Abel Alejandre Personal Biography

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.

Braxton Mastre Personal Biography

Braxton Mastre is a passionate creative advertiser, storyteller, and leader with a vision for crafting campaigns that connect deeply with audiences. Over the years, he has had the opportunity to collaborate with major global brands such as Tide, Carter’s Rivian, and L’OREAL- each experience shaping his perspective and sharpening his creative instincts. These collaborations have not only fueled his passion for impactful advertising but also laid the foundation for building his own creative agency, Mastre. At Mastre, Braxton and his team don’t just make ads-they craft narratives that resonate, inspire and move people to action, whether it’s launching a new product or elevating a brand’s identity, he brings a detail-oriented approach to every project. Braxton believes that storytelling is the key to influence, and the committed to helping brands find their voice. Tell their story, and leave a lasting impression on the world.

Chelsey Faulkner Personal Biography

Chelsey Faulkner is an experiential marketing strategist, lifestyle contributor and founder of start up Candid Hues Cosmetics. With a bachelor’s degree in psychology, she was part of the inaugural cohort of Columbia College Chicago’s Entrepreneurship for Creatives Master’s program, where she secured first place in the program’s pitch competition. Chelsey has collaborated with brands such as TGIN, EBONY, Essence, Olay, CoverGirl, and Aussie Hair, blending storytelling with community-driven impact. Her work spans beauty, media, and events, focusing on elevating diverse voices and making business deeply personal.

Jan Zhou Personal Biography

Jan Zhou is an artist, designer, and educator whose journey bridges tradition and innovation. Born and raised in China with a foundation in mechanical engineering, she later studied fashion design at Columbia College Chicago, launching a career that spans both the global fashion industry and creative education. After years working in the professional fashion field, Jan brings hands-on expertise to her innovative teaching. She champions a return to foundational learning—building creativity through presence, repetition, and mastery of core principles. Jan is the founder of JZen Line Hub, an initiative dedicated to mindful artistry and design. Her work invites students to awaken their creative intelligence, balancing structure, spirit, and aesthetic clarity. Her journey embodies a belief: real learning is lived, embodied, and ever unfolding. Website: https://linktr.ee/janz_artdesign

Vici Howard Personal Biography

Chelsey Faulkner is an experiential marketing strategist, lifestyle contributor and founder of start up Candid Hues Cosmetics. With a bachelor’s degree in psychology, she was part of the inaugural cohort of Columbia College Chicago’s Entrepreneurship for Creatives Master’s program, where she secured first place in the program’s pitch competition. Chelsey has collaborated with brands such as TGIN, EBONY, Essence, Olay, CoverGirl, and Aussie Hair, blending storytelling with community-driven impact. Her work spans beauty, media, and events, focusing on elevating diverse voices and making business deeply personal. 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.

Website: https://bbffilms.org/

Dennis Anderson Personal Biography

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.

Emmanuel Neal Personal Biography

Braxton Mastre is a passionate creative advertiser, storyteller, and leader with a vision for crafting campaigns that connect deeply with audiences. Over the years, he has had the opportunity to collaborate with major global brands such as Tide, Carter’s Rivian, and L’OREAL- each experience shaping his perspective and sharpening his creative instincts. These collaborations have not only fueled his passion for impactful advertising but also laid the foundation for building his own creative agency, Mastre. At Mastre, Braxton and his team don’t just make ads-they craft narratives that resonate, inspire and move people to action, whether it’s launching a new product or elevating a brand’s identity, he brings a detail-oriented approach to every project. Braxton believes that storytelling is the key to influence, and the committed to helping brands find their voice. Tell their story, and leave a lasting impression on the world.

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

Jackie Spinner Personal Biography

Chelsey Faulkner is an experiential marketing strategist, lifestyle contributor and founder of start up Candid Hues Cosmetics. With a bachelor’s degree in psychology, she was part of the inaugural cohort of Columbia College Chicago’s Entrepreneurship for Creatives Master’s program, where she secured first place in the program’s pitch competition. Chelsey has collaborated with brands such as TGIN, EBONY, Essence, Olay, CoverGirl, and Aussie Hair, blending storytelling with community-driven impact. Her work spans beauty, media, and events, focusing on elevating diverse voices and making business deeply personal.

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 and Morocco, Morocco, which aired on PBS in Chicago in 2022.

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.

Latil Willis Personal Biography

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.

Lori Klinka Personal Biography

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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.

Demo Reel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjOF5862N1s&t=8s

Website- url

https://loriklinka.com/

Carlos Lerma Personal Biography

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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.

LINKS:

https://www.instagram.com/carloselerma

https://www.youtube.com/@carloselerma

https://www.carloselerma.com/

Cumos Rivera  Personal Biography

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.

Moriah Gilman Personal Biography

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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.”

Instagram:@moriah_joyy

LinkedIn Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/moriah-gilman

Agency Resumé: https://resumes.breakdownexpress.com/2034686-5710988-20284

Toy Monique Hawkins Personal Biography

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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.

Vanessa Wright Personal Biography

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 The 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.