Swan Dive

John Medina's short film, The Cure Complex , explores the epidemic of drug addiction in prison and the systemic failures that perpetuate Substance Use Disorder (SUD) in the prison system. "Recovery is an industry, and industries need customers. Rehabs don't succeed when people move on, they succeed when people stay," says Medina, whose own journey through addiction and incarcer...

Los Angeles County has the largest juvenile justice system in the country, and for too long, black and brown youth in LA have been shuttled into a system that favors cages over care. Represent Justice Ambassador, Kent Mendoza , was one of those young people, and now works to make sure our kids wonʼt face a similar fate. “A Million Dollar Cage,” produced by Kent, follows his journey as he fights to...

NaJei (GiGi) Webster wrote and directed the short-film, The Truth Behind The Mask - The Harsh Realities of Reentry,  now streaming to 100 million viewers on Tubi . Based on her own incarceration story, The Truth Behind the Mask is one of five films presented by Represent Justice that feature lived experiences that delve into themes of reentry after prison, youth justice, alternatives to incarcerat...

Emil Pinnock is an accomplished film director, producer, and writer who has been active in the film industry for over 20 years. Raised in Harlem, Emil launched his film career as a child on the PBS television program Reading Rainbow. His many major motion picture credits include Beloved (Oprah Winfrey) and Gridiron Gang  starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.  But the pivotal moment in Emil's li...

Artie Ahier developed a fascination with all things polar after reading Endurance at age 13. The harrowing story of Shackleton’s Antarctic misadventure so gripped young Artie that he spent his whole life dreaming of one day experiencing that desolate, people-less land. Raised in his family’s restaurant in a small New Brunswick town on Canada's Restigouche River, Artie always found happiness i...

Dawn Feinberg is founder of AHANA Yoga , voted the "Best Yoga Studio" in Miami three times by the Miami New Times . She has practiced Ahana Flow and Ashtanga yoga for over 25 years and taught for well over a decade. Prior to practicing yoga, Dawn was an elite professional dancer in NY with a big future head of her, until a severely ruptured Achilles tendon ended her dance career and forc...

Barry Krutchik is an legendary Hollywood and pop culture journalist who has conducted over 2000 celebrity interviews across music, film & television over the past 40 years, capturing raw, unscripted moments — from Bob Hope to The Beastie Boys, Santana to Stevie Wonder, Jerry Seinfeld to Jay Z, Mick Jagger, Keanu Reaves, Dave Chappelle, Celine Dion ... basically, the biggest stars EVER! Whether...

The devastating 2022 hurricane that destroyed their Florida home was the last straw in a chain of traumas for Jason and Kimberly Ocana. A paramedic/firefighter for nearly 15 years, Jason loved being of service, but the work's constant physical and emotional challenges and the added rigors of being a first responder during COVID were taking a serious toll on his body and soul. After 17 years i...

“Delicious, decadent, and utterly diabolical. No one serves up a scandal like Asha Elias, ” writes author Kirsten Miller about this writer, mother, and reluctant socialite. Asha's acclaimed debut novel, Pink Glass Houses , is a seductive social satire about the wealthy PTA moms of an elite elementary school in Miami Beach. We read it and loved it. Her much-anticipated second novel, The Namast...

Eric Gottesman teaches, organizes, writes, and makes artworks with other people that address nationalism, migration, structural violence, history, and intimate relations. His work is always collaborative; he has never made an artwork alone. One of Eric’s creative superpowers is his ability to take his time and gently notice the delicacy and hard edges of his subjects, without judgment, before capt...

Robert Earl Sinclair is a Future Architect & Speculative World-Builder striving to make sense of our rapidly changing world and co-create bold futures. Born in "the hood" of Los Angeles and challenged with dyslexia, Robert became a successful international hip-hop recording artist in his teens and went on to graduate from the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts and NYU’s Tisc...

How does one claw their way out of the deep hole of generational poverty and income inequality if the walls are too steep and slippery to climb? David Garfunkel has tackled this problem with meaningful results in his hometown of Jacksonville, FL. As President & CEO of the non-profit LIFT JAX , David has created meaningful and measurable community revitalization initiatives in Jacksonville’s Ea...

Nate Monroe writes a column about Florida for USA Today, exploring how power works in the gilded, strange human heart of the modern Republican Party. His intrepid  irony and rapier wit have made him a reader favorite but have also ruffled some significant feathers. Previously an investigative reporter for Jacksonville's Florida Times-Union, Nate focused on covering Jacksonville City Hall, the...

The Stanford Arts Review described Samantha Rose Williams as a “Mezzo-Soprano with ‘jaw-dropping vocal power.” This opera singer and arts activist is committed to creating space for critical discussion about art, culture, and social change. Her latest project is American Patriots, an opera she created that seeks to examine patriotism from four vastly different perspectives: African-American, Nativ...

Daniel K. Forkkio is CEO of Represent Justice , building a critical mass of “system-impacted storytellers” using film and media to mobilize audiences to take action and transform the legal system. Because, those closest to the problem are closest to the solution. About this transformational approach to filmmaking, Daniel says, “What I started to learn about these (grassroots) films is that the fil...

Matt Hartley is an Interfaith expert and "DEI Criminal." He's an educator and ordained minister, a dad, a cellist, a high school running coach .... In other words, one of the good guys. Yet, after 5 years leading the University of North Florida Interfaith Center, Matt’s job was eliminated last year by draconian anti-DEI (Diversity Equity and Inclusion) laws initiated by Gov Ron DeSa...

Trained as an anthropologist, Suz Howard spent 20 yrs as a partner at IDEO , one of the world's leading design and innovation companies, playing a critical role in growing IDEO from 200 employees to 1000 in 9 locations around the globe. Focused on building creative leadership within organizations, she founded IDEO U , a digital learning platform that has served over 80,000 students through va...

As Executive Director of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis, TN, Jeff Kollath oversees the world’s only museum dedicated to preserving and promoting the legacy of Stax Records and American soul music. Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, John Lee Hooke, Booker T & the MGs and the endless Stax roster of musical icons produced  songs that stirred our souls and shared our collective story, a...

Clark Butcher will be the first to tell you he is addicted to endurance athletics. He started running age 7, completed his first half marathon at 11 and discovered triathlons at 14, where he naturally excelled in cycling. By 16, Clark was competing in the Junior World Cup in Canada, National Championships and pro-caliber events throughout the US. This culminated in 2002, when Butcher spent a summe...

As a teenager, Dr. Scott Morris became deeply interested in two things: his religion and the practice of medicine. He's spent his entire life creating a way to connect the two to serve humanity. Now 70, Morris is the founder and chief executive officer of Church Health in Memphis, TN . A leading voice in the field of faith and health and a passionate advocate for the poor in U.S. society, Mor...

Chris Jenkins is Head of Production in University of California, Santa Barbara’s Film & Media Studies Department. He has been behind the lens of many notable and award-winning documentaries. His work has aired on Netflix, PBS, Discovery, The History Channel, Sundance Channel and on and on. Prior to receiving his Masters in Documentary Film & Video from Stanford, Chris was in East Africa as...

Hollywood Creative Director and Graphic Artist, Gary Adler, has a blackbelt in branding on a global scale.  He moved to LA in 1986 to chase his dream and, after  decades designing for the film industry’s best, from Disney to Dreamworks, Warner Bros,  Sony and Fox, he’s seen it all. If you watched Nightmare Before Christmas, you’ve seen Gary's work. He sold a wonderful screenplay to Harold Ram...

Taylor Keen has an astonishing resume: Golden Gloves boxer, Dartmouth undergrad, Harvard MBA and Masters in Public Administration. Business man. Indigenous leader, Strategy consultant and full-time instructor in Corporate Strategy and Entrepreneurship at Creighton University. But at his core, Taylor is a storyteller. And the stories he tells are those of his tribal people. Harvard did a magnificen...

In 2019, Miami New Times tweeted “Does anyone know Miami music better than Lolo Reskin?” Music is in this woman’s blood. Lauren Reskin, better known as Lolo, is founder of Miami’s iconic, Sweat Records . Lolo’s father is a Julliard graduate, professional trumpet player, and composer. Her grandmother, a concert violinist. Even her great uncle, Alan Freed, was the (in)famous 1950’s radio DJ who coin...

Katie Hathaway's swan dive moment came as her 7-yr-old son got in the car at school pickup and said, "Mom, I know it. We’re gonna be the first classroom shot up. We’re closest to the front of the school." Katie's heart sank. That any child would have such a thought, let alone when they’re supposed to be safe at school, made her sick. She knew she had to do some thing. Katie sta...