Producers
Deborah Willis
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Deborah Willis PhD, is Chair of the Department of Photography & Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, and has an affiliated appointment as a University Professor with the College of Arts and Sciences, Africana Studies. She was a Guggenheim Fellow, a Fletcher Fellow, and a MacArthur Fellow, as well as recipient of the Anonymous Was a Woman Foundation award, and is one of the nation's leading historians of African American photography and curator of African American culture. Her newest book, "Envisioning Emancipation: Black Americans and the End of Slavery," co-authored with Barbara Krauthamer, was released by Temple University Press in 2013. Among her other notable projects are “Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers - 1840 to the Present,” “A Small Nation of People: W.E.B. DuBois and African American Portraits of Progress,” “The Black Female Body in Photography,” “Let Your Motto be Resistance,” and “Obama: the Historic Campaign in Photographs.” Dr. Willis curated the traveling exhibition “Posing Beauty in African American Culture,” which was based on her book “Posing Beauty: African American Images from the 1890's to the Present.” “Michelle Obama, The First Lady in Photographs” received the 2010 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work Biography/Autobiography.
Jesse Williams
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
A native of Chicago and graduate of Temple University, Jesse Williams began his professional career teaching American, African and African-American History in low income Philadelphia public charter schools. From there he moved to Brooklyn, NY and, after working in Manhattan law firms, began his professional acting career, performing off-Broadway at The Cherry Lane Theatre under the direction of award-winning playwright Edward Albee in The Sandbox.” Williams can presently be seen as series regular Dr. Jackson Avery in ABC's hit series Grey’s Anatomy. His feature credits include Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Brooklyn’s Finest, The Cabin in the Woods, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 and the Western They Die By Dawn.
Williams is the youngest member of the Board of Directors at The Advancement Project, a leading national civil rights, policy, communications and legal action group committed to racial justice. He is also a spokesperson for The California Endowment’s Sons and Brothers Campaign.
Williams founded the production company, farWord Inc. with his wife Aryn DrakeLee-Williams out of a desire to examine and affect the relationship between historical/cultural comprehension and the ways in which media content influences our [collective and individual] health and behavior. Through the development of valuable curriculum, literary, film/TV and new media projects, farWord Inc. is dedicated to developing the honest and innovative presence necessary for cultural leadership, creative and psychological independence.
Delroy Lindo
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Delroy Lindo’s career spans extensive contributions to film, television, and theatre. His film credits include Mr. Rose in The Cider House Rules, and Rodney in Clockers. He worked with Spike Lee on Crooklyn and Malcolm X, (NAACP Image Award nomination). Other notable film credits include: Heist, Wondrous Oblivion; The Core; The Last Castle; Domino; The One; Gone in 60 Seconds; Ransom; A Life Less Ordinary; Get Shorty; Feeling Minnesota; Romeo Must Die; L’Exil du Roi Behanzin; Devil’s Advocate; Bright Angel; Mountains of the Moon; This Christmas (also executive producer); and Pixar’s Up!. Recent television credits include a starring role in The Chicago Code, and Kidnapped (NBC). He appeared on Law and Order: SVU; Lackawanna Blues (HBO) and The Exonerated (Court TV). He received critical acclaim for Profoundly Normal (CBS); and starred as Justice Clarence Thomas in Strange Justice (Showtime, Peabody Award). Selected Broadway credits include Herald Loomis in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, and Master Harold and the Boys. He played Walter Lee in A Raisin in the Sun at the Kennedy Center (Helen Hayes Award Nomination and NAACP Image Award, Best Actor), and he has worked off-Broadway and extensively in national regional theatres and Canada. Lindo has also directed and produced documentary and theater works for stage and screen.
Jon Vidar
Digital Producer
Jon is the founder and digital strategist behind all of the projects that come out of Uncharted Digital. Jon has extensive background in the nonprofit sector. As the Cofounder of The Tiziano Project, he is intricately familiar with storytelling, community engagement and the needs of nonprofit organizations. For five years, Jon also served as the Emerging Technology Specialist for the University of Southern California Libraries, where he received an M.A. in Communication Management and is currently an Adjunct Professor teaching graduate level courses on New Media Journalism.
Natasha L. Logan
Producer
Natasha L. Logan is a multi-media arts producer and curator who has worked with a broad range of artists on a variety of projects. Recent projects include The Long March, a large-scale public art installation by Cause Collective at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport; the transmedia campaign for the documentary American Promise; White Boys, an exhibition featuring 17 international artists, and the feature film, An Oversimplification of Her Beauty directed by Terence Nance. Prior to launching her independent practice, Natasha served as the Assistant Director of Career Development for NYU Tisch School of the Arts. In each role, her focus is on helping artists cultivate their vision and voice, and create strategies to meet their goals.
Will Sylvester
Post Production Producer
Will Sylvester works at the intersection of art and technology and has an extensive background ranging from e-commerce, commercial photography, to broadcasting and video editing. He produces technical innovations and creative solutions for artists and art projects, including the solution for Question Bridge and The Long March (Cause Collective video wall at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport). He manages on-site installation and programming for these and other collaborative projects.
Will attained his AAS in Film and Television Production, with a concentration in Film and Video Editing, from Scottsdale Community College. He went on to receive a B.A. from University of Massachusetts (UMass-Amherst) focusing on Documentary Film for Social and Cultural Change, where he created shorts such as Thank You For Choosing..., Love: A Documentary, and UVC: Students in Education. When he’s not “conquering the world”, one medium at a time, he composes music as one half of the band BLEW, digs through dusty record crates across the world, and is rediscovering the joys of analog film.
Rosa White
Supervising Story Producer
Rosa White is a New York based Producer, Editor, and Creative Consultant with a background in documentary arts & television production. This former Union Docs Collaborative Fellow began honing her production and storytelling skills working as a Writer/Producer of On-Air Branding & Promotions at Nickelodeon and AMC Networks. Now as a freelance creative, Rosa works as a project consultant and story producer, with a special interest in work that utilizes a blend of traditional and new media tools to explore culture, identity, and social justice themes.