the teamthat gets it done
Our Team
Young Storytellers is made up of a small but mighty staff, a dedicated Board of Directors, and an incredible group of supporters.
Our Staff
Alexis Underwood
she/her
Andrea Barreto
she/her
Andrea Ohlsen-Esparza
she/her
Damaris Escobar
she/her
Gisele Roberts
she/her
Jaylene Benggon Chung
she/her
Jess Doss
they/he
Jessica Velasco
she/her
Netta Most
she/her
Pilar Alvarez
she/her
Yazmin Miles-Méndez
she/her
Our Board
AJ Nseir
he/him
Briar Darden
she/her
Carolyn Gan
she/her
Darian Greenbaum
she/her
Darren Bernstein
he/him
David Stone
he/him
David Yang
he/him
Eliana Pipes
she/her
Jay Gibson
he/him
Llisa Prater
she/her
Marika Cahn
she/her
Michelle Paris
she/her
Olivia Chausson
she/her
Pete Stein
he/him
Raymond Tambe
he/him
Sam Brown
he/him
Friends of YS
Andrew Barrett*
Founding Member & Chair Emeritus
Ani Shehigian*
Chief Transformation Officer, International Data Group
Bill Thompson
Senior Vice President and Executive Director, City Year Los Angeles
Brad Falchuk*
Founding Member; Co-Creator of GLEE, American Horror Story; Host & Executive Producer, Famous Last Words
Brittany Little*
Co-Founder, Little Bell Productions
Christopher Mack*
Director, Grow Creative, Netflix
Christina Collins*
SVP, Synergy, Integrated Planning, and Affiliate Marketing, Disney Entertainment
Donna Arkoff Roth*
Producer / Roth-Arnold
Ellen Goldsmith-Vein*
CEO, The Gotham Group
Eric Friedman*
Executive Producer, Disney Channel’s Bizaardvarks
Eric Garcetti
Former Mayor of the City of Los Angeles
Franklin Leonard*
CEO, The Black List
Gina Reyes*
Television Literary Agent, UTA
Greg Hodes*
Partner, WME Entertainment
Ilene Resnick*
Philanthropist
Jake Zim
CMO and Head of Monke Business, Another Axiom
Jamie Tarses**
Producer and Executive
Jeff Smith**
Writer
John Hall*
Senior Vice President and Institutional Client Group Relationship Manager, US Bank
John Im*
Licensed Therapist, Curry Psychology Group
Joy Fehily*
Owner, Joy Fehily Management + Consulting
Kary Antholis*
American Publisher and Editor, Chair Emeritus
Koko Archibong*
Senior VP, Private Wealth Advisor, Capital Group Private Client Services
Lani Monos*
Vice President, Global Corporate Social Responsibility, Sony Pictures Entertainment
Matthew Weaver
CEO, MediaWeaver
Matt Checkowski*
VP Global Multisensory Brand Innovation, Mastercard
Mauricio Mota*
CEO and Co-Founder, Wise Entertainment
Mikkel Bondesen*
Founding Member; Founder, Fabrik Entertainment; Executive Producer, Famous Last Words
Natalie Fair*
Educator
Ness Hamaoui*
General Contractor and Real Estate Developer
Norman Lear**
Writer & Producer
Patty (Patricia) Siquieros*
Executive Director, Variety Boys & Girls Club
Paul Cummins
President and CEO, Coalition for Engaged Education
Paul Lieberstein*
Executive Producer, Actor, Screenwriter
Peter Principato*
President & CEO, Artists First
Richard Weitz*
Co-Chairman, WME Entertainment
Rob Mandel*
Founding Partner, The Management Group
Sam Rogoway*
President & CPO, Modern Age
Sandra Sims*
HR Specialist, Long Beach City College
Sebastian Buck*
Co-Founder, Enso Collaborative
Susan Arnold*
Producer, Roth-Arnold
Rory Pullens*
Partner, Pull & Row Productions
Rudrakshi Nair*
Founder, Bad Brain
Tess Sanchez
Author, Casting Director
Tracy Aftergood*
Development Executive
Tendo Nagenda*
Head of Production, Feature Films, Netflix
Terri Edda Miller*
Co-Founder, MilMar Pictures
Troy Williams*
Owner, Simply Troy Events
Vanessa Morrison*
President, Fox Animation
*Denotes Former Governing Board Member
**Emeritus Board Member (In Memoriam)