I'Ja Wright

Website: https://ijamarie.com/ ||| LinkedIn: I'Ja Wright

"I'Ja Wright is a creative strategist, storyteller, and connector who thrives at the intersection of media, marketing, and community building. With a versatile background that spans broadcast journalism, social media management, event production, and non-profit communications, I'Ja brings both heart and strategy to every project she touches. Over the years, I'Ja has honed her ability to translate her ideas into impactful narratives and turn visions into experiences that leave lasting impressions."

Uriel Reyes

LinkedIn: Uriel Reyes ||| Instagram: Oreo_Reyes13

"Uriel Reyes is a musician, journalist, and content creator currently studying here at  Columbia College Chicago. With an unwavering passion for growth and a drive for results, Uriel consistently rises above challenges in pursuit of his goals. His journey in storytelling began early, serving as a news anchor and reporter for his high school's news program, where he developed a love for uncovering stories that matter."

Chelsey Faulkner

How to Transform Creativity Into Connection

LinkedIn: Chelsey Faulkner

"Chelsey is an experiential marketing strategist, lifestyle contributor, and founder of Candid Hues Cosmetics. She is a Columbia College Chicago alumna with a master's degree in psychology and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. During her master's program, she won the pitch competition within the Columbia College Chicago Entrepreneurship for Creatives program. She has worked with brands such as TGIN, EBONY, Essence, Olay, Covergirl, and Aussie Hair. Her work blends beauty, media, and events with a focus on storytelling.

Chelsey draws inspiration from her cousin, Linda Brown (of Brown v. Board of Education), and channels her legacy into creating inclusive and innovating spaces for creative entrepreneurs."

Braxton Mastre

Storytelling Through a Dyslexic Vision

LinkedIn: Braxton Mastre ||| Website: https://www.themastre.com/

"Braxton Mastre is a creative advisor, storyteller, and leader passionate about crafting campaigns that deeply connect with audiences. He has collaborated with major brands like Tide, Carter's, Rivian, and L'OREAL-- experiences that sharpened his creative skills and inspired him to launch his own agency, Mastre. There, Braxton and his team focus on building narratives that resonate, inspire action, and elevate brand identities. He believes storytelling is the key to influence and is committed to helping brands find their voice and leave a lasting impact."

Vici Howard

Called to Create

LinkedIn: Vici Howard ||| Website: https://bbffilms.org/

"Vici Howard, a 1990 alumna of Columbia College Chicago, is the founder of Black & Brown Femme Films (BBFF)—a nonprofit dedicated to uplifting Black and Brown femmes, including filmmakers and artists of all genders who embrace the feminine perspective. What began as a submission-free film festival has grown into a dynamic movement of artistic activism. BBFF now includes The Vibe: Exhibition Celebrating Women of Color, a pop-up museum, and a 3-Day Poetry Festival spotlighting Black and Brown femme poets.

Vici is a cultural producer, artistic activist, and community builder who uses film, poetry, and exhibitions as tools for connection, and storytelling. Her work centers those often pushed to the margins and creates space for joy, healing, and representation.

She remains deeply committed to creating accessible, inclusive spaces where marginalized voices are not only seen and heard—but celebrated. Through BBFF, Vici continues to challenge harmful narratives and build bridges across communities."

Abel Alejandre

Your Creativity Does Not End With You, Rather it is Just the Beginning

LinkedIn: Abel Alejandre

"Abel Alejandre has a varied background rooted in education and the Fine Arts. From making comic books with friends in elementary school to playing in band for eight years and participating in theater for four years. He has accumulated rich experiences. Abel also spent five years educating in theater and is now focused on filmmaking. Throughout his youth, he nurtured a wild imagination filled with stories, characters, crossovers, and visionary images from his dreams. He believes in the importance of the Fine Arts in education and human experience. Abel recognizes that methods of self–expression are often deemed unimportant, seen as time wasters, or influenced by other’s voices rather than one’s own. He views art as the mirror of the soul, a fundamental aspect of human nature that persists even for those who may not fully realize it. Now, he is eager to unravel the yarn ball that is the creative process, starting from the very beginning."

Jan Zhou

From the Neck Up to the Heart Out: Reclaiming the Original Way We Learn

LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/janz_artdesign

"Jan Zhou is an artist, designer, and educator whose journey bridges tradition and innovation. Originally trained in mechanical engineering in China, she later chose to study fashion at Columbia College Chicago, and built a career in global fashion and creative education. As founder of JZen Line Hub, Jan champions mindful artistry, encourages students to awaken their creativity through foundational learning, presence, and mastery. She believes true learning is lived, embodied, and ever unfolding."

Latil Willis

The Courage to Be Seen

LinkedIn: Latil Willis ||| Website: https://www.throughhereyesproject.com

"Latil Willis is a creative devoted to the power of storytelling as remembrance, restoration, and return. She believes that art, when held with care, can be both a mirror and a bridge. Her work honors cultural memory, radical imagination, and the sacred act of gathering. Guided by a deep reverence for community as a place of healing and possibility, she creates spaces where truth can be spoken, compassion can be shared, and transformation can begin. Through projects like Through Her Eyes, she explores the beauty and complexity of sacred familial bonds and the wisdom that lives in intergenerational dialogue. As she prepares to graduate, Latil remains rooted in her desire to grow, to listen, and to dream in collaboration with others. Her vision is a future shaped by collective care, where art reminds us, that healing is a shared journey and belonging is a birthright we each carry home."

Emmanuel Neal

Unarmoring for Authentic Leadership: The Power in Coaching

LinkedIn: Emmanuel Neal, PHD, BCC

"Emmanuel Neal is a management consultant and executive coach specializing in leadership and organizational development. He has been consulting and coaching since 2010. Consulting and coaching clients have included organizations, entrepreneurs and leaders in various industries such as nonprofit, tech, health, arts and others. Emmanuel works with organizations and leaders to create positive personal and professional change and growth through:

* Individual, team, and group coaching

* Strategic planning

* Project management

* Group facilitation/adult learning

His PhD is in Business Psychology (Consulting Track) from The Chicago School, Master of Arts Management from Columbia College Chicago. He is a volunteer consultant with the Lawyers for the Creative Arts and a member of the Society of Consulting Psychology. He is also a Board-Certified Coach (#5445) Specialty Areas: Executive/Business/Corporate/Leadership."

Lori Klinka

Unarmored Communication: Rediscovering Authenticity in a Noisy World

LinkedIn: Lori Klinka ||| Website: https://loriklinka.com

"Lori Klinka is a communication strategist, award-winning speaker and actor who helps people speak with confidence, clarity, and authenticity. She has taught “Speaking Out” and acting at Columbia College Chicago for over 20 years, empowering the next generation to find their voice and use it powerfully. Lori brings her unique blend of experience—from stage to boardroom—to corporations, associations, and individuals, guiding them to unlock the power of storytelling and genuine connection. She has been a member of the National Speakers Association and has spoken internationally, always inspiring audiences to engage, influence, and connect. Through her workshops, presentations, and creative programs like “People Don’t Come with Warning Labels,” she uses humor and performance to make communication come alive. Lori believes that when you speak from the heart, you not only reduce fear—you invite others to do the same."

Dennis Anderson

The Next Lead: Life After the Newsroom

LinkedIn: Dennis Anderson

"Dennis Anderson, a member of Columbia College's Class of 1985, is the family and community engagement coordinator at School District U-46 in Elgin, Illinois. Prior to becoming an educator, he was an award-winning editor for newspapers in Illinois, New York, Connecticut and Kansas for more than 30 years. He is nationally recognized for his community engagement work and his newspapers have been awarded Editor & Publisher magazine’s "10 Newspapers That Do It Right" as well as the top honor for General Excellence from the Illinois Associated Press Media Editors and the Illinois Press Association. While leading the Peoria Journal Star, he was named GateHouse Media's Editor of the Year. Anderson also served on the Associated Press Media Editors Board of Directors for 11 years and was a two-time president of the Illinois Associated Press Media Editors. He and his wife Julie live in Crystal Lake, Illinois. Their family includes two adult sons, a daughter-in-law and three geriatric dogs."

Jackie Spinner

Unarmored: A Journey from the Frontline to the Classroom

LinkedIn: Jackie Spinner ||| Website: jackiespinner.info (https://gatewayjr.org/)

"Jackie Spinner is a professor of journalism at Columbia College Chicago and faculty advisor to the Columbia Chronicle. She was a staff writer for The Washington Post for 14 years and covered the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

She is the editor of Gateway Journalism Review and directed and produced two documentary films, Don't Forget Me (2018) and Morocco, Morocco (2022) which aired on PBS in Chicago.

In Chicago, where she lives with her three Moroccan-born sons, Professor Spinner volunteers in the refugee and veteran communities. She also is an advocate for individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities, a passion she credits to her autistic son."

Comus Rivera

Neon Dogs: Maximalist Art as Queer Resistance to Authoritarianism

Instagram: saint_comus ||| BlueSky: saintcomus.bsky.social

"Comus Rivera is a queer, nonbinary multidisciplinary artist located in the Chicagoland area. Through a mix of visual and musical artmaking, their work crosses genre and medium in an explosion of art where no idea is "too much". Drawing on their lived experience in the queer underground art scene of Chicago and Philadelphia in the 2020s, their work reflects an unabashed radical acceptance of the self. Sometimes described as overwhelming and confrontational, Comus' art incorporates neon psychedelia to lay their queer truth bare for the audience."

Carlos Lerma

If You Want to Be the Star, Create the Show

LinkedIn: Carlos Lerma

"Carlos Lerma is an award-winning Mexican writer/director, animator, and author based in Chicago. He’s known for his collection of live-action and animated short films, all inspired by his own life experiences of early adulthood, being an immigrant, friendship, love, and heartbreak. He was featured in the Chicago Tribune not only for his work, but also for his ongoing film festival tour across the U.S., which began a year and a half ago. Some of these include screenings at the Music Box Theatre, NFFTY, and CineYouth presented by the Chicago International Film Festival. He is also the author and illustrator of the illustrated poetry book Adultish, now in its third edition."

Moriah Gilman

Permission to Be Both: The Art of Fusing Your Passions

LinkedIn: Lori Klinka ||| Website: https://loriklinka.com ||| Instagram: moriah_joyy

"Moriah Gilman is a Chicago-native artist and future Speech-Language Pathologist. In 2023, she graduated Summa Cum Laude from Columbia College Chicago with a B.A. in Musical Theater. She is a Jim Jacobs Scholarship recipient and holds a variety of credits from Columbia’s theater and film departments, including original playwriting work published in The RENAISSANCE Anthology and co-starring in Freakuency, directed by MFA graduate Andew Jex. She also holds a B.S. in Speech & Hearing Science from Arizona State University. Moriah is currently represented by Shirley Hamilton Talent Agency. She is pursuing a M.S. Ed. in Speech-Language Pathology while participating in cognitive health research for aging populations. In the future, she hopes to pursue a professional career in theater/film and open a non-profit theater company for children with speech impairments. A quote she centers her career journey on is, “art changes people and people change the world.”

Vanessa Wright

Go Back and Get It: A Sankofa Story

Instagram: tellersuntold ||| Website: https://www.sankofachicago.com/

"Vanessa Wright is a former talent agent turned documentary filmmaker, educator, and founder of Tellers Untold LLC, a media company dedicated to amplifying untold stories from black and brown communities. She attended Ohio State University and is a two-time alum of Columbia College Chicago, where she teaches in the Business & Entrepreneurship Department. The first film in her award-winning Sankofa Chicago documentary series — focused on black history, race, education, and generational truth-telling — has been featured on PBS, Amazon Prime, Tubi, and other major platforms. Inspired by the Ghanaian concept of Sankofa, which means “to go back and retrieve what was forgotten,” Vanessa uses film, social experiments, and intergenerational dialogue to spark conversations about identity, justice, and the stories too often left out of history. She believes that when unheard voices are given the mic, transformation follows."

Toy Monique Hawkins

The Good and Bad of Distant Intimacy

LinkedIn: Toy Monique Hawkins

"Toy Monique Hawkins, is the Founder of Green Goddess Productions, a purpose-driven creative content company dedicated to producing inspirational content across television, films, books, and live events. Her creative passion centers on themes of faith, spirituality, family, and personal growth—designed to uplift, heal, and empower audiences of all ages.

With a strong background as a television executive and producer, Toy Monique has recently developed scripted content in her dual role as Vice President of BET Networks and Vice President of BET Studios. Select credits include Kingdom Business, The Ms. Pat Show, and House of Vicious.

In 2025, the proud Chicago native produced Lil Kev, an adult animated series inspired by Kevin Hart’s childhood. Her producing portfolio also includes Bigger and That Girl Lay Lay for Nickelodeon.

Created by the Creator to create - that’s the belief that fuels Toy Monique’s contributions."