A graduate of the American Film Institute, Phill Branch recently directed Searching for Shaniqua; his documentary about the impact names have on our lives. The film won the HBO Best Documentary award at the 2016 Martha's Vineyard African-American Film Festival.

Phill was awarded a prestigious Lambda Literary Emerging Writers Fellowship in nonfiction. He was featured in the award winning anthology For Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide and has performed personal essays in shows across the country. He is the director of Story District's Out Spoken and has appeard on stage in Top Shelf and the Bentzen Ball.  

Phil grew up fundamentalist, born-again Christian in North Dakota, but that was just a phase. He’s since come out, found a new family, and started over across the country in upstate New York. He’s now a lawyer working in real estate. He and his husband love throwing dinner parties, gardening, and exploring the city.

Rayceen Pendarvis is an entertainer, emcee, moderator, speaker, freelance writer, wedding officiant, community advocate, and lifelong Washingtonian. In addition to hosting The Ask Rayceen Show, Rayceen regularly hosts numerous events including fundraisers, fashion shows, monthly Reel Affirmations film screenings, and various annual events. Over the decades, Rayceen has received many honors, including being recognized as a Capital Pride Hero in 2016 and being a finalist in The Mayor’s Arts Awards for Excellence in the Humanities in 2017. A tireless advocate for the community and disseminator of information, Rayceen has earned the monikers Goddess of DC and Queen of the Shameless Plug.

Molly has a long history with the creative arts, and the home videos to prove it. After half a decade of working on non-profit technology solutions, she is now happily managing Operations for Story District. Raised in Pittsburgh, PA, Molly feels strongly about all potato-based foods and can successfully parallel park in any spot that is at least as long as the car.

Attorney and political strategist Rebecca Buckwalter-Poza provides commentary for print media, radio, and television on law and politics. Currently Judicial Affairs Editor at Daily Kos, with an audience of 5 million, Buckwalter-Poza has worked on progressive campaigns and projects on five continents, including as Deputy National Press Secretary of the DNC during the 2008 presidential election. Rebecca co-authored James Carville’s 40 More Years as well as contributing to Paul Begala’s Third Term. Her writing on law and politics has been published by Democracy Journal, CNN, NPR, The Daily Beast, Pacific Standard, The Nation, The Atlantic, Politico, and others. She has also contributed commentary on MSNBC and XM Radio, among others. Personal essays have appeared in them., Catapult, and The Paris Review.

Jenn Montooth is a writer and historian here in Washington, D.C. Her writing can be found in HelloGiggles, The RS 500, and Curve Magazine. In her free time she enjoys strumming her banjo and desperately trying to get better at Tetris.

Sherwet grew up in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Italy, and Arkansas. After graduating from college, she spent 12 years in the Army. She and her wife have ridiculously adorable one-year-old twin girls, three dogs, and four cats, and live in Northern Virginia where they participate in adventure races, triathlons, and other outdoor challenges.

 Michael Sainte-Andress champions arts education in public schools, adult literacy, voter registration and civil/human rights. He is an educator, a professional multi-talented entertainer (actor/producer/director), an award-winning poet and writer, but more importantly he is fully committed to making the world a better place in which to live. He honorably served in the U.S. Navy and since 1974 has made DC his home. He is a two-time Mayoral appointee to the Ryan White HIV Health Services Planning Council and a Mayoral appointee to the Citizens Police Complaint Review Board. He does all these things with a determination and sense of purpose that is remarkable.

Saida Agostini is a queer afro-guyanese poet and activist. She is the Chief Operating Officer for FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture, a survivor led artist collective dedicated to resisting rape culture. She is also the founding member of the Rooted Collective, a liberatory gathering of Black LGBTQ people to define, dream, and expand on the ways we heal from oppression. A published poet and writer, Saida's work is featured in Origins, Drunk in the Midnight Choir, the Black Ladies Brunch Collective's anthology, Not Without Our Laughter, the Baltimore Sun, pluck!, The Little Patuxent Review, and other publications. Saida has received support for her poetry and resistance work from Cave Canem, the Leeway Foundation and other institutions. The NoVo Foundation recently named Saida a Movement Maker, joining a national cohort of 20 leaders in the fight to end violence against women and girls. Other honors include the award of a 2017 Ruby grant to support the development of her first full-length collection of poems, uprisings in a state of joy.