Writing for Film, Television & Digital Media Faculty

Position: Instructor for Graduate and Undergraduates in WRI

Education:
Master of Fine Arts, American Film Institute (Los Angeles, California, Screenwriting)

Industry Credits:

• Instructor of Native American Television Lab
• Co-chair of AFI Alumni Network
• Volunteer for a not-for-profit animal rescue
• Associate director of Indian screenwriting lab with Ford Foundation and Netflix India
• Winner of William J. Fadiman Screenwriting Fellowship
• Winner of Writers Room Ready Television Writing Award
• Author of Dramturgical Protocol on Ibsen’s When We Dead Awaken
• Planting a California native plant garden to support birds and pollinators

Industry Credits:

• Co-Creator and Co-Showrunner RECOVERY ROAD (Freeform)
• Showrunner SKAM AUSTIN (FB Watch)
• Development includes selling pilots to Skydance, ABC Family, Awesomeness, UCP, Paramount +, ABC Signature, and Disney +
• Alumni of the the WGA West’s Showrunner Training Program

Education:

• Bachelor of Fine Arts, Howard University (Washington, District of Columbia, Theater Arts)
• Studied /worked closely with Joseph Chaikin, Joe Papp, Liz Swados, Ntozake Shange, Laurie Carlos, and Ellen Stewart

Awards:

• Academy Award nomination: live action short film “ Tuesday Morning Ride” ( writer/director)
• WGA nominee for longform TV movie: “SURVIVING COMPTON…”
• Gracie Award, screenwriting “ SURVIVING COMPTON…”
• NAACP award ( writer) nominee for  live action short: “TAKE THE LEAD”

Partial Credit:

• Writer/Director/ Producer  “ EMPIRE” tv series, three seasons
• Writer limited series: ‘WHEN WE RISE” ( episode one)
• Director: feature: “SEARCHING FOR NEVERLAND”
• Writer, feature “TAKE THE LEAD”
• Writer/ Director :  indy feature : “FREEDOM HAIR”
• Director: feature:  “RUNAWAY ISLAND”
• Writer: feature “ SURVIVING COMPTON, DRE, SUGE, AND MICHEL’E”
• Writer/ director   short flm: “TUESDAY MORNING RIDE”

Position: Adjunct Professor

Juris Doctor, New York University (New York, New York, Law)

Industry Credits:

• Senior Vice President, Showtime Networks, Inc.
• Founding Team — Epix Network (now MGM+)

Position: Adjunct Professor

Education:
Master of Fine Arts, American Film Institute (Los Angeles, California, Screenwriting)

Industry Credits:

• Co-writer, WE WERE MEANT TO, Official Selection at Sundance Film Festival 2023
• Writer, Co-director, SOMETHING STRANGE IS HAPPENING, Official Selection at Tribeca Film Festival 2021
• Finalist, Relentless Award Ten Minute Picket Plays with Writer’s Guild of America, 2023
• Semifinalist, Academy Nicholl Fellowship 2021, Top 150 scripts of 8,191 submissions
• Fellow, PGA Power of Diversity Master Workshop, 2020
• Writer’s Room Ready Award, American Film Institute, 2020
• William J. Fadiman Award, American Film Institute, 2020

Position: Part time Instructor Academy of Art University, WRI Department

Education:
Bachelor of Arts, Darlington College of Arts (Devon, United Kingdom, Theater Language )

Industry Credits:

• Establishment of a Community Theatre Company in Salford, UK
• which celebrated its 40th Anniversary in 2023
• Living in Yemen and learning Arabic which has inspired many of my theatre pieces and screenplays.
• Short films selected for major Intl. Film Festivals and the Q and A sessions in many languages. Truly film is a global connector!
• Setting up and building a boutique sales agency based in Italy and Los Angeles and bringing together talent from many countries and cultures.