive, but continuously seek ways to thrive. Shereetha is a Georgia native who hails from Heard County, a rural area with one stoplight that is easily outshined by the community’s sense of camaraderie.
Professionally, she curates worshipful moments through digital communications and in-person programming as the Director of Community Engagement for Church of the Common Ground—an Atlanta-based spiritual community for those impacted by homelessness. Shereetha is currently pursuing her Master’s of Social Innovation at Agnes Scott College where she continues to build her work with Project Upstream–a citizen training program that unites policy and storytelling to empower unhoused residents with the tools to advocate for themselves and other unhoused citizens of Atlanta. Shereetha believes it takes bold initiatives to change the world and that this work must begin with self, by listening for the sound of the genuine. For her, outreach is more than a passion, it’s personal. More specifically, her experience as a cancer survivor, allows her to authentically engage with others who are deeply rooted on the margins. This also directly influences her work as an audio maker. Shereetha hosts and produces two unique podcasts: “God, Goats, and Government”–a weekly conversation with Episcopal priest, Black farmer, and first-time legislator Senator Kim Jackson. She also addresses apology culture with conversations grounded in lyrics and liberation through “I’m Sorry Ms. Jackson Podcast”.
As an Odyssey Fellow, Shereetha aims to develop invaluable relationships through the agency of deliberative dialogue and the desire to shift the narrative around homelessness, starting with the beloved community members of Church of the Common Ground. Lastly, she views life as one big soundtrack and believes that a life well-lived breaks barriers and crosses genres. Shereetha’s primary goal is to recognize God in others by listening wholeheartedly. For this purpose, she is committed to uplifting the voices of the Unheard, while cultivating one of the greatest playlists of all time.
Nashville, TN
Vanderbilt Divinity School | Faith Matters Network
Ristina Gooden (she/her/hers) is originally from Cleveland, Ohio. She is currently a divinity student at Vanderbilt Divinity School where she is concentrating on Black Religion and Cultural Studies as well as Religion, Gender, and Sexuality. For the 2020-2021 school year, Ristina will serve as student government President for the divinity school. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Hospitality Management from The Ohio State University. Previously, Ristina had a nearly 10-year career as an event planner at both The Ohio State University and Spelman College. In that career, Ristina has managed over 4,500 events. Ristina has a passion for womanism, equity, cultural competency, and community building which is why doing her field education at Faith Matters Network, womanist-led organization focused on personal and social transformation, was the perfect fit. With their vision of a world of people living in just communities rooted in wisdom, spiritual practices, healing, and courage, Ristina has found a home with kindred spirits. She has begun her ordination process within the Baptist denomination and looks forward to becoming a pastor as well as a birth doula. In her spare time, which is rare, Ristina loves baking and cheering on her Ohio State University Buckeyes during football season.
Atlanta, GA
Candler School of Theology | Providence Missionary Baptist Church
“Theo-Organizer” Darrin Lamont Sims Jr. (he/him/his) was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. Growing up in such a racially divisive city had a large impact on the way Darrin saw social justice, even from a young age. At Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, he double majored in Political Science and History. Upon graduation, Darrin served as a teacher for Teach for America in Nashville and St. Louis. It was during the Ferguson Uprising that Darrin decided to focus on community organizing and abolition. Soon after, Darrin followed the Lord’s guidance to move to Atlanta, Georgia and enter Candler School of Theology at Emory University. Since then, Darrin has devoted his work and research to social justice through a theological lens. Darrin currently teaches, preaches and organizes around faith-based approaches to reducing recidivism, voter suppression and police and prison abolition in southwest Atlanta, Georgia, building on his recent involvement in the Theology and Racialized Policing Cohort Program of Sojourners Network, and his continued role as Community Manager for The People’s Supper. Darrin is most excited about the holistic reentry work this fellowship will allow him to continue at Providence Missionary Baptist Church in southwest Atlanta. He is supported by his beautiful wife Chauncey and their two children Emmett and Zora.
New York, NY
Union Theological Seminary (NY) | CONNECT
Oriana Mayorga (she/her/ella) is the granddaughter of Caridad Esperanza Pereyra, Margarita Mayorga and Henry Mayorga Sr. She is the daughter of Henry Mayorga Jr. and Dr. Norma Fuentes-Mayorga. Oriana is born and raised New Yorker, community organizer, harm reductionist, artist and recipient of the Justice and Peace Scholarship at Union Theological Seminary. The lived experiences of her Latinx family inspire her daily to fight for justice. Oriana is dedicated to dismantling structural oppression, promoting racial justice and ending violence against womyn, as well as building healthier, accountable communities. Currently, Oriana serves on the leadership council of her Bronx-based church New Day, where she is focused on building the mutual aid ministry. In 2018, while working as the community ministries intern for the St. James United Methodist Church in Kingston, NY, Oriana had the opportunity to preach her first sermon at the Clinton Avenue UMC church. Upon returning from her year away in upstate New York, she briefly worked in a south Bronx syringe exchange. She is a longtime advocate of ending the war on drugs, fighting for accessible psychedelic medicine for all and is the Vice Chair of the board of directors for Students for Sensible Drug Policy. Oriana received her bachelor of science from Fordham University in 2014 and a graduate certificate in Harm Reduction Psychotherapy from the New School of Research in 2016. In 2022, she will graduate with her Masters of Divinity with a concentration in social ethics from Union Theological Seminary. As an Odyssey Fellow, Oriana is most excited to facilitate healing circles with survivors of intimate violence during her internship at CONNECT to promote the healing and growth of some of NYC’s faith leaders.
Cocoa, FL
Iliff School of Theology | Suntree United Methodist Church
Staci Plonsky (she/her/hers) has felt a call to ministry and social justice work since she was a preteen. She has served in ministry in many capacities, including as a camp counselor, a youth director, and a children’s director. Staci has also attended to hundreds of families as a certified birth and postpartum doula, as well as training new doulas. A graduate of Florida Southern College, Staci is currently earning her Master of Divinity degree from Iliff School of Theology, is a certified candidate for the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church, and serves as intern at Suntree United Methodist Church. Staci is most excited to learn how churches can partner with their communities to promote mercy and justice. Staci resides with her husband and three children in Cocoa, Florida with horses, chickens, dog and cats. Staci loves camping and visiting Florida theme parks with her family.
Denver, CO
Iliff School of Theology | Soul 2 Soul Sisters
Lauren Johnson (she/her/hers) is a Southern California native and earned her Bachelor’s Degree at Howard University in Washington, DC. She is currently pursuing her Master’s of Divinity at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, CO with a concentration in Pastoral Care. The Lord placed a burden on Lauren’s heart for Black women who desire healing from wounds of emotional, relational, and spiritual trauma by helping them return to their first loves—God and self. She is passionate about Womanism, healing, liberation, and all matters of the heart. This fall, Lauren will intern with Soul 2 Soul Sisters, a faith-based, Black womxn-led, racial justice organization focused on Black healing and Black liberation. Divine providence led her to the organization as their sacred devotion to their work on providing advocacy, resources, healing, and a voice for Black women aligns perfectly with Lauren’s calling. Lauren will soon begin the process of licensing and ordination in the American Baptist denomination and plans to start a public ministry that will change the lives of Black women. Lauren is a graphic + web designer and owner of Providence & Design, LLC. She enjoys spending time with friends, hiking in the beautiful Colorado mountains, anything floral, and basking in the sun.
Atlanta, GA
Candler School of Theology | Ebenezer Baptist Church
Deirdre “Jonese” Austin (she/her/hers) is a writer and justice seeker. She aspires to employ a radical love ethic in working towards healing and wholeness through good theology, research, direct action, and public policy; she hopes to enter a career at the intersections of ministry, academia, nonprofit work, and politics. Jonese understands her calling as one dedicated to exploring the ways in which healing can be facilitated in and through the Black Baptist Church, and her research interests lie at the intersections of religion, race, justice, and healing. Currently, Jonese is a second year Master of Divinity student at Candler School of Theology pursuing certificates in Black Church Studies and Baptist Studies. She is also a licensed Baptist minister, licensed at the historic Nineteenth Street Baptist Church in DC, who will be interning at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church this fall. In 2019, Jonese graduated from the Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service, with honors, where she majored in Culture and Politics focusing on Religion and Social Justice, minored in African American Studies, and earned a certificate in Religion, Ethics, and World Affairs. Her favorite scripture is Micah 6:8: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God,” and she lives by the philosophy and Emily Dickinson quote, “If I can stop one heart from breaking I shall not live in vain.” As an Odyssey Fellow, Jonese is most looking forward to having brave and healing conversations on topics related to mass incarceration, especially amidst the Christian-Jewish interfaith fellowship of young professionals of Ebenezer and the Temple.
Sebastian Sdaigui was a San Francisco native with a keen eye for unique characters and wild visuals. His music video work garnered the attention of Ariana Grande, Future, 2Chainz, Ty Dolla $ign, French Montana, Tyla Yaweh, and Lil Kim — to name a few. He directed branded content for PGA, MLB, State Farm, and more. Sebastian also served as resident director at major label Def Jam Recordings, where he spearheaded the “I AM DEF JAM” campaign. This series celebrates individuality and identity in the music industry by delving into its artists’ personal lives and creative processes.
Run For His Life
Kim Snyder’s most recent feature documentary, Us Kids premiered in the U.S. Documentary Competition at the 2020 Sundance contest. Prior, she directed the Peabody award-winning documentary Newtown, which premiered in the US Competition at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. Newtown screened at premiere festivals worldwide and was theatrically released followed by a national broadcast on PBS’s Independent Lens and Netflix. Her most recent short, Lessons from a School Shooting: Notes from Dunblane, premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival and was awarded Best Documentary Short followed by the DocDispatch Award at the 2018 Sheffield DocFest and a Grierson Award nomination. Lessons… is a Netflix Original and is streaming in 196 countries. Snyder’s prior works include the feature documentary, Welcome to Shelbyville, nationally broadcast on PBS’s Independent Lens in 2011, and over a dozen short documentaries. Kim’s award-winning directorial debut feature documentary, I Remember Me was theatrically distributed by Zeitgeist Films. In 1994, she associate-produced the Academy Award-winning short film Trevor. Kim graduated with a Masters in International Affairs from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and resides in New York City.
Newtown; Lessons From A School Shooting: Notes From Dunblane; We Are All Newtown
Kirsten is an Emmy-Award winning documentary filmmaker. Recent credits include: Stranger/Sister (premiered Fall 2020); Healing the Healers: Communal Trauma documentary series (Golden Telly Award 2020) which supports clergy during moments of mass community trauma; Healing the Healers: Domestic Violence (Bronze Telly Award 2021); and Healing the Healers: Youth Mental Health. Her Emmy-winning independent film, The Homestretch, a feature documentary about homeless high school students in Chicago Public Schools, was a co-production with Kartemquin Films (PBS, ITVS). Additional indie film projects include the award-winning Asparagus! Stalking the American Life (PBS) and The Girl With the Rivet Gun – an animated short documentary about Rosie the Riveter (AmDocs, Cinequest 2020). Her work has been supported by the ITVS, CPB, AmDoc, MacArthur Foundation, the Sundance Institute, Fledgling Fund, Chicken and Egg, Good Pitch and Bertha Foundation/Brit Docs. She has a diverse background in developing new content which focuses on social justice issues. Kirsten is a Fellow at the Sundance Documentary Institute and a graduate of the Master’s Directing program at The Juilliard School.
Stranger/Sister; Healing the Healers: Youth Mental Health
Founder and Director of the “Full Frame Documentary Festival” for 10 years, she is also the Director and Producer of “Sidney Lumet” (2015) which premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Among her many credits as an independent film maker are the Peabody and Emmy Award winning film “The Loving Story” which was shortlisted for the 2011 Academy Awards and received the WGA Screenwriters Award.
The Rape of Recy Taylor
Taber’s recent documentary projects include producing Siempre, Luis, which follows Luis Miranda, the father of Lin-Manuel Miranda, as he attempts to mount a production of “Hamilton” in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Siempre, Luis premiered at Sundance 2020 and will stream on HBO this October. She directed the Wavelength Productions feature How to Be Normal, the coming of age story of a young man who, as a child, underwent a unique and controversial treatment for autism. Other projects include the PBS special Into the Night: Portraits of Life and Death and the award-winning Milwaukee 53206. She has worked on films for the PBS series FRONTLINE including Life and Death in Assisted Living, Dollars and Dentists, and The Child Cases, and she was a co-producer on the four-part PBS NOVA series: The Fabric of the Cosmos. Taber co-produced the Emmy-award winning feature documentary Homestretch.
Stranger/Sister
Nailah Jefferson, Director – Nailah’s acclaimed work has been distributed domestically and internationally on the film festival circuit, theatrically and televised. Her debut documentary Vanishing Pearls: The Oystermen of Pointe a la Hache, told the story of the little known African American oyster fishing community in Plaquemines Parish and their fight for justice in the aftermath of the 2010 BP Oil Spill. The film was acquired by ARRAY and is currently available on The Urban Movie Channel. In 2017, Nailah was nominated for a National Magazine Ellie award for directing Essence Magazine’s Black Girl Magic Episode 4. Nailah’s first narrative film, Plaquemines, was awarded the inaugural Create Louisiana $50k Short Film grant. It was chosen as an American Black Film Festival HBO Shorts finalist and is currently available on HBO platforms. Nailah’s current work includes the documentary Commuted, about a 51-year-old woman whose triple life sentence was commuted by the Obama Administration in 2016. The film is supported by Chicken & Egg Pictures, the Tribeca Film Institute, Firelight Media, Black Public Media, the Southern Documentary Fund and ITVS.
Descended from the Promised Land
Keith McQuirter is an award winning producer and director with credits in TV documentary, digital media and commercials. This year he won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Directing for the EPIX 4-part docu-series By Whatever Means Necessary: The Times of Godfather of Harlem which he also executive produced. He produced three episodes of the true crime docu-series The Innocence Files for Netflix in 2020. He directed and produced the documentary MILWAUKEE 53206 that aired on WORLD Channel’s America ReFramed and won Best Feature Documentary at the 2017 Urbanworld Film Festival. That same year he also won the National Council on Crime and Delinquency’s Media for a Just Society Award. Keith co-produced the Peabody Award winning and Prime Time Emmy nominated docu-series Brick City for the Sundance Channel. He is currently directing a documentary about criminal justice in co-production with ITVS. An executive producer in advertising, Keith’s NYC-based production company, Decoder Media produces commercials for national and global brands in entertainment, apparel, beauty, food and consumer products.
Keith studied film and television production at New York University Tisch School of the Arts where he was awarded the Martin Scorsese Young Filmmaker Award. He also studied directing at the National Theater Institute.
MILWAUKEE 53206
“If all people said was ‘great film’ but did nothing [about a social issue], then we have failed,” says Odyssey Impact®’s CEO and visionary Nick Stuart. He’s talking about the organization’s mission of social impact beyond just making great documentary films. It’s a role that he calls “a calling, not a job” and it’s the culmination of a lifetime of experience in mainstream television news and entertainment production on both sides of the Atlantic, from BBC to Discovery.
His prior experience with traditional media outlets allowed him to explore current issues, but not prompt action afterwards.
On his arrival, Stuart masterminded a wholesale shift in Odyssey from an interfaith cable TV network to a documentary-filmmaking and coalition-building organization that facilitates change via telling stories of spirituality making a difference in people’s everyday lives, no matter the religion. He cites instances where progress would never have been made without faiths working together, such as in “The Troubles,” Northern Ireland, a story he covered extensively for the UK’s largest network, ITV. He says, “Below the surface, there were priests and ministers working to build trust. A Catholic priest and a Protestant minister would work together when someone got killed; they would call on the widow or family of the dead person and offer pastoral care and healing. These were ordinary people, not superheroes, and they weren’t looking for the limelight. Priests also served as go-betweens among the Irish government, the IRA, and the British government.” He also cites the example of faith leaders collaborating with secular activists in South Africa to end apartheid. He continues, “They went into that poisonous space and when things were collapsing around them, managed to hold that country together, playing a part and helping to solve an ‘unsolvable’ problem.”
Odyssey works to take films back into the communities represented as well as to other nonprofits and organizations to continue the conversation on a person-to-person level, even among constituencies that disagree radically. In the case of the film “MILWAUKEE 53206,” about families left behind in a zip code of Milwaukee where 62% of adult Black men are currently in prison or have served time, a local screening and discussion was met with lines around the block.
In generating these outcomes of change, British-born Stuart brings a background of looking at world events and human stories via the role of faith, from his early days at British TV network ITV through time as an MTV producer, as a BAFTA judge, at the Discovery Channel, and in various BBC posts. His experience varies from creating a comedic religious game show to reporting from the front lines of the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, the end of apartheid in South Africa and the rise of Hamas.
A filmmaker must also deal in trust. The subjects of Odyssey’s films know that they’ll be portrayed as real people, not tokens. He reflects, “We deal with the stuff of people’s souls.
Nick is a member of the Producers Guild of America (pga) and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).
Toni Bell is the creator and host of the What’s Up with Docs Podcast. She has worked in the documentary field for close to 10 years. Her foray into documentary film began when she wrote and edited the newsletter for the Black Association of Documentary Filmmakers – West. This led to her first gig as a production assistant and then an archival researcher for the film, Bridging the Divide: Tom Bradley and the Politics of Race, which was aired nationally on PBS. Since then, she has conducted archival research for several films and television shows, including Centric’s “Being.” She is an independent documentary consultant and has worked as Impact Strategist for Looky Looky Pictures. She worked on films such as Building the American Dream, Councilwoman, Through the Night, and And She Can Be Next. She has been a speaker, panelist, mentor, and juror at documentary film festivals and labs such as NALIP, Dok Leipzig, HotDocs, IFPWeek, Outfest, Docs by the Sea, and the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. She currently works with Auburn Seminary’s Hartley Media Impact Initiative and serves on the advisory board of the Southeast European Film Festival. Toni is also part of the inaugural cohort of Art Equity’s BIPOC Leadership Circle is designed to center, support, and address the experiences of BIPOC leaders of cultural institutions. She is the former Filmmaker Services Manager at the International Documentary Association, where she was responsible for handling the day-to-day operations of the fiscal sponsorship program. Toni curated the IDA’s DocuClub work-in-progress screening series, of which many of the films have premiered at film festivals such as Sundance, Tribeca, and CPH: Dox. She holds a MAT-TESOL and an MA in Visual Anthropology from USC, an MFA in Creative Writing from Naropa University, and a certificate in professional screenwriting from UCLA.
Kate Leonard assists the Social Impact Team in outreach and research efforts. She is a graduate of Fordham University in the Bronx and is a current Master’s student at Columbia University’s School of Social Work. Kate has held various positions working on social justice and interfaith initiatives, with a specific focus on abolition and decarceration in the criminal justice system.
Anne Faustin has over a decade of experience in strategic planning and development in both the private and non-profit sectors. She previously served as the Outreach Producer for Bring It to The Table a Talking Eyes Media documentary where she identified and cultivated relationships with colleges, universities, prospect funders, and national organizations in the civil discourse space.
Additionally, Anne served as the Strategic Development Consultant for the Ciné Institute, where she created a five year strategic development plan that addressed the short, and long term development goals of the film Institute.
Anne served as a Working Group Consultant at the Clinton Global Initiative where she was responsible for building and leading a working group of thought leaders focused on health and wellness in the United States. She has also served as a Regional Vice President and Senior Professional Relations Representative in the Healthcare sector.
Anne was born in Brussels, Belgium, and grew up in New York. She graduated from New York Medical College with a Master of Public Health (MPH) in Health Policy and Management and from Manhattanville College with a BA in Management. Anne received her Certificate in Television and Film Producing at NYU.
As Director of Religion and Civic Engagement for Odyssey Impact®, Rev. Dr. Katie Givens Kime oversees the Odyssey Fellows Program. She is an integral part of building and strengthening partnerships with theological and higher education institutions, communities of faith, and secular justice organizations
With experience that includes congregational leadership, university instruction, community mediation and restorative justice, social justice advocacy, chaplaincy and spiritual caregiving, she brings more than 15 years of experience in motivating theological education and faith communities to take on civic issues.
She holds a Master of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary (NYC) and a Doctor of Philosophy in Religion from Emory University, where she also assisted, guest lectured, and adjunct taught courses at Emory and the Candler School of Theology for more than 8 years. She was a member of the Post-Doctoral Teaching and Research Faculty at the Universität Bern in Switzerland in 2017 and 2018, and served as the Associate Pastor for Mission, Adult Education and Young Adults at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Ga., for six years. Before that, she worked at Marble Collegiate Church and at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, both in New York City. In her research, teaching, and professional accomplishments, Katie is valued for her success in crossing the boundaries of academy, church, health care, theatre, and the public square.
Marchelle is a Past President of the South Pasadena Rotary Club and was named Rotarian of the Year in 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Marchelle is the founder of The Welcome Home, a hospitality house in Pasadena for families of children going through treatment in nearby hospitals. Ronald McDonald House Charities acquired The Welcome Home just two months after it opened in 2003, renamed the Pasadena Ronald McDonald House, where she served as Executive Director until 2008. In 2007, Marchelle was awarded Most Inspirational Executive Director by both the State Assembly and Senator’s offices for her work there.
In 2009, she was recruited to lead Mending Kids, a children’s surgical charity that gifts complex surgeries to kids across the globe. In eight years, Marchelle expanded the charity’s reach from 12 to 63 countries, raised $42 million (cash and in-kind), dramatically reduced costs while increasing outcomes and surgeries performed, and built sustainable training programs in 15 countries. In 2014, THE Magazine recognized her as one of the Top 50 Women in the San Gabriel Valley and in 2015 she was awarded Top Nonprofit Executive by LA Business Journal. Mending Kids won Top Midsized Nonprofit that same year.
She previously served on Pasadena’s Accessibility & Disability Commission focusing on adaptable playgrounds and is an Advisory Committee Member for the Shriners Medical Center in Pasadena and is a member of the Business Leadership Committee at the University of LaVerne.
Marchelle studied Public Policy & Management at the University of Southern California, minoring in accounting and sociology, and received her MBA from Ashford University, with a concentration in organizational management. She consults for nonprofit organizations, including a top role at Odyssey Impact®.
Kirsten is an Emmy-Award winning documentary filmmaker who is the Senior Producer for Transform Films overseeing development and production of long- and short-form documentaries. She is also an IMpact Producer with Transform’s sister company Odyssey Impact®. Recent credits include: Stranger/Sister (premiered Fall 2020); Healing the Healers: Communal Trauma documentary series (Golden Telly Award 2020) which supports clergy during moments of mass community trauma; Healing the Healers: Domestic Violence (Bronze Telly Award 2021); and Healing the Healers: Youth Mental Health. Her Emmy-winning independent film, The Homestretch, a feature documentary about homeless high school students in Chicago Public Schools, was a co-production with Kartemquin Films (PBS, ITVS). Additional indie film projects include the award-winning Asparagus! Stalking the American Life (PBS) and The Girl With the Rivet Gun – an animated short documentary about Rosie the Riveter (AmDocs, Cinequest 2020). Her work has been supported by the ITVS, CPB, AmDoc, MacArthur Foundation, the Sundance Institute, Fledgling Fund, Chicken and Egg, Good Pitch and Bertha Foundation/Brit Docs. She has a diverse background in developing new content which focuses on social justice issues. Kirsten is a Fellow at the Sundance Documentary Institute and a graduate of the Master’s Directing program at The Juilliard School.
Ann has been a fundraising professional for over 20 years. As a mission focused professional, Ann has successfully raised millions for organizations such as The United Way, YMCA, Audubon and a private school. Through inspirational partnerships with volunteers, staff and organizations, Ann has managed Annual Fund Campaigns, Capital Campaigns, Festivals, Golf Tournaments, Lectures, Galas and securing transformative million dollar gifts from individuals and foundations. Ann received her BA from Assumption College and a Masters in Education from Cambridge College.
Louis joined the Odyssey Impact® team in 2021. He has graduated from Purchase College with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism with a concentration in Cinema Studies. As a journalist, he has written film reviews and news articles about the entertainment industry for many online publications. He has also co-directed and produced a short documentary that screened at several film festivals in New York.
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Charisse Browner’s expertise spans more than 28 years in the nonprofit and philanthropy industry. With a deep passion for community outreach and engagement, she helped raise more than $37M in combined revenue for various companies and nonprofit organizations including premier radio station, KPWR Power 106FM, Knowledge Is Power Foundation, Motown Records, America’s Charities, and others.
Charisse is known for providing results-driven expertise and experience in strategic planning, business development, fundraising strategies, capacity building, and a host of other services focused on sustainability and impact. Charisse also has a deep passion for Public Relations and previously served as the Vice President/Group Account Director for a multicultural PR firm in Los Angeles. During her tenure, she managed a staff of junior account managers and provided senior-level strategic counsel to thirteen Fortune 1000 clients representing the automotive, medical, pharmaceutical, food, banking, insurance, and utility industries.
Charisse serves on several boards: Education Coordinator at Professional Football Players Mothers Association (PFPMA), President at Impact Philanthropy Group, and as a Board Advisor at EMG Enterprise and Community Charitable Service Center.
Jenise joined Odyssey Impact® as Impact and Data Strategist in August 2019. In 2013, she graduated from Harvard College with honors and an A.B. in Social Studies and Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality. Jenise later joined Unchained at Last, a nonprofit dedicated to ending forced marriage in the United States, where she led a successful legislative campaign to protect domestic violence victims’ safety by allowing crime victims to access their police reports without cost and keep these requests out of the public record. In April 2014, Jenise joined Sanctuary for Families (SFF), the leading service provider for gender-based violence victims in New York City. In her role, Jenise helped domestic violence victims reach self-sufficiency and independence. In 2017, Jenise co-led SFF’s successful campaign to reduce child marriage in New York State by changing the minimum age of marriage from 14 to 17. In 2019, Jenise completed a Master in Public Administration degree at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. As a graduate student, she co-developed Save Our Moms, a campaign that encouraged more than 6 million people to take greater responsibility for the safety of mothers during and after pregnancy, for the MTV, VH1, and Logo networks.
Juliana Oelkers joined Odyssey Impact® in January 2021 as a Social Impact Intern, helping to create Odyssey Impact®’s TikTok presence and assisting with communications strategies. She worked with other Social Impact Interns throughout their internship to coordinate and plan the Virtual Youth and Criminal Justice Forum. After graduating summa cum laude from Fairleigh Dickinson University in May 2021 with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and a minor in Film Production, Juliana transitioned to her role as the Communications Coordinator.
Taylor is a lifelong technology enthusiast, focusing on the various exciting innovations of our internet age. In his early 20s, he became fascinated with real estate sales, leading teams and creating a very successful career as a licensed agent. Following this time, Taylor was able to grow upon his passions of world travel by visiting over 12 countries on a 3-month trip that circumnavigated the globe. He has since invested the most recent years into the Salesforce ecosystem, as a 3X certified Salesforce Administrator. Taylor believes these new technologies will lead the way to the future of businesses operations.
Originally from the UK, Michelle has worked in production for over a decade on a wide variety of programming including short form for the web, reality shows for VH1 and Bravo, documentary and factual for HBO, BBC World, National Geographic and History Channel, and comedy and live entertainment for BBC, ITV and Channel 4.
Since arriving in the US in 2007, Michelle worked as a freelance Production Manager and Line Producer before joining Transform Films in April 2011. She currently holds the position of Line Producer for the factual programming department creating budgets, schedules and order from chaos. Michelle is a member of the Producers Guild of America, the Production Managers Association and recently completed a class in Critical Thinking at NYU.
David A. Dreilinger is a senior media and entertainment executive with proven leadership qualities and broad experience in large and small, public and private company environments. In addition to being COO of Odyssey Impact®, he is currently CEO and Managing Director of Ducksoup Media Enterprises LLC, a consulting firm providing both business and legal services to the entertainment, media and communications industry.
DME partners with distribution, production and content creation companies and their CEO’s in all media to provide individually tailored solutions for their businesses. Its projects have included, among many others, creating business analyses and strategic plans for multi-media organizations, concluding a complex deal licensing the motion picture rights in a major theatrical property, structuring the development of a cross-platform licensing property, and resolving a long-outstanding dispute among the creators of one of the iconic motion pictures of the last 25 years.
Before founding Ducksoup Media Enterprises, Mr. Dreilinger was President and CEO of Lightworks Enterprises, Inc., an integrated television and motion picture production and distribution company, for which he created the strategic plan. Previously, Mr. Dreilinger was President and Chief Executive Officer of Unapix Entertainment, Inc., an American Stock Exchange-listed film, television, home entertainment and music production and distribution company, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Seattle. Prior to Unapix, he was Senior Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs and a member of the Board of Directors of BBC Worldwide Americas, Inc., handling all of the British Broadcasting Corporation’s business operations throughout the Western Hemisphere.
Before joining the BBC, Mr. Dreilinger was Head of Business and Legal Affairs and a member of the core management team of D.L. Taffner, Ltd., the privately-held worldwide entertainment company responsible for the importation and distribution of such projects as Three’s Company, Too Close For Comfort and, Rumpole of the Bailey. Prior to that, Mr. Dreilinger was Vice President and General Counsel of Viacom, having the distinction of being the youngest in its history. Mr. Dreilinger has been an Adjunct Professor of Entertainment Law at the Syracuse University College of Law and is a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. He earned a Masters of Laws in Taxation from the New York University School of Law and is a cum laude graduate of the Syracuse University College of Law. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Syracuse University.
Ebonie Johnson Cooper believes black giving is magic! She is the Principal Consultant of Friends of Ebonie, LLC, and founder of the Young, Black & Giving Back Institute (YBGB). For the past decade, Ebonie has used her research, thought-leadership, and expertise to inform national and local projects and speaking engagements related to nonprofit DEI, African American donor engagement, church ministry, partnership development, and fundraising strategies. Strategic partnerships for her consulting work have included the Lilly Endowment, Wells Fargo Advisors, IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Central Carolina Community Foundation, The Cleveland Foundation, Board Source, Teach for America, United Way of the National Capital Area and unum.
Ebonie was recognized by ESSENCE Magazine and JET Magazine, in November 2016 and September 2013, respectively, as one of the nation’s top leaders for her innovation around African – American millennial philanthropy. Ebonie’s leadership and achievements have also been featured on CNN’s HLN network, The Washington Post, and Huffington Post Impact. She is a National Museum of African American History & Culture Ambassador, and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Black Benefactors Giving Circle (DC) and Reid Temple AME Church. She is also currently on the ordination track within the AME Church’s 2nd Episcopal District. Ebonie is a proud graduate of North Carolina A&T State University (BS), New York University (MS) and Wesley Theological Seminary (MDiv.)
The power and brilliance found with black philanthropy feeds my passion for the work that I have been called to do. Through a unique blend of leadership development, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) education and yes, ministry, I have found a way to live my best professional life.
Since 2010, I have embarked on a mission to educate the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors about black giving, especially among my “millennial” peers. (I hate the term millennial, but we can talk about that later) At the same time, I want to ensure my peers are effective in their philanthropic leadership. As such, through my nonprofit, Young, Black & Giving Back Institute, I create safe spaces for philanthropic leaders of color to network, learn and grow together in their respective roles as donors, board members and social entrepreneurs.
The end result of all of this creates pipelines, connecting civically engaged black professionals with foundations and nonprofit organizations who need them.
In my former life, I was a proven communications strategist with a specialty in social media strategy, fundraising, and diversity engagement. I even received a National Boys & Girls Clubs of America Social Media Award for a six-week campaign in which I raised more than $23,000!
Austin is a native of Grand Rapids, MI. He recently graduated from the historic Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA, with Cum Laude honors and as an Oprah Winfrey International Scholar. Now he is a Master of Divinity student at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C.
The Reverend Austin J. Young is an Ordained Itinerant Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (A.M.E. Zion Church). Within the denomination, Rev. Young holds numerous positions in the areas on prayer, youth engagement, protocol, Christian Education, and statistician work that serves six states within Midwest United States and Trinidad and Tobago. Most namely he is the Central Region Co-Regional Vice President of the Assembly of Christian Educators (ACE). Ecumenically, Rev. Young is a councilmember on the World Methodist Council and represents the entire A.M.E. Zion Church.
Coupled with ministry, Young is also involved in community engagement. Austin serves on the Board of Directors and philanthropic committees of non-profits in the Atlanta, GA and Grand Rapids, MI areas. Currently Austin works for the Wesley Innovation Hub, in which he leads three diverse congregations throughout the greater Washington, DC area in design/innovation thinking projects and consulting work on programming and standard operations and procedures. Additionally, Rev. AJ as he is affectionately called, is the Administrative Minister at the Union Wesley AME Zion Church in Washington D.C.
Young’s work is motivated by the words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who paraphrased Matthew 10:16, “To have a tough mind, and a tender heart.”
Reverend Omari K. Hughes serves alongside his sister in Christ, Rev. Sheleta E. Fomby as the Co-Pastor and Co-Founder of the New Life Church in Laurel, Md. Born in Richmond, Va, Pastor Hughes is the son of Frank and Cheryll Hughes, the proud father of an amazing son, Khalil Omari and husband of the love of his life Natalie Mischel Hughes.
He obtained his B.A. in broadcast journalism from Hampton University and his M. Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary in the spring of 2012.
From 2012-2018, Pastor Hughes was blessed to serve as the Pastor of the Church of the Redeemer Baptist in Philadelphia, PA. In 2018 he was called to return back to his home church-Reid Temple AME, where he was blessed to sit and serve under the visionary leadership of his Father in Ministry Dr. Lee P. Washington, former Senior Pastor of the Reid Temple AME Church. It was under Dr. Washington’s spirit lead leadership, that he was first called to serve alongside Rev. Fomby, as the Co-Lead of Reid Temple’s New Life Laurel, an off-site ministry of the church. Under their Co-Leadership, that ministry grew from a monthly bible study, to a weekly gathering averaging over 400 persons in attendance.
In the spring of 2020, Reverend Hughes left Reid Temple to plant and serve as the Co-Founder and Co-Pastor of New Life Church. In doing so, he sincerely believes that he is fulfilling his Kingdom assignment, pursuing his destiny in Christ and answering the unique call upon his life to serve God’s people during such a time as this.
Rev. Lauren Bennett mostly grew up in the Evergreen State outside of Seattle. She was a church skeptic who found a community of radical queer disciples who preached liberation of all people in update New York when attending St. Lawrence University. Through a long discernment process, lots of reading, and even more conversations, she eventually committed to following the Way and was baptized.
Always up for an adventure, she packed her worldly possessions in her Subaru and drove to Florida to work in the ways of Cesar Chavez as a community organizer in 2011. This work led her to King of Peace MCC where she was energized by a community who merged sexuality and spirituality. A few years later, she began working for Metropolitan Community Churches as the Conference/Meeting Coordinator planning General Conference, among other things, where she remains on staff part-time.
In 2015, she moved to Washington, DC to begin studies at Wesley Theological Seminary and become an active part of MCCDC. She took the summer of 2018 off to work with San Francisco Night Ministry before entering her last year of studies. In May 2019, she graduated with honors from with her Masters in Divinity, with a concentration in Urban Studies.
On August 31, 2019, she was ordained in Washington, DC and is so grateful to be on staff at MCCGL where she focuses on programming, community partnerships, and congregational care. In her free time she likes being outside, reading, drinking coffee, or dancing when not hanging out with her partner AhSa-Ti and step-son Ahmmit.
Christina M. Jones is a proud resident of the District of Columbia. Christina is currently the Special Counsel for Strategic Youth Initiatives for the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia. In her position she advises the Attorney General Karl Racine on youth facing policy and programming. Christina is a strong advocate for sexual assault prevention. She has used her training and experience to design and implement seminars on consent and sexual assault to teenagers around Washington D.C. Prior to her appointment as Special Counsel, she was the Assistant Chief for the Juvenile Section for the Office of Attorney General for the District of Columbia where she helped shape juvenile justice policy in the District of Columbia by directly supervises attorneys who handle the juvenile delinquency cases.
Christina continues the work that began in Prince George’s County, Maryland with the “I Belong Here!” truancy reduction initiative that partners the Office of the Attorney General with D.C. Public Schools and Howard University to provide encouragement and incentives that empower students to invest in their school, their education and ultimately themselves.
Christina is the co-host of the “Mary and Martha Podcast.” A podcast for women of color to understand the Bible in a way that is relevant to their daily lives. The podcast launched in March 2019 and has over 22,000 downloads. Christina is married to Jason Jones, Pastor of Zion Church Woodbridge.
Shakisha is an entrepreneur, attorney, and consultant practicing in the DMV.
Shakisha is admitted to practice in the Court of Appeals of Maryland and the US District Court for the District of Maryland. She is the President of the Women’s Bar Assoc. of PG County, and a member of the MD State Bar Association, the J. Franklyn Bourne Bar Association, the Prince George’s County Bar Association, and Georgetown Law’s Women’s Legal Alliance.
Before entering private practice, Shakisha served as a judicial law clerk to both the Honorable Larnzell Martin, Jr. and the Honorable Sheila R. Tillerson Adams at the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County. She also served as a law clerk to the Honorable David C. Simmons, Chief Administrative Law Judge of the D.C. Commission on Human Rights.
Shakisha received her Juris Doctor from Georgetown Law, where she was the Administrative Editor of the Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law, a student attorney in the Criminal Defense and Prisoner Advocacy Clinic where she represented indigent defendants before the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and served in multiple leadership roles within the Black Law Students Association, Shakisha is also a graduate of Stanford University, and a member of Alpha Kappa Psi, Professional Business Fraternity, Inc.
Shakisha is passionate about community service. She serves as a Steward at Reid Temple A.M.E. Church, where she is also the Co-Chair of the 20/30 (Young Adult) Ministry. Additionally, Shakisha personally mentors young women throughout her community and served as the Chair of the PGC Women’s Bar Association’s Diamonds Mentoring Program. She also actively assists the DC Youth Human Rights Ambassador program.
Shakisha has been a featured speaker and panelist at university lectures.
CarolAnne, who is responsible for development of new factual specials and series, has a diverse background in factual television. She’s worked in many genres including history, investigative docs, reality, pop culture, biography, wildlife and adventure, and on subject matter as diverse as shark attacks, crime bosses and how to plan the perfect wedding. She has had success as a network executive, garnering high ratings and awards.
CarolAnne has also worked on the production side of the business, creating successful programs for major cable networks. Prior to joining Odyssey, she was Vice President of Development and Production at WEtv, where she was responsible for a variety of programs such as The Secret Lives of Women and My Fair Wedding With David Tutera. CarolAnne was Executive Producer at NHNZ in New Zealand, where she created shows for National Geographic Channel, Bio Channel, Animal Planet and Discovery, among others. She was Vice President of Documentary Series at A&E Television and also served as executive producer of the Biography series. During her tenure at the helm of Biography, the series won numerous awards, including two Emmys, and was consistently the highest rated series on the network. CarolAnne began her TV career at National Geographic Television, acquiring documentary films for the weekly series Explorer.
Teresa has been a part of the team since January of 2018. She enjoys concerts, traveling, CrossFit and is an avid reader.