The Power of Stories

Elle Johnson is a TV Writer and Executive Producer whose credits include BOSCH, LAW AND ORDER, and CSI MIAMI. Elle won an NAACP Image award for the Netflix series SELF MADE: INSPIRED BY THE LIFE OF MADAM CJ WALKER, starring Emmy nominee Octavia Spencer. Elle’s debut memoir, THE OFFICER’S DAUGHTER, came out in 2021 and is the story of a family tragedy and the power of forgiveness. It was named one of People Magazine’s Best New Books and The New York Times Book Review called it “immensely moving.”

Keisha Zollar is a writer-actress-comedienne whose most recent credits include her work as a supervising producer on the Emmy-nominated FX limited series DYING FOR SEX, and as a supervising producer on the Hulu limited series MIKE. Recent writing credits include season 3 of HBO’s BETTY, and YOUNG LOVE, an upcoming animated series based on the Academy Award winning short film HAIR LOVE by Matthew Cherry for HBO Max. Keisha previously was the showrunner on Fuse’s THE READ WITH KID FURY AND CRISSLE as well as the Co-Head writer and star of Netflix’s sketch show ASTRONOMY CLUB. She also wrote on LURE, an upcoming Apple series from Team Downey & Adam Perlman based on Michael Lista’s Toronto Life article THE STING and AGENT KING, an upcoming animated series for Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation. Before that, Keisha was the Writing Supervisor at BUSY TONIGHT and staffed at THE OPPOSITION WITH JORDAN KLEPPER for Comedy Central. Her acting credits include Netflix’s ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, Pop’s NIGHTCAP, HBO’s DIVORCE, as well as voices on Comedy Central’s WASHINGTONIA, Showtime’s OUR CARTOON PRESIDENT, and Stephen Colbert’s TOONING OUT THE NEWS. Keisha played the role of Sarah in BELIEVE HER, a short about the moments after sexual assault. She has been featured by Glamour magazine, Fast Company, Paste magazine, etc, and has written for Bitch Flicks, FemSplain, and more.

Melinda Hsu is a TV writer-producer who was the showrunner of Nancy Drew as well as the showrunner/co-creator of Tom Swift; currently, she’s writing for the FOX drama The Interrogator while developing projects for Universal Television Studios. A lifelong genre geek, she started writing at age 8 when she authored a Star Trek fan fiction novella series on a stack of spiral notebooks in her childhood bedroom in Bangor, Maine. Her TV credits include Lost, The Vampire Diaries, the reboot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and pilots for Amazon, Netflix, NBC and Lifetime. For her work on Lost, she was nominated for an Emmy and a Writers’ Guild Award. In her nonprofit life, she mentors writers and producers through the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE), helped found the Asian American Pacific Islander Writers’ Brunch and the CAPE Showrunner Incubator, and serves on the Executive Board of the Sarah Jones Film Foundation, which fosters set safety through awareness and accountability. She’s also been on staff with service organizations providing advocacy for adult refugees and people living with HIV/AIDS. In 2024, Melinda was elected to the Board of Directors of the Writers Guild of America West, where she helped design, launch, and teach the WGA Leadership Training Program to create humane, respectful workplaces. Her podcast about the strategy of culture change, Lead With Kindness, is the basis for her book of the same title, published by Post Hill Press and available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. In both the podcast and the book, she offers insights and encouragement to change the culture of Hollywood and the world, in a moment where everyone on the planet could use more kindness. For pro tips and behind the scenes insights, join the journey at IG @MelindaHsuLA.

After directing series television for more than 30 years, Rachel Feldman wrote, produced and directed Lilly, her first theatrical feature film starring Patricia Clarkson, John Benjamin Hickey and Thomas Sadoski, now streaming on Netflix. Recent TV credits include directing the pilot and first season of the Netflix series The Baxters and multiple episodes of Blue Bloods, The Rookie &; Criminal Minds. Feldman is a former co-chair of the DGA Women’s Steering Committee and an activist for gender parity in the film industry. She holds an MFA from NYU in film directing, and has taught directing in the MFA program at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Early in her career Feldman was a storyboard artist for well-known directors on studio pictures and began her career as a child actor.

Vicki Shabo is a gender equity expert, policy strategist, and coalition builder, who has helped to win paid leave, equal pay, and pregnancy fairness policies affecting tens of millions of people. She is a senior fellow at New America and the founder and director of the entertainment initiative, Re-Scripting Gender, Work, Family, and Care. Shabo is a trusted resource for policymakers, advocates, researchers, journalists, business leaders, and entertainment industry stakeholders. She has testified numerous times in the U.S. Congress and state legislatures. Her op-eds have appeared in publications ranging from the Boston Globe to the Hollywood Reporter. Shabo holds degrees from Pomona College (B.A., highest honors), the University of Michigan (M.A. political science), and the University of North Carolina (J.D., high honors).