NALIP MEDIA SUMMIT

Victoria Alonso

EVP of Production | Marvel Studios

A Conversation with Victoria Alonso

A native of Buenos Aires, Alonso moved to the US on her own at the age of 19. She worked her way up through the industry, beginning as a PA and then working four years at the VFX powerhouse Digital Domain. She served as VFX producer on a number of films, including Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven, Tim Burton’s Big Fish, Andrew Adamson’s Shrek and Marvel’s Iron Man. She won the Visual Effects Society (VES) Award for outstanding supporting visual effects/motion picture for Kingdom of Heaven, with two additional shared nominations (best single visual effects, outstanding visual effects/effects driven motion picture) for Iron Man.

Eventually, she joined Marvel as the company’s executive vice president of visual effects and post production, doubling as co-producer on Iron Man, a role she reprised on Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger. In 2011, she advanced to executive producer on the blockbuster hit The Avengers and has since executive produced Marvel’s Iron Man 3, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War, Thor: The Dark World, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame and most recently Spider-man: Far From Home. In her current role she serves as EVP, Production, for Marvel Studios as well as serving as an executive producer of all Marvel films which have amassed more than 20 Billion in box office earnings. Upcoming productions, for which Alonso will serve as Executive Producer, include the feature films Black Widow, The Eternals, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Blade, as well as a slate of programming for the Disney+ platform including Ms. Marvel, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, Hawkeye, She Hulk, WandaVision, Moon Knight, and What If…?.

Alonso has become an important voice in Hollywood as a producer, as a Latina and as a female senior executive. She was named one of People en Español Magazine’s top “Poderosa” Most Influential Hispanic Women in 2019. She was listed as one of Hollywood Reporter’s 2017, 2018 & 2021 Women in Entertainment Power 100 and was the 2015 honoree for the Muse Award for Outstanding Vision and Achievement from the New York Women in Film & Television. She was also the first woman to be presented with the Harold Lloyd Award from the Advanced Imaging Society, which is given to a filmmaker who has created a body of work, and specific achievements in 3-D, that advanced the motion picture art form. In 2017, she was the first woman to be honored with the Visionary Award at the 15th Annual VES Awards for her advancement of unforgettable storytelling through visual effects.

Diana Mogollón

Senior Vice President and General Manager | Stage 13

Fireside Chat with Diana Mogollón

Diana Mogollón is an industry-leading, senior entertainment executive who has impacted and fueled critically-acclaimed, diverse, multi-platform content. A leader in developing content for cross-cultural, tastemaker audiences, she is the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Stage 13, a six-time EMMY© award-nominated original content studio, launched in 2017, and a part of Warner Bros. / Warner Bros. Television Group. With a curated team of creative executives, Stage 13 is the leader in creating award-winning premium scripted and unscripted programming for highly-coveted, multi-dimensional audiences, featuring an impressive slate of over 20 produced projects across all media.

Stage 13’s original series and films are available on the Stage 13 platform, Facebook, YouTube, as well as its partner platforms Netflix, CW, CW Seed, HBO, and HBO Max, amongst others.

The studio’s much lauded scripted narrative projects include EMMY© award-nominated and Writers Guild Award winner coming-of-age comedy Special, created by Ryan O’Connell, and now in its second season on Netflix; distinctive horror anthology franchise Two Sentence Horror Stories, created by Vera Miao, currently in production on its third season for the CW Network; award-winning Asian lifestyle food/travel series Family Style, which launched its second season in the summer of 2020. EMMY© award-nominated comedy It’s Bruno, created by filmmaker Solvan “Slick” Naim; Sundance favorite High & Mighty, created by Cesar Mazariegos and aired on HBO; the SXSW breakout feature Snatchers, which is airing on HBO Max along with critically acclaimed docu-series Independent and Lipstick Empire; and, EMMY© award-nominated dramedy I Love Bekka & Lucy, created by Rachael Holder. The studio’s acclaimed unscripted projects include the global series Cooking on High and Marching Orders, which are available on Netflix.

Focusing on fearless original storytelling, Stage 13 showcases a new generation of talent and fresh creative voices, creating dynamic and unapologetic scripted and unscripted episodic series, films, and short-form content. Mogollón helped develop and incubate the brand, transitioning to Stage 13 after serving in Business Strategy and Development at the Warner Bros. Television Group, where she led a core business team as part of broader strategic initiatives for Warner Bros. Entertainment.

Previously, she served as a corporate executive at NBCUniversal as Executive Vice President and General Manager for the award-winning mun2 cable network, the leading lifestyle entertainment cable network targeting Latino millennials. In this capacity, she was responsible for developing and executing overall operational and P&L leadership for the business. She spearheaded the brand’s unparalleled growth strategy across all business units, providing astute leadership within the Telemundo, NBCUniversal, and Comcast divisional portfolio, yielding major achievements with all stakeholders.

Mogollón has been recognized as a “Woman of Impact” by Variety Magazine, one of the “Industry Leaders, Top Women in Digital” by Cynopsis, one of the “Most Powerful Women in Cable” by CableFAX magazine, a “Wonder Woman to Watch” by Multichannel News, one of the “Most Influential Minorities in Cable” by CableFAX magazine, one of the “Most Powerful and Influential Latinos in Entertainment” by the Imagen Foundation, and a “Top Woman in Music & Entertainment” by Billboard Magazine.

Karla Pita Loor

Executive Vice President, Enterprise Inclusion & Social Responsibility | Endemol Shine North America

Fireside Chat with CAA

Karla Pita Loor was named Executive Vice President, Enterprise Inclusion & Social Responsibility at Endemol Shine North America in May 2021.

Pita Loor leads all social responsibility efforts for Endemol Shine North America and its studio labels, including Bunim/Murray Productions, Truly Original, 51 Minds Entertainment, Authentic Entertainment, Stephen David Entertainment and Mexico City-based Endemol Shine Boomdog.

In the newly created role, Pita Loor also oversees all diversity and inclusion program efforts, implementing new processes, policies and initiatives for ESNA’s corporate and production staffers to support and enhance an inclusive and equitable corporate culture and talent development practices.

Pita Loor has more than two decades of experience in organizational development and brand partnerships, strategic philanthropy and social impact. Additionally, Pita Loor, who hails from Ecuador, has served on the board of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP) for the past two years, assuming the role of Chair of the Board in 2021.

Prior to joining Endemol Shine North America, Pita Loor led the TV Academy’s philanthropic partnerships division, including the last three years, where she served as Chief Development Officer, overseeing all strategic partnerships and development for the Television Academy Foundation, the charitable and pro-social arm of the TV Academy.

During her tenure at the TV Academy, Pita Loor brokered numerous multi-million-dollar partnerships with corporations such as Dolby Laboratories, Netflix, Walt Disney, WarnerMedia, Saban Capital and Apple TV+. She also led on key diversity and inclusion efforts, including developing and launching the Academy’s Power of TV series, which brings together diverse storytellers to discuss authentic representation of historically excluded communities and spearheading new career pathway initiatives to broaden access to the television industry among historically excluded communities.

Additionally, Pita Loor spearheaded key collaborations with the TV Academy and other non-profits including GLAAD, Easterseals, the Alliance for Children’s Rights and the Entertainment Industry Foundation. And she served as the Campaign Director for the New Destination Campaign, which transformed the TV Academy’s campus and established an endowment for its charitable work.

Prior to joining the Academy Foundation, Pita Loor focused on institutional advancement, organizational development, and strategic communications within the educational and entertainment space. Pita Loor’s diversity and inclusion work within the entertainment industry began at the Emma L. Bowen Foundation for Minority Interests in Media, where she managed a national workforce development program.

An active industry leader on diversity and inclusion issues, Pita Loor is a founding member and serves on the advisory board of the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s (EIF) Career Program, which is creating a more diverse talent pipeline into film and television production careers.

Tanya Saracho

Creator/Showrunner/Director Ojalá

The Path to Showrunning

Tanya Saracho is a playwright and television writer who most recently served as creator, showrunner, and executive producer of the critically-acclaimed series “Vida” on Starz, which earned 100% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes for its first, second and third seasons. The show, which aired its third and final season on Starz in May 2020, featured all Latinx directors in season one, and all Latina directors in seasons two and three, including Saracho, who made her television directorial debut. The series had an all-Latinx writers room for seasons one and two, and in season three, the room was composed of all Latina writers.

Saracho co-founded the Untitled Latinix Project, whose mission is to increase Latinx representation in television, broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms through content created by Latinx writers, along with co-founding the Writers Access Support Staff Training Program, to help increase representation and opportunities for underrepresented communities.

Saracho recently signed an overall deal with Universal Content Productions (UCP), and is establishing a lab and incubator program aimed to nurture, amplify, guide, and empower intersectional Latinx voices. Her television credits include “How to Get Away with Murder,” HBO's “Looking,” and “Devious Maids.”

Named one of “TV Scribes to Watch” by Variety in 2018, Saracho was honored by the LGBTQ California Legislative Caucus as their 2020 Pride Month Honoree. She received the Rising Star Award at the Outfest Legacy Awards, and was awarded the New Voice Award by Final Draft. “Vida” won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2019, and was nominated for seasons two and three as well. The series was also honored by the National Hispanic Media Coalition with the 2019 Impact Award, won the Audience Award at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival, and made its season two premiere as an Official Selection of the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival.

Saracho was named “Best New Playwright" by Chicago Magazine, and has had plays produced at New York City’s Primary Stages and 2nd Stage, as well as Victory Gardens Theatre, The Denver Theatre Center, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Goodman Theater, Steppenwolf Theater, Teatro Vista, Teatro Luna, Fountain Theater, Clubbed Thumb, NEXT Theater and 16th Street Theater.

Saracho was also named one of nine national Latino "Luminarios" by Café Magazine, and received the first "Revolucionario" Award in Theater by the National Museum of Mexican Art. She is the founder of Teatro Luna (the first all-Latina Theatre Company in the nation, now defunct) as well as the founder of ALTA (Alliance of Latino Theatre Artists). She is currently in development with South Coast Repertory and Two River Theatre.

Saracho was born in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, México, and raised along the Texas border, spending the better part of her adult life in Chicago. She currently resides in Los Angeles.

Twitter: tanyasaracho

Instagram: Tanyasaracho

Facebook: tanyasaracho

Yvette Urbina

VP Equity & Inclusion, WarnerMedia

WarnerMedia Access: Creating Inclusive Pathways and Expanding the Talent Pool

Yvette Urbina is currently Vice President, Equity & Inclusion – Pipeline and Content at WarnerMedia. In her current role, she acts as the bridge between the programs and content at the core of the company’s mission to build a more inclusive and innovative industry. Her focus is identifying talent opportunities across the enterprise through cross-divisional relationships and collaboration that result in greater equity and inclusion for all content. Yvette is a proven programming leader with a producer background—the right mix of creativity and business, and a driving force behind iconic series like The O.C., That '70s Show and King of the Hill as well as the Emmy Award-winning live-action Nickelodeon comedy, Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn. Urbina most recently served as Vice President, Nickelodeon Current Series and Development. In this role, she was a member of the executive leadership team that sustained Nickelodeon’s position as the number one rated, ad-supported, basic cable network from 2011-2019. Quickly adapting to the changing needs of the network, she launched and led original scripted live-action series and children’s programming, with her most recent project the animated series, Santiago of the Seas, for Nick Jr. Her early start at Nickelodeon included the management of Nick at Nite’s first forays into original scripted programming with the hit half-hour comedy Instant Mom, starring Tia Mowry-Hardrict, which also aired on TVLand, as well as See Dad Run, starring Scott Baio. She also oversaw the production of the hour-long drama Hollywood Heights, which was adapted from the telenovela Alcanzar una Estrella. Urbina was recruited in 2009 by Oscar-nominated actor, director, and producer Salma Hayek to join her production company, Ventanarosa Productions as the Vice President of Television Development. While there, she created Latino-culture and Spanish-language comedy and drama series concepts for an exclusive relationship with ABC Studios. Prior to her work with Ventanarosa, Urbina co-produced the independent feature Beneath the Dark, which premiered at SXSW and was purchased by IFC. Her career trajectory included working in programming at Fox. As she advanced into the role of Director of Drama Development, she developed content with noted writers and producers and was key in moving the network from #4 to the most-watched network in the A18-49 market for 3 consecutive years. Urbina began her work in the entertainment business in the mailroom of a Hollywood talent agency and worked her way up to become a voice-over agent. She serves on the board of Los Angeles Team Mentoring, an organization that guides middle school students growing up in challenging urban environments, and while she recently stepped down from the board of Colour Entertainment, a group dedicated to providing dynamic opportunities to network with senior level executives as they navigate the media landscape, she remains actively involved. Yvette is a native of Los Angeles, California and holds a Bachelor’ of Arts in Government from Georgetown University.

Adriana Martínez Barrón

Vice President of Film at UnbeliEVAble Entertainment

Inclusion Behind the Scenes: Trailblazing Executives

Adriana Martínez Barrón is VP of Film at Eva Longoria’s UnbeliEVAble Entertainment. Previously she was a Manager at Netflix where she oversaw a large slate of films and TV series in Latin America spanning over 25 titles launched to date, including Madre Sólo Hay Dos and Luis Miguel: The Series. She worked as CE at Eugenio Derbez's 3Pas Studios where she oversaw Y Como es Él for Pantelion and LOL: Laugh Out Loud Mexico for Amazon. A graduate of the Peter Stark Producing Program MFA at USC, she got her start as an assistant for Sofia Vergara's Latin WE and working on set in Monterrey, Mexico.

IG: adrimtz87

Bianca Quesada

Founder and Head of Development & Production at Zone One Productions

Inclusion Behind the Scenes: Trailblazing Executives

Bianca Quesada is native Angeleno whose Musical Theater, Film, and TV work spans over a decade. Over the course of her career, she has created two subdivisions at leading entertainment companies, CAA and Starz. Her work has led her to represent Chile’s first Academy Award-winning animators. At Starz, she worked to develop Vida and created a Virtual Reality subdivision. Currently, she is a Partner/Founder and Head of Zone One Productions. Zone One develops and produces TV/Film content with cultural specificity and commercial global appeal about people of Latin-American, Indigenous, and Afro-Latin descent.

IG: Bianca_Quesada
FB: Bianca_Quesada

Carlos López Estrada

Director | "Summertime"

Spoken Word Storytellers: A Summertime Conversation

Carlos’s debut film, BLINDSPOTTING, premiered opening night at Sundance 2018 and was subsequently released by Lionsgate Entertainment. Carlos was nominated by the DGA for Outstanding Directorial Achievement of a First-Time Feature Film. Carlos' third film, RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON was released by Disney ANIMATION in March of 2021. In 2012, he won a Latin Grammy for an animated music video he directed for artists Jesse & Joy. He is currently directing an original animated feature at Walt Disney Animation set to release in 2023 as well as the live-action adaptation of Disney's Robin Hood.

Instagram: @summertimemovie2021

Aurora Guerrero

Director

All Eyes on Blindspotting

Aurora Guerrero, a daughter of Mexican immigrant parents, was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Early in her career, she co-founded Womyn Image Makers (WIM), a queer Xicana-identified film collective based out of Los Angeles. While with WIM, she directed short films including Pura Lengua and Viernes Girl. Her work earned her a slot on Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 Faces to Watch.

Kelly Edwards

Author, The Executive Chair

Inclusion Behind the Scenes: Trailblazing Executives

Veteran producer and creative executive Kelly Edwards has worked at every major studio in Hollywood. Her new book, The Executive Chair, which will be released this October, is a writer's guide to breaking in and navigating the entertainment business.

Twitter: @kellyedwards_co
Instagram: @kellyedwards_co
Facebook: Kelly Edwards Page

Rafael Casal

Co-Creator & Executive Producer

All Eyes on Blindspotting

Rafael Casal is a critically acclaimed writer, producer, actor and poet. He made his feature film debut in Blindspotting, which he wrote, produced and starred. The celebrated film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and Lionsgate won a major bidding war. Rafael is currently in production as the showrunner for the series adaptation for STARZ. He recently acted opposite Hugh Jackman in the Emmy®-winning HBO film “Bad Education” and Ethan Hawke in Showtime's “The Good Lord Bird.” He wrote music for the Apple series “Central Park” and is writing and composing for season two. Casal is also well-known to audiences for his work on HBO's “Def Poetry.” His digital content and music albums have garnered millions of views and listens. His Theatre-in-Verse Works have been presented at venues across the country and his music has been featured on MTV and Showtime series as well as at SXSW and Sundance. Casal is the co-founder and the artistic director of the landmark Bars Workshop at the famed New York City’s Public Theater. He founded and served as the creative director for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s First Wave Undergraduate Arts Program and Scholarship, which was their first Four-Year Contemporary Performing Arts Program.

@rafaelcasal

Jeffrey Hirsch

President and Chief Executive Officer STARZ

Signature Conversation with Jeffrey Hirsch

Jeffrey A. Hirsch is President and Chief Executive Officer for STARZ.

As CEO, Hirsch shapes the overall business and programming strategy for STARZ and oversees the continued evolution and expansion of the STARZ premium subscription platform around the world. Under his leadership, STARZ recently launched the #TakeTheLead initiative, the company’s comprehensive effort to deepen its existing commitment to narratives by, about and for women and underrepresented audiences.

The network commissioned an inclusion study in partnership with The Center for Scholars & Storytellers, UCLA with results confirming STARZ is “Taking the Lead” with its diverse representation on screen, off screen and throughout the company. As part of the initiative, STARZ is hosting a series of “Transparency Talks,” bringing relevant discussions to the forefront with organizations and thought leaders from industry powerhouses who have committed to partner with STARZ to take collective actions towards improving inclusion.

Twitter: @JeffreyAHirsh

Jaylen Barron

“Trish” | Blindspotting

All Eyes on Blindspotting

Growing up in Southern California, Jaylen Barron knew from a young age she wanted to be an actress. As part of a multicultural family, she took great pride in her African American and Latina heritage. She was dismayed to find very few actors that looked like her onscreen. Driven by a desire to make a change, Barron decided that she wanted to pursue a career in the entertainment industry.

Barron's first foray on the small screen came when she was cast as Melanie on Disney’s “Shake It Up”. Shortly after, she recurred on Nickelodeon's “See Dad Run” as Emily’s best friend Mary, as well as “Good Luck Charlie” as Lauren Dabney, the love interest of Gabe Duncan. Other memorable appearances include guest spots on “Bones” and “Those Who Can’t”. Though these were some of her very first performances, her talent did not go unnoticed and earned her four Young Artist Awards nominations. Her big break came when she landed a heavily recurring role on Showtime’s Emmy®-winning drama series “Shameless”.

@jaylenbarron 

Christine Dávila

Head of Development and Production at Ojalá

Inclusion Behind the Scenes: Trailblazing Executives

Christine Dávila is currently the Head of Development and Production for Ojalá, a media company founded by Tanya Saracho, creator/showrunner, of “Vida” on Starz, developing and producing television, film and audio projects created by Latinx voices. Ojalá has a wide ranging development deal with UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, which includes the launch The Ojalá Ignition Lab. Prior to Ojalá she was Director of Development at Warner Bros’ Stage 13, a content studio/pod. Previously, Davila was on the programming teams of film festivals including Sundance, Ambulante, and Morelia Film Festival.

Twitter: indiefindsla
IG: chicanafromchicago

Danielle Sanchez-Witzel

Writer/Producer, Lunch Bag Snail Productions

The Path to Showrunning

Danielle Sanchez-Witzel is a writer producer currently on an overall deal at Netflix. She served as showrunner and Executive Producer for three seasons on NBC’s critically acclaimed The Carmichael Show. Danielle has worked under overall deals at 20th Television, CBS Paramount, and NBC Universal. Her credits include New Girl and My Name is Earl. In addition to her television work, Danielle has been active in feature films, including work on Paramount’s Dora the Explorer and Like a Boss.

Ángel Manuel Soto

Director, "Charm City Kings"

Culture in Hollywood: Redefining the Language of the Screenplay

A native of Puerto Rico, Angel Manuel Soto discovered soccer and boxing at an early age, which inspired his first film EL PUGIL, a homage to the kids he had grown up with and the power of sports in economically repressed communities. Angel pursued his interest in art, studying architecture and eventually documentary filmmaking and writing. He began his career in entertainment as a TV producer and later focused on Art Direction at a local advertising agency. He made his feature directorial debut with LA GRANJA (The Farm) which sheds a thought-provoking light on the tough realities facing the people of Puerto Rico. He went on to create several groundbreaking narrative VR pieces such as DINNER PARTY and BASHIR’S DREAM which have premiered to critical success at festivals.

Recently Angel directed the Award Winning Sundance 2020 darling CHARM CITY KINGS, which is now streaming on HBO Max. Currently, he is set to direct the D.C. feature BLUE BEETLE for Warner Bros. and a new installment of TRANSFORMERS for Paramount.

@alohemingway | @angelmanuelsoto

Kristen Lopez

TV Editor for Indiewire

All Eyes on Blindspotting

Kristen Lopez has been an entertainment writer, film critic, and pop culture essayist for 15 years with an emphasis on disability and diversity issues. She is the TV Editor at IndieWire and her work has been published on Forbes, MTV, and The Hollywood Reporter, among other places. She holds a Masters in English from California State University, Sacramento. In her free time, she guests on the podcast Ticklish Business and spends her days binging on Turner Classic Movies.

Twitter: @Journeys_Film

Instagram: kristenlopez88

Isabela Merced

Actress, "Sweet Girl" Netflix

Fireside Chat with Isabela Merced

Isabela Merced, at just nineteen years old, is highly regarded as an actress, singer, dancer and songwriter. Isabela most recently starred in the Netflix original motion picture Let It Snow, based on the best-selling book by John Green. Her other recent work includes starring in Paramount Pictures’ Dora: And the Lost City of Gold, starring in Paramount Pictures’ Instant Family, Sicario: Day of the Soldado, as well as in Michael Bay’s Transformers: The Last Knight. Next, Isabela will star in the Netflix original thriller motion picture Sweet Girl alongside Jason Momoa.

@isabelamerced

Jodi Delaney

Executive Director, Television Academy Foundation

The Big Leap: Building a Successful Career in Entertainment

Jodi Delaney has been executive director of the Television Academy Foundation since 2017. She oversees daily operations and leads Foundation programs and initiatives to fulfill the charitable organization's mission to identify, advance and empower future television leaders. The Television Academy Foundation’s primary focus is advancing diversity in television through its programs offering access and training to the next generation of content creators.

During Delaney’s tenure, the Foundation’s renowned Internship Program, College Television Awards and Faculty Conference have grown 42%, with the annual Internship Program now serving over 70% women and 80% BIPOC students. The Foundation also continues to advance its “The Power of TV” public program series which examines the medium’s power to advance social concerns and increase representation of marginalized communities on television.

An executive with 20 years' experience in nonprofit, government, and private sector management and development, Delaney has supervised high-profile initiatives in entertainment, environmental conservation, economic development and social services throughout her career.

Frankie Rodriguez

Carlos on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series | Disney+

Fireside Chat with Frankie Rodriguez

Frankie Rodriguez plays "Carlos," a student choreographer for the drama club at East High, on "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series." In season two, Carlos thinks of Miss Jenn as a peer and plans on trying out to be onstage for the spring musical. He is still dating Seb (aka "Seblos"), who he took to East High's homecoming last fall.

Twitter: MrFrankieAR

Instagram:frankiearodriguez

Carla Renata

Film Critic, The Curvy Film Critic

Spoken Word Storytellers: A Summertime Conversation

A graduate of Howard University, she's been a contributor of NPR.org, ET Live! RogerEbert.com, Shadow and Act & EUR Web. Carla has been a guest host on Turner Classic Movies Bentonville Film Festival, Netflix, SAG-AFTRA, American Cinematheque, Lionsgate, Film Independent and more. Member of AAFCA, CCA, OAFFC & AWFJ. Renata is Tomatometer approved critic. Her Capital Cities Web Award nominated podcast, The Curvy Critic, with Carla Renata airs Sundays at 5 pm via YouTube featuring reviews, news and interviews.

@TheCurvyCritic 

Jamitha Fields

VP, Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement | The Paley Center for Media

The Big Leap: Building a Successful Career in Entertainment

Jamitha Fields serves as the Vice President of Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement for The Paley Center for Media. She is responsible for the development and execution of the company’s diversity, inclusion and engagement strategy, and works collaboratively across the company to create and drive inclusive behaviors and practices that support Paley’s business objectives. Additionally, she develops and maintains close working relationships with the organization’s board members and other organizations and individuals to drive engagement, participation, and support of Paley’s key programs and initiatives.

Quayla Allen

Senior Manager, Racial Equity | Sundance Institute

The Big Leap: Building a Successful Career in Entertainment

Quayla C. Allen (she/her) is a diversity & inclusion strategist and loving auntie and godmommy to a growing tribe of little people. The Pittsburgh native currently leads racial equity programming at Sundance Institute where she curates practices that work to unveil, interrogate, and dismantle structural barriers to create a more just and inclusive environment for staff, artists, and audiences alike. Quayla holds a BA in Professional Communications from Chatham College for Women. She has also served as a talent and diversity strategist in higher education, management consulting, and film & media.

Priscila Garcia-Jacquier

Writer | 'Blindspotting'

All Eyes on Blindspotting

Priscila García-Jacquier is currently a writer on Adam McKay and Bong Joon-ho’s upcoming “Parasite(s)” on HBO. Most recently, she wrote for STARZ’s upcoming “Blindspotting.” In 2018, she was part of Brian Grazer and Ron Howard's Imagine Impact's inaugural class. She has served as the writer's assistant to Alexander Dinelaris (Birdman) and Graham Moore (The Imitation Game). She’s appeared in Forbes for her digital talk show “QUIERO.” A native of both France and Colombia, García-Jacquier was the first Latina to graduate from Carnegie Mellon's undergrad directing program in 2014.

@priscilagarciajacquier

Eddie Mujica

Writer-Director-Producer

WarnerMedia Access: Creating Inclusive Pathways and Expanding the Talent Pool

Eddie is a Cuban-American writer, actor and Emmy-winning producer from Miami, Florida. An alumnus of The Second City in Chicago, Eddie wrote and performed in two critically acclaimed resident stage revues after traveling the country with The Second City National Touring Company. Since moving to Los Angeles, his credits include the CBS Diversity Showcase, NBC Late Night Writers' Workshop, Broadway Video's Mas Mejor, and the HBO ACCESS Writing Fellowship where he developed a pilot for the premium network. Eddie's short films have received critical acclaim; Dreamer was named one of Vulture’s Best Comedy Videos of 2018 and Uno Por Uno: The Cuban Missile Crisis won Best Web Series at HBO’s NYLFF as well as Cine Sony’s “New Voices." One of his pilots was selected for the 2020 NALIP Latino Media Market. Eddie recently staffed on the NBC comedy Connecting and is currently a writer on the upcoming NBC/Peacock comedy True Story with Ed Helms & Randall Park.

@mooheekah

Anita Ortiz

President & Founder, LAinclusionista

WarnerMedia Access: Creating Inclusive Pathways and Expanding the Talent Pool

Anita Ortiz (she/her/ella) is President and Founder of LAinclusionista®. A passionate leader and change maker, she advocates for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in the workplace and beyond, employing a collaborative, creative, courageous and caring approach. Hispanic Executive magazine named her a “Leading Latina” in recognition of her career achievements over 20 years at Paramount Pictures/Viacom. There she held increasingly responsible roles in Marketing, Government Affairs and Corporate Responsibility, and most recently served as Senior Vice President, Global Inclusion Strategy.

@LAinclusionista 

Julia Cort

Co-Executive Producer, GBH

The Science of Storytelling with NOVA

Award-winning producer Julia Cort, together with Co-EP Chris Schmidt, oversees the PBS science series NOVA and is committed to making inclusive science documentaries that are accessible to all.

@novapbs

Chris Schmidt

Co-Executive Producer, GBH

The Science of Storytelling with NOVA

Award-winning producer Chris Schmidt, together with Co-EP Julia Cort, oversees the PBS science series NOVA and is committed to making inclusive science documentaries that are accessible to all.

@novapbs

Anna Lee Strachan

Director/Producer/Writer, Diatom Media LLC

The Science of Storytelling with NOVA

Anna Lee Strachan is an award-winning filmmaker specializing in bringing complex scientific topics to life. She most recently directed the 2019 Emmy-nominated The Violence Paradox.

Instagram: @perezarlo

Luis Ortiz

Managing Director, Latino Public Broadcasting

The Science of Storytelling with NOVA

Ortiz oversees the development, financing and production of Latino-themed programming for LPB that is distributed for broadcast on national public media and online at PBS.org.

Twitter: @LPBMedia

Instagram: @latinopublicbroadcasting

Facebook: @LatinoPublicBroadcasting

Danny J. Gomez

Actor

Vis-Ability On and Off Screen: Latinx/POC Artists with Disabilities

Danny J. Gomez is a professional actor He has acted in award-winning films and multiple television shows, including NBC’s hit series “New Amsterdam.” In 2005, Danny lost his Louisiana home to Hurricane Katrina. And in 2016, he almost died in a mountain biking accident-- an event that left him paralyzed from the waist down instead. He is an active participant in the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge, raising awareness for better representation for disabled actors in Hollywood.

Twitter: dannyjgomez504

Instagram: Dgstyle

Kaitlyn Yang

CEO, Visual Effects Supervisor | Alpha Studios

Vis-Ability On and Off Screen: Latinx/POC Artists with Disabilities

With more than a decade of visual effects industry experience, Kaitlyn Yang is a champion of creativity and pushing the limits of technology to support storytelling. She is the CEO and visual effects supervisor of the effects company Alpha Studios. Her team provides studio, network, streaming and advertising clients with high-quality visual effects services, by way of a team that is on a mission to maximize visual creativity no matter the challenge, while instilling trust every step of the way. Over the years, Kaitlyn has amassed more than 60 visual effects credit to her name, including “Robot Chicken,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” and “The Good Doctor.” An asset to sophisticated clients who have high-pressure timelines and budgets, she brings a deep understanding of all phases of the content development pipeline, including foundational storyboarding, pre-visualization, props and costumes, hair and make-up, color correcting, sound design, and editing. Kaitlyn’s insights on diversity and leadership have been published in Bloomberg, Variety, Emmy Magazine, Los Angeles Times, VFX Voice, and more. Kaitlyn holds a BA degree in Animation from USC Film School, an MBA degree from Quantic School of Business and Technology, and she’s working towards an Organizational Psychology degree from Harvard University. She is a Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient for Hollywood, a member of the Visual Effects Society as well as the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Kaitlyn is a mentor through the Visual Effects Society, Adobe, and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences diversity initiatives.

@kaitlynyang 

Day Al-Mohamed

Author

Day Al-Mohamed is an author, filmmaker, and disability policy strategist with over 15 years of experience. She is author of Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn and The Labyrinth’s Archivist as well as non-fiction essays including, Inspired, for PBS’ American Masters. Her documentary, The Invalid Corps, was screened on public television in December 2020. She is a Founding Member of FWD-Doc (Documentary Filmmakers with Disabilities) and serves on the Board of Docs in Progress. Day lives in Washington DC with her wife, NR Brown and guide dog, Gamma.

@DayAlMohamed

Paolina Acuña-González

Summertime Poet

Spoken Word Storytellers: A Summertime Conversation

Paolina Acuna-Gonzalez is an award-winning Chicana writer and actor based in Los Angeles. She has performed poetry all over Southern California as a Get Lit Player with Get Lit- Words Ignite. She currently studies Dramatic Writing at New York University. She will be making her feature film debut in Summertime (2021) directed by Carlos Lopez Estrada. She’s one of the founders of Guillotine Productions, a production company aimed at amplifying representation of LGBT women of color. You can follow her artsy misadventures at her YouTube channel: “Paolina AG”

Instagram: @paolina_ag

Raul Herrera

Summertime Poet

Spoken Word Storytellers: A Summertime Conversation

Raul Herrera is a Mexican-American spoken-word artist, playwright and educator. In 2018, he placed top 6 in the country at The American Forensic Association National Speech Tournament. His writing is featured in Get Lit Rising, Coiled Serpent published by Tia Chucha Press and, in 2017, he wrote Dante, a modern Hip-Hop adaptation of Dante’s Inferno, produced by Tim Robbins and The Actor’s Gang Theatre in Culver City. Look out for his self-published collection of poems, Please Excuse My Ego Trip, releasing this summer.

Instagram: @write_away_raul

Arlo Pérez Esquivel

Digital Producer, "NOVA"

The Science of Storytelling with NOVA

Arlo Pérez is a Mexican digital producer whose work captures life and science in Antarctica, dispels misinformation on Purépecha Indian beliefs, and exposes the underreporting of COVID cases in México.

Jorge Aguirre

Head Writer, Alma’s Way

Strengthening the Latinx Pipeline for Public Media

Jorge Aguirre is the head writer for Alma’s Way. He is an animation writer, story editor, and producer. Aguirre was created, co-developed, and co-produced Disney Junior’s Goldie & Bear. He was the Story Editor of Season 2 of Blue's Clues and was a Co-Executive Story Editor for Sprout’s Nina’s World. Aguirre has written for a variety of shows, including Handy Manny, Imagination Movers, Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go!, and Martha Speaks. His television producing credits include History Detectives and non-fiction work for Discovery and TLC. Aguirre is also an accomplished children’s book author. He co-created and wrote the graphic novel series The Chronicles of Claudette, which includes Giants Beware, and its sequels, Dragons Beware and Monsters Beware. A Colombian-American born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, Aguirre lives in the New York City area.

Wendy Llinás

Sr. Director of Programming & Development , PBS

Strengthening the Latinx Pipeline for Public Media

Wendy Llinás is an Emmy-nominated producer and documentary film maker. As Senior Director of Programming and Development at PBS, she provides editorial and strategic guidance, manages the daily production process and resources for new limited series and existing programs such as INDEPENDENT LENS, VOCES, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE and POV. Llinás is an experienced journalist, writer and producer whose work has appeared on NBC News, ABC News and PBS. She earned her M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University and her B.A. in Latin American Studies from Barnard College in NYC, NY.

Twitter: LlinasW

Nicole Tsien

Co-producer, POV

Strengthening the Latinx Pipeline for Public Media

Nicole is the Co-Producer at POV. As a member of the programming and production team, she manages film submissions, supervises pre-screeners, and contributes to the curation and production of the series. She has experience assisting New York-based documentary filmmakers in various stages of production and has participated on panels and juries worldwide, including Doc NYC, Austin Film Festival, and DocAviv. Nicole is part of the inaugural cohort of Doc NYC’s Documentary New Leaders and is a 2021 Rockwood JustFilm Fellow. She is a member of the Asian American Documentary Network (A-Doc) and serves as a board member of Brown Girls Doc Mafia.

Twitter: nicoletsien

Instagram: c4shm0ney

Chris Hastings

Executive Producer, World Channel

Strengthening the Latinx Pipeline for Public Media

Christopher Hastings, Executive Producer, WORLD Channel at WGBH Chris Hasting’s passion for television started at age of 10 when got a chance to help produce a daily news show at his elementary school outside Philadelphia. After college, he became a founding team member in the development and production of Black Entertainment Television’s award-winning BET Tonight. At WGBH, Chris has worked with children television’s program ZOOM and the WGBH Lab, an innovative incubator for up-and-coming filmmakers. Chris joined WORLD Channel in 2011, where he co-created the award-winning documentary series’ America ReFramed, Local, USA, and Doc World, and provided editorial oversight to the other original series on WORLD. Series in Chris’s portfolio has won many awards, including a Peabody Award, an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award, and a National News and Documentary Emmy award. Chris is committed to developing a diverse pool of filmmakers and storytellers. He’s a regular collaborator with of Black Public Media, the Center for Asian American Media, Pacific Islanders in Communications, Latino Public Broadcast, Vision Maker Media, Firelight Media and National Association of Latino Independent Producers, and has served as content reader and reviewer on various open calls. In 2016, Chris became a Rockwood JustFilms Fellow and was awarded WGBH’s Margaret and Hans Rey Curious George in-house producer fellowship.

@chrishast

Jason McConnell

Director of Animation Development, Nickelodeon

Queer Voices in Youth Animation

Jason is the Director of Animation Development with a focus on movies, as well as franchise series for SVOD. He studied Communications and Chinese at Manhattanville College in New York, and after graduating spent a year teaching English in Danyang, China. He joined the Nickelodeon family in 2019 and is working across multiple exciting franchise & original projects in both features and television. He has a problematic obsession with collecting animation “art of” books and has finally reached a level of confidence in life where he doesn’t feel embarrassed to peruse the YA section of a bookstore.

Aitch Alberto

Writer | "Duster"

Culture in Hollywood: Redefining the Language of the Screenplay

Born and raised in Miami, FL. Latinx filmmaker Aitch Alberto is a recipient of a Skowhegan Artist Residency, a Yaddo fellowship, and a Latino Screenwriting Project fellowship. She is also an alumnus of the Sundance Screenwriting Labs.

Most recently, Aitch wrapped as a writer on DUSTER, a 1970s-set crime drama series from J.J. Abrams and LaToya Morgan for HBO Max and Warner Brothers TV. Additionally, Aitch is working with Lin Manuel on the film adaptation of ARISTOTLE AND DANTE DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE, based on the book by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, with Kyra Sedgwick, Meredith Bagby, and Valerie Stadler of Big Swing Productions producing. Eva Longoria and Eugenio Derbez are attached to star. She is also developing the spy series DOGFIGHT at Endeavor Content and additionally an adult animated series with Aida Rodriguez and ITV Studios. Aitch was recently a writer on the acclaimed series LITTLE AMERICA for Apple +.

Her other works have screened at festivals and at various spaces worldwide including the Queens Art Museum, Ateliê 397, New Orleans Film Festival, Indie Grits, Rhode Island International, Cleveland International, Outfest, Frameline, and more. Producing credits include Whittier Boulevard and co-produced Girls Weekend, which made its World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2019.

Aitch has also written, directed and produced queer and Latinx inclusive theater. She has been featured in Huffington Post, Out Magazine, Towleroad, We Are Mitú and more.

Alonso Ramírez Ramos

Executive Producer, Development, Disney Television Animation | Disney Television Animation

Queer Voices in Youth Animation

Alonso Ramírez Ramos is a multiple Primetime Emmy® and Annie® Award-winning director. Most recently, Alonso was a co-executive producer on Steven Universe: The Movie and Steven Universe Future at Cartoon Network. He is currently an executive producer, development at Disney Television Animation.

Alejandra "Alex" Quintas

Co-Chair of the QT Committee, The Animation Guild

Queer Voices in Youth Animation

I graduated from Ringling College in 2009 and moved to LA right after to try and start a career in animation. I previously worked in CG/VFX/games, but I missed drawing, so in 2012 I shifted gears and started applying for jobs in 2d animation. I have previously worked on BoJack Horseman, Big Mouth, Paradise PD and others. I am currently on Bob's Burgers as a storyboard artist. After seeing a lack of LGBTQIA representation in media, I joined other Queer artists in forming the Queer TAG committee with the intent of leading a push for more LGBTQIA+ artists to join the animation field.

@alexmquintas

Monica Trasandes

Director of Spanish-Language & Latinx Media & Representation, GLAAD

Queer Voices in Youth Animation

Monica Trasandes is the Director of Spanish-Language & Latinx Media & Representation at GLAAD. She was born in Uruguay and grew up in San Diego. She studied at UC Santa Barbara and later, Emerson College. She is also a produced playwright and author (“Broken Like This” 2012, Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press). She lives in LA and is helping to raise a wonderful daughter who is 8.

@monicatrasandes

Chelsea Hernández

Director, Panda Bear Films

Emerging Content Creators Workshop

Chelsea is a Mexican-American filmmaker based in Austin, Texas. Named to Texas Monthly’s “10 Filmmakers on the Rise,” she is an Emmy-winning director, producer and editor. Chelsea worked on the PBS special, FIXING THE FUTURE; UNITED TACOS OF AMERICA (El Rey Network); and THAT ANIMAL RESCUE SHOW (CBS All-Access) executive produced by Richard Linklater. Chelsea directed the short documentary, AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE (2018 SXSW) and made her feature directorial debut with the documentary BUILDING THE AMERICAN DREAM (2019 SXSW, PBS).

@pandabearfilms

Valentina Garza

CEO, Royal Diadem Entertainment

Emerging Content Creators Workshop

Valentina Garza’s an award-winning, Cuban-American animation, comedy, and dramedy writer. Born and raised in L.A., she’s an alumni of Warner Brothers Writers’ Workshop. Valentina’s written on ABC’s “George Lopez,” FOX’s “The Simpsons,” Seth MacFarlane’s animated series, “Bordertown,” CW favorite “Jane the Virgin,” and ABC’s rom-com, “Baker and the Beauty.” She’s sold pilots to ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC, including the “Jane the Virgin” spinoff pilot, which she wrote and executive produced. Vali’s currently consulting on season two of Hulu’s comedy/murder mystery, “Only Murders in the Building.”

Instagram: @shesavaligirl

Twitter: @totalvaligirl

Diana Peralta

Writer & Director, Peralta Films

Emerging Content Creators Workshop

Diana Peralta is a director, writer, and producer. Her debut feature DE LO MIO (HBO) had its world premiere as the closing night film of BAMcinemaFest in 2019 and was picked up for distribution by HBO. The film was awarded Best Narrative Feature at IndieMemphis Film Festival and Best Film at RiverRun International Film Festival. Diana was featured in Filmmaker Magazine's "25 New Faces of Independent Film". She is currently in development on her second feature and teaches directing at Columbia University's Film MFA program. Diana has worked as a creative producer in advertising for 9 years.

@samambaia

Diego Nájera

Director, Narrative Film | Participant Media

Emerging Content Creators Workshop

Diego Nájera is Director of Narrative Film at Participant, the leading company dedicated to entertainment that inspires audiences to engage in positive social change. He was previously an executive at AG Capital and a programmer and producer for the Guadalajara International Film Festival. Diego attended USC’s Peter Stark Producing Program and the Sundance Institute and Film Independent's Producing Labs. In 2017, he co-founded the Latin Tracking Board, to support Latinx talent in the film & TV executive ranks.

@dgonajera

Ricardo Gamboa

Writer, 'The Answers'

Culture in Hollywood: Redefining the Language of the Screenplay

Ricardo Gamboa (They/ Them/ Theirs) is an artist, activist and academic. Ricardo is currently staffed on THE ANSWERS for FX and was previously staffed at THE CHI for showtime. They are also writing the pilot for YOSHUA at HBOMax with Issa Rae & Scott Free producing in addition to developing a feature project with Macro. Before becoming a screenwriter, Gamboa created radically politicized arts interventions, theater and performance, and media with, by and for communities of color in their native Chicago for over a decade. This work includes endeavors like Gamboa’s critically acclaimed webseries BRUJOS about gay Latino doctoral students that are also witches fighting white supremacy or their radical underground traveling news show The Hoodoisie that reaches hundreds of Chicagoans monthly. Gamboa is currently completing their doctorate degree at New York University’s American Studies program and a Critical Collaborations Fellow at the Tisch School of the Arts, where they earned their M.A in Arts and Politics. Ricardo has won several awards including a Joyce Award and an International Connections Award from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. They are passionate about creating media that is not satisfied with just “diverse representation” but offers radical insights, politics and visions to the audience and that is reflected in the production processes.

@the_scarlet_faguette

Michael Adams

Provost Professor & Chair, Dept. English Language & Literature | Indiana University at Bloomington

Culture in Hollywood: Redefining the Language of the Screenplay

Michael Adams is a historian of English and lexicographer who studies "marginal" vocabulary: slang, jargon, profanity, regional and social dialects, etc., always interested in why people talk the way they do and why others try to regulate their speech, whether in school, or media, or politics. Among other books, is the author of Slayer Slang: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Lexicon (2003), Slang: The People’s Poetry (2009), From Elvish to Klingon: Exploring Invented Languages (2011), and In Praise of Profanity (2016), all published by Oxford University Press.

Jairo Alvarado

Co-Founder, Redefine Entertainment

Culture in Hollywood: Redefining the Language of the Screenplay

Jairo Alvarado is a Literary Manager/Producer, who recently left Circle of Confusion to form a new management company, Redefine Entertainment. Over the years he has grown a client list to include but not limited to; Lulu Wang, writer and director of the critically acclaimed film THE FAREWELL; Angel Soto, Director of the HBO Max Film CHARM CITY KINGS & upcoming DC film BLUE BEETLE; Sneha Koorse, a Co-EP of HBO’s PERRY MASON, who is currently developing a feature with Issa Rae’s Color Creative productions; Josef Wladyka, the director of the upcoming HBO MAX series TOKYO VICE; Jenniffer Gomez the Supervising Producer of Amazons SILK with Lord & Miller producing and Madhuri Shekar, who is currently writing the 3rd installment of the SISTER ACT franchise. Jairo has also produced, in partnership with Skybound Entertainment, the cutting-edge VR project DINNER PARTY. Prior to Circle of Confusion, Jairo cut his teeth in talent management at 3 Arts Entertainment, which he joined in 2011 after starting his career as a creative executive at Warner Bros. Jairo currently sits on the board of directors for National Association of Independent Latino Producers (NALIP) and is a graduate of University of California, Los Angeles.

Marie Leguízamo

Executive Producer/Showrunner | Endemol Shine Boomdog

Emerging Content Creators Workshop

Marie Leguizamo has produced unscripted television for more than 15 years, and her vision and concepts have led to record-breaking ratings for series on broadcast, cable and streaming platforms.

Juan Ponce

SVP & General Manager |Telemundo Streaming Studios, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises

Telemundo Streaming Studios: A New Era in Media

Juan Ponce serves as Senior Vice President & General Manager for Telemundo Streaming Studios, an integral part of Telemundo Global Studios and the first-ever studio in Hispanic media exclusively dedicated to serving the growing Latino streaming audiences in the US and around the world.

@nbcutelemundo

Nicole Suárez

Network Anchor, Noticias Telemundo

Telemundo Streaming Studios: A New Era in Media

With more than 10 years of experience, Nicole Suárez is an Emmy-award winning journalist and network anchor for Telemundo’s morning news program, hoyDía. Having joined Telemundo in 2016, Suárez covered major stories for the network as a news correspondent for Noticias Telemundo as well as reporter for “Al Rojo Vivo.”

@nicolesuarezTV

Brian Pacheco

Manager, Creative Talent Development & Inclusion | Disney General Entertainment Content

CTDI Creative Career Conversation

As Manager for Creative Talent Development & Inclusion (CTDI) at Disney General Entertainment Content (DGE), Brian Pacheco partners with producers and executives to identify creative talent at all levels for opportunities across DGE. Prior to joining CTDI in 2018, he held communications and strategy roles at media advocacy organizations including GLAAD and the National Hispanic Media Coalition. Born to Salvadoran immigrant parents, the Los Angeles native graduated with a B.A. in History from the University of California, Berkeley.

@bspcorleto

Jordyn Aurora Aquino

Write/Producer/Actress, Can’t Have It Both Ways

NALIP Media Summit Official Selection Q&A Session 1

Jordyn Aurora Aquino is a Filipina writer, producer, musician and actress from Anchorage, Alaska. Upon graduating with her BFA in Musical Theater on scholarship from Santa Fe University of Art and Design, she quickly began booking roles in film and television. Notable credits include Netflix's Daybreak, Zack Snyder's Army of The Dead, Better Call Saul, and Ideal Home. She will appear as 'Marci' in Jesse Eisenberg's directorial debut, When You Finish Saving The World, and is currently filming Amazon series Outer Range. In 2020 Jordyn wrote, co-produced and starred in the short film, Can't Have It Both Ways, an official selection of the academy qualifying Santa Barbara Int. Film Festival. In 2019, she adapted the bestselling Chica Lit novel, The Dirty Girls Social Club into a screenplay alongside author Alisa Lynn Valdes. Shortly thereafter, she completed her first original feature script with Rachel Robyn Wagner, And Now We're Here...

Maria Victoria Ponce

Writer/Director, Death & Deathability (A Period Piece)

NALIP Media Summit Official Selection Q&A Session 1

Maria Victoria Ponce is a Bay Area writer/director and SFFILM fellow and Rainin Grant recipient. Ponce’s short film Ruda was an official selection of FICM, Urbanworld, and Femme Frontera. She is on the Black List's inaugural Latinx list. Ponce is a Cine Qua Non Lab 2018 fellow, a NALIP Latino Media Market fellow, a Latino Screenwriting Project fellow, and an SFFILM FilmHouse 2018 and 2019 artist resident. She was one of five finalists for Tribeca/AT&T Untold Stories 2019 and selected to participate in Film Independent’s Fast Track. Her latest projects include writing the feature-length script Hella Aqua Net, thriller/horror short Easter Hill, and comedy short Death & Deathability. Death & Deathability was awarded a PBS Latino Experience grant. Her feature script in development, Washing Elena, was just selected as a participant in 2021 WIF x Sundance Institute Financing Intensive.

Luisa Maria González

Writer/Director, Saving Salvador

NALIP Media Summit Official Selection Q&A Session 1

Luisa Maria González is a Mexican and first-generation American writer, director and producer from Cd. Juarez and El Paso, TX. She seeks to uplift, advocate for, and challenge the Latine diaspora through compelling, Latine-led stories that have the potential to inspire positive social change.

Her work has been showcased in festivals that include the LA Shorts Film Festival, the Official Latino Film and Arts Festival and the Las Cruces International Film Festival, among others. She is a 20’ graduate from the Radio-Television-Film program at the University of Texas at Austin and is currently based in Austin, TX.

Rafael Soto

Writer/Director, Her Vow

NALIP Media Summit Official Selection Q&A Session 1

Rafael Soto was born to Puerto Rican parents and raised in New York's South Bronx. Upon graduating from Pace University, he moved to Los Angeles, attended the Baron Brown Acting Studio, and was cast in several indie films.

Disillusioned by the clichéd, one-dimensional, grossly misrepresented Latino bit parts available, he began to devote all his energy to screenwriting. Rafael's religious horror film, 33, was a finalist in the 6th Annual Search for New Blood Contest in 2019. Most recently, he has completed his short film, Su Promesa (Her Vow), a finalist for the Creative World Short Screenwriting Awards in 2019. Su Promesa follows the life of a fifteen-year-old girl, forced into child marriage, in modern-day Guatemala.

Frederick Luis Aldama

Jacob & Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair, Humanities & Affiliate Faculty, Radio-TV-Film | University of Texas, Austin

NALIP Media Summit Official Selection Q&A Session 2

Frederick Luis Aldama, also known as Professor Latinx, is the Jacob & Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities and Affiliate Faculty in Radio-TV-Film at the University of Texas, Austin. He is award-winning author of over 48 books. He is editor and coeditor of 9 academic press book series. He is the creator of the first documentary on the history of Latinx superheroes and the founder and director of UT’s Latinx Pop Lab. His Spanish translation and animation film adaptation of his kid's book The Adventures of Chupacabra Charlie (2020) drops the fall of 2021.

@professsorlatinx

Facebook: @frederick.luis.aldama

J. Sean Smith

Writer/Director, #Whitina

NALIP Media Summit Official Selection Q&A Session 2

Born and raised in Texas, J. Sean Smith is an Indigenous and Mexican-American filmmaker who has a passion for culture connecting stories with a magical twist. Before transitioning into the film industry, she worked widely in music and fashion utilizing her talents to design wardrobe for tours and television events. In 2016, J.Sean received her B.A. in Film Studies from Columbia University in the City of New York. J.Sean is a recent graduate of The University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts MFA program where she was the first Latina to be awarded the George Lucas Family Foundation Scholarship. Her thesis film #Whitina - staring Xolo Maridueña, Inde Navarrette and Keyla Monterroso Mejia - is an award winning coming of age short film which she wrote and directed. J.Sean’s feature scripts have been recognized by the Sundance Institute and the Princess Grace Foundation. She is currently working on the script to her debut feature film, Small Town Warrior Princess.

Fabiola Andrade

Writer/Director, It's Me, Sarah

NALIP Media Summit Official Selection Q&A Session 2

Fabiola Andrade is a Honduran writer/director inspired by her multicultural heritage & interdisciplinary background. Her projects traverse identity exploration, coming of self, and life’s surreal manifestations, which she illustrates through mind-bending storytelling. She holds an MFA in Film & Theater from the University of New Orleans and her thesis-film It’s Me, Sarah premiered at the NOFF, and it is on the festival run. Fabiola has collaborated with Independent and Studio Productions, as well as commercial and video music projects. Currently, she is developing her narrative feature screenplay The Invisibles (Los Invisibles) and her pilot Now O’Clock.

Emma Ramos

Director, Who Gets To Sleep with Me Tonight

NALIP Media Summit Official Selection Q&A Session 2

Emma Ramos is a Mexican American actress and comedy writer who has been called “A revelation, linguistically acrobatic and piercingly funny” by NY Magazine. She won the Women of Color TV Pilot Incubator as well as the Warner Media 150 Award at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. Staff Writer for Irony Point's (Inside Amy Schumer) development comedy series for black and brown tweens and Nickelodeon's Dora the Explorer Reboot. Her sketch series B.U.T.S. won Best Comedy at NBCUniversal Short Film Festival and was nominated twice for the Imagen Awards. Directed her first music video “COCHERA” which generated 13.5 K organic views on the release date. Emma’s TV credits include a recurring role on New Amsterdam, Law & Order: SVU, Unforgettable, and Marisol on HBO.

Juan Pablo Arias Muñoz

Writer/Director, A Butterfly Vanishes

NALIP Media Summit Official Selection Q&A Session 2

Juan Pablo Arias Muñoz is a Chilean director, screenwriter and producer, Fulbright Scholarship Award recipient and winner of the 2020 HBOAccess Directing Fellowship. He graduated with a Master of Fine Arts from the American Film Institute Conservatory in Los Angeles, California and obtained a Bachelor in Social Communication and Audiovisual Directing from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. His award -winning work has been exhibited at dozens of film festivals around the world including the New York Film Festival, Stockholm International Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival and SITGES Fantastic Film Festival. During 2020 he filmed in New York his debut feature, a psychological thriller entitled PUMPKINHOLE. He’s currently developing feature films and TV series for the United States and Latin America.

Manuel Betancourt

Critic

NALIP Media Summit Official Selection Q&A Session 3

Manuel Betancourt is a contributing editor at Film Quarterly, where he publishes his column, “Cineando,” all about Latin American cinema, and a regular contributor to Electric Literature, where he focuses on book-to-film adaptations. His work has been featured in The New York Times, BuzzFeed Reader, The Los Angeles Times, Film Comment, and Vulture, among others. He's the former Film & TV editor at Remezcla.

@bmanuel

Andy Alvarez

Writer/Director, Sol

NALIP Media Summit Official Selection Q&A Session 3

Andy Alvarez is an award winning Colombian Canadian filmmaker. Her short film La Mariposa,based on her personal story growing up as an immigrant in Canada, won a Leo Award in 2018. Since then, she has written and directed, Our Home, garnering accolades from Hot Docs 2019, and winning best Canadian short a the Oakville Film Festival. She also co-wrote and directed; Sol, which was in the top 6 of the Crazy 8s film competition in 2020. It has since had its world premiere at the New York Children’s International Film Festival 2021. She is one of the Co-founders of Studio 104 Entertainment and is currently developing a Television show for young adults, Growing Up With Mi Familia.

@andy.c.alvarez

Yarelmi Iglesias Vázquez

Writer/Director | Chimney of Death

NALIP Media Summit Official Selection Q&A Session 3

Yarelmi Iglesias Vázquez was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. They has worked as a newsroom editor, producer and online producer for WIPR TV, Experimento Lúdico and Filmes Casa. Some of their work in productions include Mano santa (2020), La Uni (2020), Alma (2019), Chimenea de muerte (2021), and others. Currently, they collaborates in organizations such as Sierra Club Student Coalition and Mayaguezanxs por la Salud y Ambiente.

Kristian Mercado

Director, Nuevo Rico

NALIP Media Summit Official Selection Q&A Session 3

Kristian Mercado Figueroa is a Puerto Rican filmmaker living in Spanish Harlem whose animated short film NUEVO RICO won Best Animated Short at SXSW’21. His directing work includes PA’LANTE (SXSW Jury Award ’19), MARIPOSA and BLACK PUMAS (SXSW ’20). Mercado has directed content for Billie Eilish, Awkwafina, Eric Andre, De La Soul, MF DOOM, Bad Bunny, and Adult Swim, among others. He’s also directed comedy specials for Hannibal Buress and SNL's Sam Jay for NETFLIX. His work was official selection at SXSW 2020 with a video for the Grammy-nominated Black Pumas and Hannibal’s MIAMI NIGHTS.

His work has screened at numerous festivals: Palm Springs Shortfest, New Orleans, Atlanta, SIFF, Havana Film Festival and more. Recently his screenplay MELA was recipient of a Cinereach grant. Mercado’s distinct voice addresses issues of identity, family, and systemic oppression. His work is celebrated for its poetic portrayal of working class struggles, highlighting the gaps between love and loss.

Joel Vázquez Cárdenas

Writer/Director, El Clásico

NALIP Media Summit Official Selection Q&A Session 3

Born in Colima, Mexico, Joel received his Masters in screenwriting and directing from Columbia University in 2018. His thesis short film, Así en la Tierra was a semifinalist of the BAFTA Student Awards and part of the official selection of GIFF and Miami Film Festival where it won the WarnerMedia Iberoamerican Short Film Award. Joel recently wrapped production on his new short film ESTRELLA.

Raúl Abner Samrah

Screenwriter, Mano Santa

NALIP Media Summit Official Selection Q&A Session 3

Queer, producer, entrepreneur, educator, and screenwriter from Ciales, Puerto Rico. Raúl Abner Samrah attended college at University of Puerto Rico - Mayagüez and completed a PBD in Event Marketing and Production from Universidad del Sagrado Corazón. His range of experience includes working as production manager, coordinator, assistant director, and producer for films, series, music videos, and advertising. His most notable projects include international award-winning shorts focused on identity, otherness, and Caribbean-Latinx coming-of-age narratives, like SAM (2017) and Mano Santa (2020). As co-founder of Filmes Casa, he continues to work on creative production models for independent shorts, features, and web series.

Daria Overby

Executive Director of Creative Diversity and Inclusion STARZ

Producers Pipeline Incubator: The Next Generation

Daria Overby is Executive Director of Creative Diversity and Inclusion for Starz.  She serves as strategic partner and ambassador in supporting and executing the company’s ongoing commitment to Inclusive Culture.

Ms. Overby leads the company in all facets of creative diversity outreach, providing opportunities for the underrepresented voices via events and activities that showcase our diverse creative talent.  She has developed a strong network with other studios, programs, and creative talent including writers, directors, industry organizations, guilds and advocacy groups. Overby creates, establishes and oversees the talent diversity program by collecting, screening and managing the submissions process and procedures.

Prior to joining Starz in 2015, Overby served as Comedy Development Director and VP of Talent Relations for Home Box Office.

Flavio Morales

Flavio Morales, Executive Vice President, Endemol Shine Latino, U.S. Initiatives

A New Day for Creating

Flavio Morales has served as Executive Vice President, Endemol Shine Latino, U.S. Initiatives, since November 2015. Morales, an experienced programming executive and producer, develops unscripted, scripted and digital content aimed at the U.S. Hispanic/English-speaking marketplace. He has served as a producer on shows like LOL: Last One Laughing for Amazon in Mexico, and Nicky Jam: El Ganador for Netflix. Morales has spearheaded development deals between Endemol Shine and Fabrica de Cine (Gaston Pavlovich), Cholawood Productions (Kate del Castillo), and Emmy-nominated producer Marie Leguizamo. 

Dominic Colon

Writer/Actor Dboogie, Inc.

A New Day for Creating

Dominic is an award-winning writer & actor from the Bronx, NY. Dominic is a two-time NALIP Media Market Fellow, a writer for the 2020 NHMC Scene Writing Showcase. Dominic’s pilot PAPI, made the inaugural Latinx TV List, and he was one of the 3 finalists offered a blind pilot deal from Hulu, in addition to his pilot deal at Hulu, he has a project in development with 20th TV and another project development with Anthony Hemingway Productions. Dominic is repped by CAA & Artists First.

@dominiccolon

Magdalena Albizu

Producer NubianLatina Productions

A New Day for Creating

Magdalena Albizu, is the writer, director, and producer of the documentary film NEGRITA that is on Afro Latinas in the United States. From 2007 to 2008 she was the president of the NY Chapter of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP). In this role she created networking opportunities and excellent programming for Latino filmmakers. She is building her production company NubianLatina Productions that will provide more opportunities in the scripted and documentary world.

@1NubianLatina

Catalina Aguilar Mastretta

Writer/Director 400 Films

A New Day for Creating

Catalina Aguilar Mastretta was born in Mexico City. As a screenwriter her credits include the film “Echo Park” and the TV adaptation of the acclaimed novel "Diablo Guardián". She's directed for numerous TV shows including SUPERSTORE, GINNY and GEORGIA, GENERATION and VIDA. Her films as a writer-director are LAS HORAS CONTIGO which was nominated for three Mexican Academy Awards, EVERYBODY LOVE SOMEBODY, a half-English, half-Spanish romantic comedy starring Karla Souza; and she co-directed the film CINDY LA REGIA, highest grossing Mexican film of 2020.

@cati400

Alexis Gambis

Writer / Director | Labocine

Son of Monarchs Q&A

Alexis Gambis is a filmmaker and biologist. His films combine documentary and fiction, often embracing animal perspectives and experimenting with new forms of scientific storytelling. His second feature “Son of Monarchs” premiered at Sundance in 2021 in the NEXT category and was awarded the Sloan Feature Film Prize. Alexis founded the Imagine Science Film Festival that showcases science cinema from around the world. He is currently working on his next feature “The Next Jaguar” that merges pressing issues about animal endangerment, climate change and indigenous rights.

Twitter:@alexisgambs

Instagram:@agambis

Facebook:@agambis

John Gibson

John Gibson

Producers Pipeline Incubator: The Next Generation

John Gibson is one of the leading diversity, equity, and inclusion change agents in the country. In 2012, he established the Motion Picture Association’s DE&I program – working simultaneously to promote and highlight the association and its member studios’ multicultural initiatives, while also managing the MPA’s partnerships with national civil rights and multicultural groups as part of the association’s outreach to leading third party organizations.

Since creating the MPA’s Inclusion and Multicultural Outreach Program, John has cultivated key partnerships with over 40 leading organizations such as the American Black Film Festival, Georgia Latino Film Festival, New York Latino Film Festival and the Entertainment Industry College Outreach Program, of whose advisory boards he serves on; the National Urban League, serving on its Urban Solutions Council; National Association of Latino Independent Producers, Women in Film and ReFRAME, Center for Asian American Media, Urban World Film Festival and many other groups working tirelessly to promote gender equality and diversity, inclusion and ‘authentic’ cultural representation in film and television.

Prior to his work at the MPA, John advised the chief executives of an international private real estate investment management firm and two high-profile international corporate law firms. Earlier in his career, Gibson was a Clinton Administration appointee at the U.S. Department of Agriculture where he advised then-Secretary Dan Glickman on executive operations, employee relations, and civil rights outreach while simultaneously serving on the USDA/1890s Task Force – the department’s partnership with the “land grant” Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He previously also worked as a Legislative Aide for U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA).

Maria Altamirano

Independent Producer

Son of Monarchs Q&A

Maria Altamirano is a Peruvian-American producer whose work has screened at festivals worldwide, including Cannes, SXSW, and San Sebastián. A Film Independent Producing Lab and Rotterdam Lab Fellow, her credits include Alexis Gambis' SON OF MONARCHS (Sundance 2021) and Raven Jackson's award-winning short NETTLES (Criterion). She is producing Jackson’s debut feature ALL DIRT ROADS TASTE OF SALT in partnership with Pastel and A24, and Adrian Cárdenas’ THE STORY OF THE WHALE, to be set in Cuba. Previously, Maria was Market Research Manager at Paramount Pictures. She holds an MBA and MFA from NYU.

@_maltamirano

Marcos Nájera

Executive Editor, Arts & Culture | Oregon Public Broadcasting

Son of Monarchs Q&A

NÁJERA is the Executive Editor for Arts & Culture at Oregon Public Broadcasting. He’s a former correspondent for NPR LA’s daily culture show “The Frame” & host of the PBS documentary film podcast “The Rise & Fall of the Brown Buffalo.” Check out the recent New Yorker article: https://www.newyorker.com/books/second-read/what-fear-and-loathing-in-las-vegas-owes-to-oscar-acosta?s=01

As an actor, Nájera appears in the upcoming PBS film “The Daily War.” He performs regularly with artists Guillermo Gomez Peña & Anna Deavere Smith. His solo theatre show about mental health in BIPOC/queer communities is called “Neuroplasticity: The Brown Brain.”

Nájera teaches at NYU, UC Irvine & Cal State.

Veronica Hernandez

Product Manager, Nielsen

Nielsen & NALIP: Using Data as a Guiding Star

Veronica Hernandez is currently Product Manager at Nielsen focusing on the company’s recently launched Gracenote Inclusion Analytics (GIA) offering. GIA leverages Nielsen viewership data and Gracenote program metadata to deliver new metrics on the diversity of entertainment content and audiences. She started her career at Nielsen as a Client Insights Analyst, working on custom cross-platform research.

Prior to joining Nielsen, Veronica was a researcher at the Geena Davis Institute. She is a UC Berkeley PPIA Fellow and holds an Urban and Environmental Policy degree from Occidental College.

Joel Meares

Editor-in-Chief, Rotten Tomatoes

The Making of DreamWorks Animation’s Spirit Untamed

Joel Meares is the Editor-in-Chief of Rotten Tomatoes and splits his time between New York and L.A. As EiC, Joel has spearheaded a transformation of Rotten Tomatoes’ original content offering, launching successful premium video series with some of the biggest names in entertainment and significantly growing audience and engagement for editorial coverage and on social channels. He has positioned Rotten Tomatoes as a major awards season voice and a leading discussion platform for fans and produced Rotten Tomatoes’ first book – Rotten Movies We Love. Prior to joining RT, he was Global Editor-in-Chief of Time Out and Arts Editor at The Sydney Morning Herald. His first book, We're All Going To Die (Especially Me), was released in 2015. He has appeared on The Today Show, CBS This Morning, Al Jazeera International, Cheddar, and more.

Twitter: @joelmeares

Christine Cadena

Vice President Enterprise Diversity & Inclusion, Market | The Walt Disney Company

Producers Pipeline Incubator: The Next Generation

Christine Cadena is Vice President, Diversity and Inclusion at The Walt Disney Company. In her role, she is responsible for advancing inclusive marketplace practices, growth across diverse consumer segments and building community partnerships. Over the past 30 years, she has held progressive roles within Disney, including Merchandising, Product Development, Feature Film Marketing and Franchise Development. In her current role, she has lead companywide initiatives focused on the Hispanic Audience, Black Consumers, Disability Inclusion and Narrative Change. Prior to coming to Disney, she began her career as a buyer and product development executive for Nordstrom and currently serves on the board of ASCEND and RespectAbility. Of Japanese and Mexican heritage, Christine was raised in Los Angeles and is a graduate of UCLA.

Elaine Bogan

Director, “Spirit Untamed”

The Making of DreamWorks Animation’s Spirit Untamed

While studying Classical Animation at Sheridan College, Elaine Bogan found her home in Story which has translated into a challenging and successful career. Elaine has been a Story Artist with DreamWorks Animation on a wide range of feature films and television series, and began directing for the studio in 2011. Elaine became DreamWorks Television’s first female director while working on the series Dragons: Riders of Berk. Her debut episode was nominated at the 2014 Annie Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Directing in an Animated Television Production. She went on to direct episodes of the Emmy-nominated Trollhunters and 3 Below, both part of Guillermo del Toro’s Emmy-winning “Tales of Arcadia” trilogy. Elaine made her feature film directorial debut with the recently released, DreamWorks Spirit Untamed.

Instagram: @drawbogandraw

Ennio Torresan

Co-Director, ”Spirit Untamed”

The Making of DreamWorks Animation’s Spirit Untamed

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Torresan has more than 25 years of experience in animation as a director and storyboard artist at numerous studios across Hollywood. Before working at DreamWorks Animation, Torresan worked for HBO Animation from 1996 to 1998 as a director and storyboard artist and designer, and then moved on to join the SpongeBob SquarePants crew as a storyboard director and writer. He also worked for Disney on the Emmy-winning series, Teacher’s Pet. Torresan has won many international awards, including a win at the Annecy International Animated Film festival, for his short film El Macho, produced in 1993. In 2003, Torresan started working for DreamWorks Animation as a story artist working on many feature films including the beloved Madagascar, Madagascar Escape 2 Africa, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, Megamind, Kung Fu Panda, Kung Fu Panda 2, and Bee Movie. While at DreamWorks, Torresan headed the story department for the film Turbo and continued to act as Head of Story for the DreamWorks animated feature films The Boss Baby and Abominable. Most recently, Ennio served as co-director on DreamWorks Animation's Spirit Untamed. He received a Bachelor Degree in Fine Arts at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil before moving to the United States.

Karen Foster

Producer, “Spirit Untamed”

The Making of DreamWorks Animation’s Spirit Untamed

Karen Foster has produced a variety of projects for DreamWorks Animation including feature, TV and theme park attractions. Her producing credits include the recently released, Spirit Untamed as well as How to Train Your Dragon (co-producer), numerous Kung Fu Panda and Shrek television specials, Universal Hollywood’s Kung Fu Panda: Emperor’s Quest, Shrek’s London Adventure for Merlin Entertainment, multiple attractions for Dubai Parks & Resorts’ Motiongate theme park and The Power of I for the Comcast Headquarters, with Steven Spielberg as Executive Producer. Karen came to DWA in 2003 as a development executive, previously she was Director of Development for Walt Disney Feature Animation. Prior to animation, Karen worked in live theater. She is a graduate of The Juilliard School.

Carlos Aguilar

Film Critic

Fireside Chat with Rebecca Cho

Originally from Mexico City, Carlos Aguilar was chosen as one of 6 young film critics to partake in the first Roger Ebert Fellowship organized by RogerEbert.com, the Sundance Institute and Indiewire in 2014. Aguilar’s work has appeared in prestigious publications such as Los Angeles Times, Variety, The New York Times, The Wrap, Indiewire, Vulture, RogerEbert.com, MovieMaker Magazine, Remezcla, Filmmaker Magazine, among others. He is a member of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA).

Barbara Matos

Diversity and Inclusion Leader

Closing Remarks

Barbara Matos is a Diversity and Inclusion leader with 20 plus years of experience. She is a motivational leader committed to ensuring that diversity, inclusion and employee engagement are fused between all levels of staff, management and business units.

Marc Malkin

Senior Editor, Culture & Events | Variety

A Conversation with Victoria Alonso

Marc Malkin, Variety’s senior editor of culture and events, is one of Hollywood’s most recognizable faces on the red carpet. He writes the weekly “Just for Variety” column and hosts the podcast of the same name. An award-winning and Emmy-nominated journalist working across broadcast, print and digital media, Marc began his career in celebrity journalism at Premiere magazine and went on to write, report and edit for the New York Daily News, Us Weekly and New York magazine. He also served as a on-air correspondent at E! News. He lives in Los Angeles with his husband, Fabian, and their two dogs, Jeb and Paca.

Milton Dellossier

Director, Global Diversity & Inclusion | The Walt Disney Company

Fireside Chat with Frankie Rodriguez

Milton Dellossier is the Global Diversity & Inclusion Practice Leader for Walt Disney’s Media and Entertainment
Distribution segment. In his role, he is responsible for the development and implementation of strategic global
diversity and inclusion initiatives across the organization. As a key factors for success, Milton focuses on building a workforce with diverse representation at all levels, creating a culture where everyone belongs, engaging with the content team to apply deep insights, both business and cultural, that enhance content in ways that mirror global audiences, and working with external organizations whose work aligns with Disney’s diversity and inclusion values for the benefit of the communities we serve.

Ruben Garcia

Co-Head, Cultural Business Strategy

Fireside Chat with CAA

Ruben Garcia is Co-Head of the Cultural Business Strategy Group at leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA). In this role, Garcia collaborates with company leadership to execute company-wide strategies and implement inclusive business practices that maximize creative and business growth opportunities for the agency’s diverse clients. In addition, he manages a custom slate of programs and initiatives, including CAA Amplify, a platform designed by the agency to leverage the collective influence of cross-industry thought leaders and cultural changemakers of color to create transformational change across business and society.

Brett King

Vice President, Creative Programming, Diversity & Inclusion | Sony Pictures Entertainment

BLAST BEAT: A Latinx Anthem

Brett King is Vice President, Creative Programming, Diversity & Inclusion for Sony Pictures Entertainment. (SPE)
King works across all of SPE businesses to provide access and opportunity for the underrepresented, working with both the Television and Motion Picture Groups to identify and advantage opportunities for inclusion. Among his responsibilities are the Sony Pictures Entertainment creative diversity initiatives, including the studio’s signature Sony Pictures Television Diverse Director and Diverse Writer programs. A television veteran with oversight of literally hundreds of hours of television under his belt, he has been a senior level executive at BET, The WB, Paramount Television Studios and 20th Century Fox Television.

His executive career followed his work in New York, where he produced innumerable music videos, commercials and promos as well as the Saturday Night Live commercial parodies as the series Film Unit Producer, all while moonlighting as a DJ in some of the city’s seminal downtown clubs. King is a proud father of two.

Natalie Moran

Agent, Motion Picture Talent

Fireside Chat with CAA

Natalie Moran is a Motion Picture Talent Agent at leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA). In addition to representing some of the world’s leading actors, Natalie also serves on the leadership board of CAA’s Multicultural Committee. A native of Los Angeles, Natalie is a graduate of the University of Southern California’s (USC) School of Cinematic Arts and started her career at CAA in the mailroom.

Rosy Cordero

Senior Reporter, Deadline

Fireside Chat with Isabela Merced

Rosy Cordero is a senior reporter at Deadline where she heads up the Diversity & Inclusion coverage. The Miami-native is currently based in Los Angeles where she previously covered the news for Entertainment Weekly. Freelance bylines include Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Latina.com, and the NY Daily News, among others across her 16-year career. (Headshot cred: Michael Rowe)

@SocialRosy

Erick Castrillon

Co-Writer "Blast Beat"

BLAST BEAT: A Latinx Anthem

Castrillon is a Colombian-American writer, director, and producer of film and television. His feature film, Blast Beat, premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival as part of the U.S. Dramatic Competition.

Esteban Arango

Writer/Director

BLAST BEAT: A Latinx Anthem

Esteban Arango is a Colombian American writer/director. He was a fellow of the Fox Global Directors Initiative (2016), Fox Writers Lab (2017), and Film Independent’s Project Involve (2017). Variety named him on their list of "10 directors to watch" for 2020.

Stephanie Camacho Casillas

Director

Official Selection

Steph Camacho, filmmaker and photographer from Puerto Rico. Camacho completed her B.A in Cinematography with a concentration in Graphic Design from Atlantic University College in Puerto Rico. Steph is known for writing and directing the multi-award winning LGBTQ+ short SAM (2017). Their work has been recognized and awarded locally and internationally in countries such as United States, Peru, Australia, among others. Their filmograohy includes works such as: Masking (2019), Papo Amor (2019) y Aborto Libre Puerto Rico (2018).

Morningstar Angeline

Director

Official Selection

MorningStar Angeline is a queer Navajo, Chippewa Cree, Shoshone, Blackfeet, and Latinx New Mexico-based actress, director, producer, writer, and performer. Her directing filmography includes short films Yá’át’ééh Abiní, Can't Have it Both Ways, and Seeds, in addition to the upcoming feature documentary Waveguides. Currently in development is her narrative feature film debut, Rowdy by Nature. Morningstar's fellowships include the 2018 Sundance Indigenous Lab, 2020 Feature Writers Lab, 2020 Vision Maker Media Lab, and 2021 Fourth World Indigenous Media Lab. Her resume includes work in AD, camera, casting, location departments, and talent. In 2014 she made her feature debut as Nizhoni Smiles in Drunktown's Finest at the Sundance Film Festival. Since then, Angeline has starred in feature films such as 2021's Keyhole Garden, 2019's the Incredible 25th Year of Mitzi Bearclaw, and television series including Amazon's Outer Range, Paramount's Yellowstone, Netflix's Chambers, and HBO's This Much I Know Is True.

Liliana Espinoza

Projects Director, NALIP

NALIP Media Summit Official Selection Q&A Session 1

Liliana Espinoza is Projects Director at the National Association of Latino Independent Producers, where she oversees the programs and departments including the Latino Lens Incubators, Latino Media Market, NALIP Media Summit, Diverse Women in Media Forum, and Emerging Content Creators Inclusion Initiative, targeted to advancing Latinx and diverse creatives across all media platforms. She promotes inclusion and advocates for Women of Color and has been a part of those crucial conversations throughout festivals and events such as Sundance, NAB, IFP, and AFM. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara and attended the UCLA Professionals Program for Film & TV.

Juan Rodolfo Marquez

Coordinator, NALIP

The Big Leap: Building a Successful Career in Entertainment

Benjamin Lopez

Executive Director at National Association of Latino Independent Producers

The Path to Showrunning

Ben Lopez is responsible for the overall design, strategic vision, and execution of all domestic and global endeavors for the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP). Ben serves as the year-round industry liaison for executives and content creators in the Latino Lens Incubator programs, working with the top agencies in the world to curate and match these creators with key industry professionals who can move their careers forward. Ben has delivered keynotes, led workshops and participated in the world's leading festivals and markets including Telluride, Sundance, Toronto, SXSW, Tribeca, FICG & Morelia.

@vientofuego