James Ackerman

James Ackerman is a seasoned executive with experience leading advanced media companies worldwide. He recently served as the President and CEO of the Documentary Channel from 2009 until 2012, following a successful sale of the company. Prior to the Documentary Channel, Ackerman held several senior management positions including Vice President of Program Development for Hearst Entertainment, Vice President of International Business Development at A&E Television Networks, and CEO of OpenTV Corp to name a few. Ackerman also founded Spinnaker Media Fund in 2008 to develop innovative entertainment and digital media companies.

@jamesjackerman

Mark Brinkmoeller

J. Mark Brinkmoeller serves on USAID's senior management team as the Director for the Center for Faith-based and Community Initiatives leading a team to engage faith-based organizations and community groups to further the mission of USAID. Prior to joining USAID, Brinkmoeller served as Senior External Engagement Advisor at ONE where he developed high-level strategic partnerships within the faith, business and NGO communities to increase the effectiveness and reach of ONE's advocacy efforts. He managed relationships with faith-motivated artists and partnerships related to ONE's Living Proof Project. Mark also spent 15 years working for mid-western Catholic dioceses building coalitions and mobilizing diverse constituencies around a broad array of domestic and international issues and was a founding board member of the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice (now Interfaith Worker Justice).

@jmbrink

Scotty Curlee

Scotty Curlee is the Founder and Executive Producer of Red Cloud Productions, whose feature length film, 'The Potential Inside' has received 8 festival nominations worldwide and is currently being distributed in the US by Echolight Studios. Curlee also serves as assistant professor at Liberty University’s Zaki Gordon Cinematic Arts Center, and is a working producer/director with projects in development. He is committed to producing exciting, engaging, and technically accurate films in genres that have been previously unexplored by filmmakers while raising the level of Christian cinema, worldwide. He is also a former professional cyclist, and a native of South Korea who currently resides in Forest, Virginia.

@scottycurlee

Joshua DuBois

Joshua DuBois serves as the Special Assistant to President Obama and Executive Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships where he helps direct the engagement of faith-based and other nonprofit organizations around the country. DuBois received a Masters in Public Affairs from Princeton University and a Bachelor's degree from Boston University. Following his studies he worked on Capitol Hill where he was an Associate Pastor at a small church and then joined the Religious Affairs Department for the 2008 Obama presidential campaign.

@joshuadubois

Michael Gungor

Michael Gungor is a creator who tends to make things out of words, rhythm and timbre. He leads a multiple Grammy nominated "liturgical post-rock" musical collective called Gungor, and lives in Colorado with his wife and band mate, Lisa, and their two-year-old road warrior, Amelie. Michael and Lisa are also the founders of Bloom--a community of house churches that seeks to cultivate "gardens of resurrection" in Denver with beauty, justice, and sacrament. His debut book, “The Crowd, The Critic, and The Muse: A Book For Creators” released in paperback this fall. 

@michaelgungor

Garrett Hubbard

Garrett Hubbard has spent the past five-years at USA TODAY cultivating a documentary style fused with color and crafted as art. Hubbard's work has been honored by some of the most prestigious associations in journalism including the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) and the White House News Photographers Association (WHNPA). These awards have given him a platform to speak around the country at numerous workshops and universities to teach others about the art of visual storytelling. More important than the recognition, Hubbard has seen his work bring relief and sustainable development in some of the most difficult places on earth.

@garrettstories

Susan Isaacs

Susan Isaacs earned her BA in film from UCLA and an MFA in screenwriting from the University of Southern California. She has served as a script consultant, written original programming for DirecTV, and teaches screenwriting at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Susan has acting credits in TV, film and commercials. Her memoir, "Angry Conversations With God," was named a top-ten religion book by Publisher's Weekly and Relevant Magazine. She adapted the book into a solo show, which recently completed an eight-week sold-out run in Los Angeles. Susan toured with author Donald Miller and writes for his Storyline blog.

@susanisaacs

Geof Morin

Geof Morin began his career working at the global advertising firm, Saatchi and Saatchi. He then turned his attention to ministry, completing a Yale University seminary degree, and launching and directing two nonprofits for at-risk youth. He later served as the director of marketing at Geneva Global, a leading philanthropic research and consulting firm, before joining American Bible Society in 2007. Morin currently oversees all communications channels including marketing, advertising, brand deployment and public relations at the American Bible Society.

@geofmorin

Karen Olcott

Karen spent 14 years as an Executive at Microsoft, and was most recently Director of Strategic Partnerships & Business Development where she negotiated and led technology, eCommerce and content partnerships for Bing and MSN across 45 markets worldwide. She joined Microsoft in 1997 to develop programming strategy for international markets and to scale out the online business into emerging markets. In 2012, she launched The Freedom Movement, a mapping platform to connect and unify all organizations and agencies working to end human trafficking. She serves on the Board of Directors of both Polaris Project and Love146, two non-profit organizations focused on eradicating Human Trafficking.

@KarenOlcott

Mo Scarpelli

Mo Scarpelli is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker and multimedia producer. From journalism to non-profit activism to showing the ethos behind a brand, Mo uses stories to connect people, challenge notions and share perspectives on global issues. Mo spent more than two years directing, shooting, editing and producing media for the non-profit organization charity: water. Before that, she managed multimedia content and reported for The Wall Street Journal.

@moscarpelli

Talli Sperry

Talli Sperry is a faculty member at Eastern University, where she has taught in Communication Studies for twelve years, and also served as Interim Department Chair of Communication Studies. She also is involved with Freedom Stones, an organization dedicated to fighting Human Trafficking in Thailand and Cambodia, and has partnered with two non-profits and one governmental agency to serve the teenagers of Eastern Europe. In addition, Talli has a background as a Communication Consultant for one of the world's largest and most reputable investment management firms and experience working in casting for feature film and television.

Steve Taylor

Steve Taylor began a career as a recording artist that spanned twelve years and garnered him two Grammy nominations. He made history as the only artist to twice win Billboard Music Video Awards for self-directed music videos, he was the lead singer/co-writer in the MCA-signed modern rock band “Chagall Guevara,” and he directed and starred in the award-winning long-form video "Squint: Movies From The Soundtrack.” The film, “The Second Chance," marked Taylor's debut as a director/co-screenwriter.
Taylor's follow-up feature, "Blue Like Jazz," is an adaptation of the New York Times bestselling memoir by Donald Miller.

@theperfectfoil

Rebecca Ver Straten-McSparran

Rebecca is the director and a professor at the L.A. Film Studies Center. She also speaks at conferences and universities and writes. Currently she is working on a Ph.D. in philosophical theology and film at Kings College London. She is on the Reel Spirituality Committee at Fuller Seminary and on the board of City of the Angels Film Festival (past director). Rebecca created the Miracle Mile Art Walk, sponsored by L.A. County Museum of Art and Mid City WEST Community Council. The 26th Senate District honored her as a “SHero” for her community work in the arts in 2010. Prior, Rebecca was a pastor for fourteen years and was also president of the interfaith council for the Wilshire area of Los Angeles for four years.