Shelley Fisher Fishkin is the Joseph S. Atha Professor of Humanities and Professor of English at Stanford, where she is also Director of Stanford’s American Studies Program and Co-Director of the Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project. She is the author, editor, or co-editor of forty-eight books. She has published over one hundred fifty articles, essays, and reviews, many of which have focused on issues of race and racism in America and on recovering and interpreting voices that were silenced, marginalized, or ignored in America’s past. Her books have won awards from Choice, Library Journal, the New York Public Library, and elsewhere. She holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale. Before coming to Stanford in 2003, she was chair of the American Studies Department at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research has been featured twice on the front page of the New York Times and twice on the front page of the New York Times Arts section. In 2017, she was awarded the John S. Tuckey Lifetime Achievement award by the Center for Mark Twain Studies in recognition of her efforts “to assure that a rigorous, dynamic account of Twain stays in the public consciousness” and stated that “Nobody has done more to recruit, challenge, and inspire new generations and new genres of Mark Twain studies.” Her most recent book, Writing America: Literary Landmarks from Walden Pond to Wounded Knee, came out in 2017. Junot Díaz called it “a triumph of scholarship and passion, a profound exploration of the many worlds which comprise our national canon…. a book that redraws the literary map of the United States.”

Christina M. Oriel is an award-winning editor and communications strategist with a proven track record across financial technology, media, and direct-to-consumer brands. As vice president of strategy and operations and a founding team member of BayaniPay—a cross-border payments company recognized by Built In Los Angeles as a top startup to watch— Christina leads go-to-market strategies, operational execution, and strategic partnerships that empower diaspora communities worldwide.



Christina’s career began in community journalism, where she served as a reporter and later as managing editor of the Asian Journal, the largest Filipino American newspaper in the U.S. She managed digital platforms and editorial coverage across six editions, earning prestigious accolades, including the California Ethnic Media Awards and Plaridel Awards for excellence in journalism.



Her leadership and contributions have garnered national recognition. Christina was a newsroom management fellow at the inaugural Maynard 200 Fellowship and was selected for Take the Lead’s 50WomenCan in Journalism cohort, which honors trailblazing women leaders in media. Her work on critical issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic and anti-Asian hate has been featured in acclaimed outlets like The Guardian and Kaiser Health News.



Christina holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Communication from The George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs.

Courtney Graham has been working as a producer and strategist in the commercial, broadcast and theatrical world for more than a decade. She began her career with the prestigious visual storytelling firm Imaginary Forces where she produced Emmy nominated television titles and a wide range of broadcast packages and commercials. She currently works with the NFL Network, focusing on long-term design and technical projects that involve collaborating with multiple departments. Her co-founding work as Look What SHE Did!’s producing director has allowed her to experiment with production methodologies in pursuit of maintaining a professional level of quality without traditional resources or budgets.

Julie Hébert is a writer/director of theater, film and television. She has written and directed plays for some of America’s most daring theaters, winning multiple awards including the PEN Award for Drama twice, as well as national fellowships and residencies. She wrote the films Ruby’s Bucket of Blood (Angela Bassett) and Female Perversions (Tilda Swinton) which was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. Additionally, she has written and directed for some of the most respected shows on television including The Man in the High Castle, American Crime, The Good Wife, and The West Wing. She was honored with a George Foster Peabody Award for co-directing the 9/11 documentary, In Their Own Words.

Jillian Hegedus is the Vice President for Client Services at JCI Worldwide, a public affairs, government affairs, and political consulting firm based in Santa Monica, California. She is passionate about grassroots coalition building, educational equity, using storytelling to achieve client goals, and making local political involvement accessible for everyone. She currently works to manage the JCI team, client engagement, and campaign creation & execution and is also an elected official with the Del Rey Neighborhood Council. Before working in her current role, she taught 7th & 8th grade English and 8th grade U.S. History in Houston, Texas for three years with Teach for America. Jillian earned a B.A. in Middle Eastern Media & Communications from Texas A&M University and a Master’s in Public Diplomacy from the University of Southern California. She is interested in joining the board of Look What She Did! because of its mission to tell HERstory which will ensure that girls and women see themselves and the critical role women played throughout history.

Barbra I. Higgins is an Olympic fencer who competed for Panama in the 1984 Olympics. She has over thirty-five years experience in leading small businesses in growth by utilizing the tools she acquired while at PriceWaterhouse and years of experience to analyze, create, and manage internal operating procedures in order to maintain consistent fiscal stability. She has experience at raising capital, managing companies and organizing large international events.
Ms. Higgins’ community involvement includes her Presidential appointment to the Small Business Administration National Advisory Council, Board member and Corporate Secretary of the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame (BASHOF), Board member and Treasurer of Northern California Olympians Alumni Association, President of Panama Olympians Assoc. and as a 1984 Olympian is a motivational guest speaker for schools and community groups. And in 2012 she was Executive Producer of That’s My Thing: Elvin Bishop Live in Concert (Video), nominated for a Blues music award.
She has a law degree from the University of Miami and Bachelors in Business Administration and Accounting from Florida International University and received an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Tiffin University Ohio.

Joy Osborne’s 25-year career, from an elementary educator in Cupertino, California, and Tanzania, Africa to a pivotal role in tech, highlights her dedication to developing talent. At eBay, NetApp, and Palo Alto Networks, she spearheaded university recruiting programs, blending educational insights with professional development. Now at Snap, Inc., Joy leads University Recruiting Programs, focusing on infusing early talent into innovation streams, demonstrating her strategic prowess in talent acquisition.


Beyond her career, Joy’s involvement with the Children’s Musical Theater San Jose as a performer, alum, Board Member, and Board Chair underlines her belief in the arts as a vital force for empowering the next generation. Having recently moved to Santa Monica, California, she’s passionate about immersing herself in the local arts scene, eager to explore new cultural experiences. Joy’s journey reflects her commitment to nurturing talent and innovation, making a significant impact in both the corporate and artistic communities.

Briana Chmielewski is a recent graduate of the American Film Institute, earning an MFA in Editing. Before attending AFI she graduated from Pepperdine University, earning a BA in Film Studies. During her undergraduate years, she studied abroad in London and Sydney where she worked as the editor on the short film, NIGHT LIGHTS. The film went on to screen at Sundance Film Festival as part of the Windrider Forum. She is currently working as an vassistant editor at Bunim-Murray Productions for an Emmy award winning television show.

Jamie Coker-Robertson is an established Public Relations and Social Media consultant with over 18 years experience in Social Impact Media/Public Relations and Marketing. In her varied career she has worked on accounts in several different industries including entertainment, literary, restaurant, product, music, non-profit, personal publicity and film festivals. She has worked on campaigns for Oscar winning films, best selling books, an award winning restaurant, the largest LGBTQ archive in the world, and ran the communications for an international film festival. She currently serves as a Point Foundation Mentor to an LGBTQ Point Scholar, and loves spending her free time going to movies and hiking with her wife and 11 year old daughter, as well building furniture and dabbling in interior design (i.e. pretending to be Joanna Gaines when no one is looking).

Jenee Gill is pleased to bring her nonprofit bookkeeping skills to LWSD! Jenee has an extensive background in arts administration that reaches all the way back to the late 20th century. Currently, she serves as the Finance Manager of AcroSports, a physical performance space in San Francisco. Over the decades, she has taken the administrative helm of the SF Children’s Art Center, San Francisco Mime Troupe, the Roxie Theatre, and TILT. A 3rd-generation native of LA, and an economic refugee of San Francisco, Jenee currently resides in Santa Cruz.

Sevdije is the first female DP in her home country, Kosova. She continues to work there and in her current home in Los Angeles, CA. Her work includes documentaries, shorts, TV Series and narrative feature films. Her films, including Recruitment, The Return, and Unmanned have received recognition in her home country and abroad. They have screened at festivals including The Sundance Film Festival, AFI Fest, Sarajevo Film Festival, and ZagrebDox. She completed her master studies on cinematography at the American Film Institute in 2011.

Kim Ray is an award-winning Writer, Director and Producer based in Los Angeles. She has directed commercials for Fortune 500 clients, developed and written screenplays, including the Oscar-winning WEST BANK STORY and Executive Produced and Directed premium documentary television. Recent work includes Executive Producing the feature documentary GAGA: FIVE FOOT TWO for Netflix and Directing and Executive Producing ABOUT FACE, with Rosie Huntington Whitely for Quibi. Ray has adapted the American classic A Jury Of Her Peers into a feature film that she is attached to direct.

Sabine Sighicelli specializes in documentary/nonfiction writing, copywriting, directing, producing, production management, casting, research, and post-production supervising. She has worked in the nonfiction field, both independent and commercial (National Geographic Television, Foundation for World Arts, UCLA Intercultural Center, Women Make Movies, Museum of Jewish Heritage, Home Planet Productions, Shoot Cut Deliver Productions) for the past 18 years. She co-wrote and co-produced the award-winning documentary “Aspire to the Sky: The Wilshire Grand Story” about building the tallest highrise in Los Angeles (https://www.amazon.com/Aspire-Sky-Wilshire-Grand-Story). Looking at her overall career since 2001: her award-winning documentary “The Passionate Life of a Father Painter” aired on PBS/KCET in 2001. Her film about composer Robert Een, “Be Warned!” is featured in the DVD collection of the UCLA Intercultural Center. Her short documentary “Breaking in Two,” sponsored by Women Make Movies featured internationally recognized women artists and was part of the Getty’s Pacific Standard Time. She served as Interim Chair of the Documentary Filmmaking Department at the New York Film Academy and has taught Film, Documentary, and Communication courses at the Brooks Institute, the New York Film Academy, and Chapman University. She is currently a collaborator of Shoot Cut Deliver Productions (https://shootcutdeliver.com), Source Art (https://www.source-art.com), and Ce Consulting (http://www.cheloeckhardt.com)for which she writes and produces promos, corporate films, documentary shorts, virtual and branded content. Corporate clients include Citibank, LA Art Show, Pipeline Health, NSD Swim, CallSource, VDA, Navalign, Value Max, Radical Skincare, Access Control Security, and Five Point.