FACULTY

David Kirkpatrick
Former president of Paramount Pictures and the production president of Walt Disney Studios and has worked on over 200 motion pictures including global franchises as Indiana Jones, and Star Trek.

Margaret South
Producer and writer. Founder of All Girl Productions. She has worked on films for major studios such as Disney, Fox, HBO, ABC and NBC including the beloved Beaches.

Julie Cantrell
A New York Times, USA TODAY, and international bestselling author whose work has found literary acclaim across both faith-based and general audiences.

Sadeqa Johnson
International bestselling author and former PR manager working with J.K. Rowling, Bebe Moore Campbell, Amy Tan, and Bishop T.D. Author of the NYT bestseller, The House of Eve.

Paulo de Oliveira
Programming executive and producer, working at media companies including HBO, Disney and NBC Universal and on shows such as "Outlander," "Monk," "Psych," "Battlestar Galactica" and "Eureka."

Chris Boardman
Multi award winner Composer, with 6 Emmy Awards, ASCAP and BMI film awards and multiple platinum records with artists as Quincy Jones, David Foster, Steven Spielberg, Julie Andrews, Barbara Streisand.

Diane Warren
Grammy winner with 15 nominations, a two-time Golden Globe Award winner with six nominations and an Emmy winner. Sole owner of her publishing company, Realsongs.

Priscilla Oliveras
USA Today bestselling author and 2018 RWA® RITA® finalist known for Latinx-flavored contemporary romance. Her books have garnered praise from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, O Magazine, and Washington Post.

Anne Carlucci
Executive Producer for The Hallmark Channel, with films such as Matching Hearts, Picture a Perfect Christmas; Love, of Course; Destination Wedding, All Things Valentine and 'Tis the Season for Love.

Kirk Wise
Directed Beauty and the Beast the first animated feature to earn an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. Also directed The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Atlantis the Lost Empire.

Gus Makris
Three-time Emmy Award-winning cinematographer, director, and producer for 156 episodes of Law and Order, with credits on Criminal Minds and Orange is the New Black.

Alan Cohen
Bestselling author of 27 books of inspiration and spiritual self-help, including The Dragon Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and the award-winning A Deep Breath of Life.

James Crawford
A new writer advocate, James has developed and produced for Hallmark and UPTV, Magic Stocking, Love's Complicated, and A December Bride.

Stephen Kiernan
Author of Universe of Two, The Curiosity (now in television series development), The Baker's Secret and The Hummingbird, as well as two books of nonfiction. His work has been translated into many languages.

Jeffrey Sklan
A celebrated LA photographic artist shaping images that revere nature, color, celebrity and natural beauty. His art is in the homes of private collectors throughout the world.

Robin Urdang
Emmy-winning and Grammy-nominated music supervisor. collaborated on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Her credits include Call Me by My Name, the beloved series Brothers and Sisters, and Gilmore Girls.

Gae Polisner
Award-winning author of In Sight of Stars, The Memory of Things, The Summer of Letting Go, The Pull of Gravity, and Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me.

Sheila Weller
Author of beloved NYT bestseller Girls Like Us (Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon); The News Sorority; acclaimed memoir Dancing at Ciro’s, and four other praised books. Winner of 9 magazine awards

Kristine Van Raden/ Molly Davis
Best friends and co-authors of Letters to Our Daughters, featured on the Oprah Show. They are founders of Matters that Matter

Debra Engle
Bestselling author who has written four books, including The Only Little Prayer You Need with a foreword by the Dalai Lama. She has won the Nautilus Award twice and holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction.

Joany Kane
Writer of Hallmark's The Christmas Card, which broke all records for the channel, was nominated for an Emmy, and started the Hallmark Christmas craze.

Rex McGee
Screenwriter and Scrip Consultant with 20+ sold scripts for film and TV, including Warner Bros' "Pure Country" and Hallmark's "Where There's a Will." Hollywood story analyst and has collaborated with notable directors.

Joshua Mohr
Acclaimed author of five novels, including Damascus (New York Times praised) and All This Life (Northern California Book Award winner), with Hollywood success selling to AMC, ITV, and Amblin.

Rosa Salazar
Award-winning head writer of the Mexican sensation, Mujer Casos de la Vida Real for eleven years, seen in 12 countries with more than 6,000 hours of programming.

Alka Joshi
New York Times bestselling author of The Henna Artist, a Reese Witherspoon Book Club selection, now in development for TV by Miramax.

Scott Stabile
Speaker and author of Big Love: The Power of Living with a Wide-Open Heart and Just Love, and the screenwriter of the children's film, The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure.

Ken Stewart
Acclaimed writer-producer-director at both Paramount and Columbia Pictures. Created the landmark Coca-Cola Polar Bears ad campaign, installed into the Library of Congress in 2000.

Gary Trousdale
Director known for Beauty and the Beast, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Atlantis: The Lost Empire. He worked on The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper with Dreamworks Animation.

Luis Alberto Urrea
A 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for nonfiction and member of the Latino Literature Hall of Fame, Urrea is the critically acclaimed and best-selling author of 17 books.

LuAnn Brandsen
Former editor of Country Homes, Country Gardens and Midwest Living magazines. Her work can be found in Elegant Homes, Décor, Cottage Style and Tuscan Style.

Brian Landwehr
Writer, and former CEO of a software company specializing in macOS and Windows connectivity.

Lisa Wingate
#1 NYT bestselling author of more than thirty novels, including The Book of Lost Friends and Before We Were Yours. She is a Goodreads Choice award winner for historical fiction and a Southern Book Prize winner.

Bennett Yellin
Writer for film and television. Collaborating in comedy classic Dumb and Dumber, as well as its official sequel, Dumb and Dumber To.

Jennifer Louden
Acclaimed writing instructor, personal growth pioneer and author of Why Bother?, The Woman's Comfort Book and six other books, nearing a million copies in print.

Tate Donovan
Emmy winner for Arthur and Johnnie. He has appeared in more than 45 films, including Rocketman, The Upside, Manchester by the Sea, and Argo (SAG Award).

Tracy Newman
Emmy and a Peabody Award winner for co-writing the ground-breaking “coming out” episode of "Ellen." In 2001 they co-created the ABC sitcom "According to Jim." They started their writing careers on "Cheers."

Holly George-Warren
Two-time Grammy nominee and the award-winning author of sixteen books. With numerous publications, including the New York Times, Rolling Stone, and Entertainment Weekly.

Jeff Arch
Writer of Sleepless in Seattle starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan and nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a Writers Guild award and a BAFTA Award.

Tab Murphy
Received Academy Award nomination for Gorillas in the Mist and wrote Disney films including Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tarzan, Atlantis, and Brother Bear.

Hawk Koch
Former Motion Picture Academy President and Producer’s Guild co-president, responsible for films such as Chinatown, Marathon Man, Rosemary’s Baby and Wayne’s World.

Gary Lucchesi
Partner/Producer of the independent film company Revelations Entertainment, as well as President Emeritus of the Producer’s Guild of America. Produced Oscar winner for Best Picture "Million Dollar Baby,"

Sabrina Parra
Film development executive and script consultant with 5+ years of experience, including a VP role at a billion-dollar production company. Collaborated with major studios: Amazon, Apple, A24, and Netflix.

Donn Hahn
Produced dozens of films, including:“Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “The Lion King.”

Bonnie Greenberg
Top music supervisor, Bonnie has been involved in such motion picture classics as “Pleasantville,” “The Mask,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” “What Women Want,” “Something’s Gotta Give” and “It’s Complicated.”

Aaron Weisblatt
Editor, sound editor, cameraman, producer, director, and writer. His documentary short Sam, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.

Bobby Farrelly
Director, screenwriter and producer. He and his brother Peter are known for writing, directing and producing quirky comedy films such as Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, Shallow Hal, Me, Myself and Irene.

Aaron Blaise
Supervising Animator known for Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas, and Mulan. In 2003 he was co-director of Oscar nominated Brother Bear for for Best Animated Feature Film.

Miranda Garrison
World-class choreographer, whose credits include Dirty Dancing, Salsa, The Forbidden Dance, Evita, Selena, - twelve as an actor/dancer and thirty-six for choreographic direction.

Bob Spitz
Award-winning journalist and biographer of Reagan: An American Journey, Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child, and The Beatles, with roles representing Bruce Springsteen and Elton John.

Jessica Hecht
Known for her role as Susan Bunch on "Friends." She played Gretchen Schwartz on "Breaking Bad" and has appeared in numerous other television series and movies.

Susan Meissner
USA Today bestselling historical fiction author with 500K+ books in print, her award-winning novels featured in Publishers Weekly, Library Reads, Booklist's Top Ten, and Book of the Month.

Jonathan Stark
Began writing for television in 1991, penning episodes for Cheers, The Nanny, Drew Carey, and Ellen, for which he won an Emmy and a George Foster Peabody Award for The Puppy Episode.

Tim Bagley
His acting career include Will & Grace, Teachers, Monk, This Is 40, Knocked Up, Employee of the Month, and The Day After Tomorrow.

Kimberly Davis
Author of Brave Leadership, an Amazon bestseller in business leadership, and chosen #1 of Inc. magazine's most impactful books of 2018.

Lorna Cook
Co-directed Academy-nominated Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and worked as an animator on Disney's Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Universal's The Land Before Time and An American Tail.
Learn from the best creative minds and industry leaders.