Chair, Sundance Institute

Pat Mitchell is Board Chair at the Women's Media Center and Sundance Institute. She is a founding board member of V-Day, a member of the board of the Acumen Fund, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Mitchell partners with the TED organization to co-curate and host a global TEDWomen conference. Pat Mitchell created a body of award-winning work in front of the cameras as a news reporter and news anchor, national talk show host and White House correspondent, as well as behind the cameras as a creator and producer of documentaries and series, many of which focused on women’s stories, challenges and accomplishments. Media Includes: Time Inc. Television and CNN Productions, NBC, CBS, and ABC, Television, Print, Radio, Online

Professor and former Director, School of Journalism and Mass Communications

Shirley Staples Carter is a Professor and former Director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of South Carolina. Her teaching areas include Multicultural Communication, Ethics, Mass Communication and Society, and Public Relations and Media Management. Carter’s research areas include Freedom of Expression and Values Analysis in Advertising, Open Government, Women and Leadership, and Multicultural Issues in Journalism and Mass Communication. Carter is the author of several articles and presentations on diversity, journalism and mass communication education and leadership. Extensive media experience.

Associate Professor

Stacy L. Smith (Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara, 1999) joined the USC Annenberg faculty in the fall of 2003. Her research focuses on 1) content patterns pertaining to gender and race on screen in film and TV; 2) employment patterns behind-the-camera in entertainment; 3) barriers and opportunities facing women on screen and behind-the-camera in studio and independent films; and 4) children’s responses to mass media portrayals (television, film, video games) of violence, gender and hypersexuality. Dr. Smith has written more than 75 journal articles, book chapters, and reports on content patterns and effects of the media. She has received multiple "top paper" awards for her research from the Instructional Developmental Division of the International Communication Association. In terms of the popular press, Dr. Smith’s research has been written about in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Huffington Post, Newsweek, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Slate.com, Salon.com, The Boston Globe, and USA Today to name a few. She also has a co-edited essay in Maria Shriver’s book, A Woman’s Nation Changes Everything (2009).

Vice President, Corporate Marketing

Chiqui Cartagena is senior vice president in the Political and Advocacy Group for Univision Communications Inc., the leading media company serving Hispanic America. In this role, she provides thought leadership and strategic guidance to help political candidates and advocacy organizations reach and engage Hispanics. Ms. Cartagena is a Hispanic media and marketing pioneer with 25 years of experience developing, launching, and leading some of America’s most successful Spanish-language consumer magazines, including People en Español. Most recently, she served as senior vice president of Business Development for Story Worldwide, a digital content marketing agency. Media includes: CNN, CNBC, NY1, Univision, Telemundo, Television, Print, Radio

Professor, Author, Journalist

Kristal Brent Zook, Ph.D. speaks regularly on popular culture and gender, multiracial identity and blackness, as well as social justice issues involving health, the environment and criminal justice. She has appeared on national cable and broadcast outlets such as NPR, CNN, MSNBC, C-SPAN, MTV, Fox, and TV-One. She is currently a full-time Professor of Journalism and Director of the M.A. Journalism program at Hofstra University in Long Island.

Co-Founder Athena Film Festival

Melissa Silverstein is a writer and speaker with an extensive expertise in the area of women and Hollywood. She is the founder and editor of Women and Hollywood, one of the most respected sites for issues related to women and film as well as other areas of pop culture. Women and Hollywood educates, advocates, and agitates for gender parity across the entertainment industry. She is the Artistic Director and co-founder of the Athena Film Festival -- A Celebration of Women and Leadership -- at Barnard College in NYC. She has written for The Washington Post, NY Times, Forbes, More Magazine and has been featured on CNN, the BBC as well as in Newsweek, Salon, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, NY Times

Director of Photography

Director of Photography Laela Kilbourn was recently chosen by Indiewire as one of "8 More Female Cinematographers You Should Know About". Her documentary feature credits include five Sundance Film Festival hits: HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO, award-winning AMERICAN TEEN, Emmy-nominated WORD WARS, and her additional camera work on HOT COFFEE and Oscar-winning 20 FEET FROM STARDOM. She also filmed MAGIC CAMP, winner of the Outstanding Achievement in Family Filmmaking Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival; SYNC OR SWIM, winner of the Billie Award for Journalism from the Women’s Sports Foundation; and History's eleven part docu-series SANDHOGS. She has worked on projects for NBC, AMC, A&E, Nick Jr., ESPN, MTV, VH1, WeTV, Trio, TruTV, and TV One.