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Abraham Adeyemi - is a multi-award-winning writer-director from South London. His directorial debut
‘No More Wings’ world premiered and won best narrative short at Tribeca Film Festival. His writing is
genre-agnostic, with a focus on complex, nuanced characters seen through a lens of empathy and grace.
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David Anthony Barbier Jr. - is a writer-actor of Cuban/ Haitian descent. His upbringing and experiences
living abroad has encouraged a curiosity to engage in the world around him and apply it to his writing.A graduate of Syracuse University and an NBCUniversal Page, he seeks to uncover, understand and reflect
on the complexities of what it means to be human.
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Deion Higginbotham - is an Oakland-born self-taught screenwriter who amplifies the Black experience
through his unique blend of genres. With a creative journey spanning over a decade, Deion’s achievements
include being a Semi-finalist in the Screencraft Drama competition and winning The Warner Brothers x
ABFF Screenwriting competition.
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Devin Githara-Pipkin - is a first-generation Kenyan-American screenwriter whose passion for
storytelling has paved the way for his journey from Baltimore, Maryland to Los Angeles, California. His
writing challenges and subverts the negative stereotypes of African American males often portrayed in
contemporary media, diving into their complexities through a blend of humor and poignant coming-of-age
narratives.
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Ivan Rome - is a Southern filmmaker, born and raised in Columbus, GA, with a passion for writing
narratives that explore our culture through humor and heart. His work has screened at several Academy
Award-qualifying film festivals across the United States.
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Paige Elson - is a writer-actor-comedian from Stockton, California. She studied theater at Pepperdine
University and went on to learn comedy at UCB, where she is currently a part of UCB’s MainStage Improv show, Harold Night. Paige often explores themes of unconventional families, female friendships, and intersectional identities in her work.
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Randi Tyre McCray - is a screenwriter and 10th-grade English teacher. Her passion for screenwriting
started with a spec script in the 4th grade. A Hofstra University graduate, Randi’s work includes the darkly
comedic short film The New Family On Normal Street and her most recent feature script Trailer Trash, a
coming-of-age story that explores the complexities of grief.
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Semi Oloko - is a first-generation Nigerian-American writer from Boston, MA. She worked in literary
management prior to becoming a showrunner’s assistant at End of Episode. Her writing embraces the
absurd, tackling race and identity through a comedic lens.
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Talia Caldwell - is a former pro basketball player turned comedy writer from Los Angeles. Earning her
MFA from USC’s Peter Stark Producing Program, Talia has written and produced for Pampers, US Bank,
The New York Times, consulted/appeared as herself on Apple TV’s Swagger, and was the showrunner’s assistant on season two of Amazon’s Jury Duty.
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Tito Kolawole - left corporate legal practice and moved back home to Lagos, Nigeria during the pandemic
to pursue her love of storytelling. As a multi-medium writer and scholar, she is currently completing her
PhD in African & Diaspora Studies and tends to focus on stories that explore Global Blackness and
belonging.
