Wednesday, November 13th, 2019

12:30 PM - 1:30 PM

Track II: Herscher Hall, 2nd Floor, Room 202

Women & Original Content: From Film/TV, Internet Video and Influencer Campaigns to Games

Jourdan Guyton, Co-Creator, “Two Grown”, A BET Digital Original

Mira Crisp, former, Creative Director, Ayzenberg Group

Katie Koeblitz, Head of Independent Content apparentlyjack, (Producer, Galveston)

Gwen Miller, VP of Content Strategy, Kin Community

Giovannie Espiritu, Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, MethodFest, Board of Director, C.O.R.A. (Domestic Violence Agency)

Marlene Sharp, Director, Production, LEVEL-5 abby

Katharina Baron, Founder & Owner, House of Baron, Moderator

Jourdan Guyton hails from the islands of Hawaii, has lived in the plain state of Oklahoma, and now calls New York City home. While in Oklahoma, Jourdan earned a BA in Journalism and Electronic Media from the University of Oklahoma. Right after graduation, she became an associate producer at a Nationally Syndicated TV show. This is where she realized her passion is in front of the camera. After studying the craft of acting, Jourdan gone on to play in network TV shows, web series, indie features, daytime TV, as well as off-

broadway shows for the The Afrikan Women's Repertory Theater. Through Jourdan's hard work, she earned the honor of joining SAG-AFTRA. Currently, Jourdan is working on season 2 of her award-winning BET Digital web series, Two Grown. As a New Yorker for over 6 years, Jourdan uses her experiences as a young, black woman millennial to co-write, direct, and produce Two Grown. The comedy series follows two twentysomethings learning the harsh realities of living it NYC. Jourdan hopes to direct more projects, especially dramas featuring black women. When Jourdan is not working on one of her projects, she can be found jet-setting to different countries, inspiring women through fitness, and speaking at schools and conferences about digital entrepreneurship. She also is active in her community with Trinity Church of Harlem.

Katie Koeblitz, Head of Independent Content, apparentlyjack: With over ten years producing Independent Film, Katie Koeblitz is currently the Head of Independent Content at LA-based content studio, apparentlyjack. Katie’s production background includes work on both narrative and documentary feature films. Most recently, Katie produced documentaries G-Funk, A More Civil War, and The Untitled MMW Documentary. On the narrative side of Independent Film, Katie co-produced 2016 film The Land, and the 2018 South by Southwest darling Galveston, directed by Melanie Laurent, starring Elle Fanning and Ben Foster. Katie also had a hand in the coming-of-age film The Kings of Summer, which went onto premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2013. Katie is a champion for Women in the Entertainment industry and has a passion for telling diverse stories. Katie has directed one such story under the apparentlyjack umbrella and looks forward to more.

Marlene Sharp, Director, Production at LEVEL-5 abby: Marlene Sharp is a creative and business-savvy entertainment multi-hyphenate who originally hails from New Orleans but is now a Valley girl. She currently is Director, Production at LEVEL-5 abby, home of YO-KAI WATCH, INAZUMA ELEVEN, SNACK WORLD, and LAYTON DETECTIVE AGENCY. As former Producer, TV Series, at Sega of America, Marlene worked on much more than the Teen Choice Award-nominated cartoon “Sonic Boom.” For example, her Hedgehog duties took her to the heights of nerd-dom as an official San Diego Comic-Con 2017 panelist. As a freelance journalist, Marlene concentrates on popular entertainment for Geekified.net. As a short filmmaker, she has snagged recent prizes at the Canine Film Festival and the San Luis Obispo Film Festival. And as a human being, basically, she loves dogs.

Mira Crisp, former, Creative Director, Ayzenberg Group: As a creative leader at the Ayzenberg Group, an advertising collective with multi-millions in annual billing, Mira Crisp has worked with big brands and bright stars. She thrives in that magical place where creative thinking, innovative technology, and human beings meet. A hybrid creative with expertise in traditional, interactive, digital and broadcast media, Mira’s background spans against both agencies and brands. Mira joined Ayzenberg in 2016 and is a founder of their Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging initiative. Mira is a global hippie kid with the weird names and dual-citizenship to prove it.

Giovannie Espiritu Actress and filmmaker was nominated alongside Academy Award Nominees Alfre Woodard and Amy Irving for Best Supporting Actress at MethodFest for the Mynah Films feature film Fiona’s Script. Her primetime credits include a recurring role on ER (NBC), Bones (FOX), Gilmore Girls (ABC), and Trauma (NBC). She can currently be seen as the lead in the Amazon series, “Dyke Central,” which was featured in After Ellen, BuzzFeed, Bust Magazine and Curve Magazine as a top LGBTQ series to watch. As a filmmaker, she was featured in Elizabeth Banks’ WhoHaHa Media for her parody song, “An Introvert’s World,” and her storytelling has been featured in Ms. Magazine. A two-time Outfest Fusion Filmmaker, her short film, "Ultra-Feminist," was awarded Honorable Mention. She coaches kids/teens online nationwide through HollywoodActorsWorkshop.com and was just named as one of the top 40 Audition Coaches in Los Angeles by the Hollywood Winners Circle founded by Wendy Alane Wright, a top talent manager. Her students are represented by the top agencies in the Bay Area and Los Angeles and notable student alumni include William Lipton (Daytime Emmy Nominee, Cameron on General Hospital) and the Espina Sisters (Hosts of Dreamworks’ “Life Hacks for Kids on the Road”). In her spare time, she rock climbs and advocates for Domestic Violence Awareness/Prevention and LGBTQ equality. She has served on the Board of Directors for C.O.R.A. (a Bay Area domestic violence hotline and agency) and been awarded a Certificate of Recognition from the Senate and State Assembly for her community service.

Gwen Miller is the VP of Content Strategy for Kin. She runs the social media, distribution, marketing, data, business development and talent relations teams and is tasked with creating a culture where every team member is empowered to use data-driven strategy to create digital video content that audiences love. Previously, Gwen was Director of Audience Development for ICON, a lifestyle digital joint venture between production company Endemol Shine and digital video entrepreneur Michelle Phan. At ICON, Gwen was responsible for developing content strategies that created the most satisfying experiences for existing audiences, while also increasing reach with new audiences. Other past roles include Discovery Networks, Cesar Millan, Inc., and a variety of other entertainment companies in the Los Angeles area. Gwen’s areas of strategic interest include management of digital video teams, content strategy, audience growth, best-practice development, data-driven analysis, and seeing how many books it's feasible to read in one year (at last count: 240).

Katharina Baron, Founder & Owner, House of Baron: KATHARINA HAS WORKED FOR CLIENTS SUCH AS MERCEDES-BENZ, SWAROVSKI, VW, SMART, STYLEBOP, INTERVIEW MAGAZINE, OYSTER, VOGUE OR SOHO HOUSE AS A CREATIVE DIRECTOR, EDITOR IN CHIEF, WRITER, PRESENTER, PRODUCER, BRAND AMBASSADOR AND FILMMAKER. KATHARINA ALSO STARRED IN THE MOVIE JOY DE V ALONGSIDE CLAUDIA CARDINALE AND THE FRENCH MOVIE ARLETTY WITH LAETITIA CASTA. SHE STUDIED WITH JACK WALTZER AND SUSAN BATSON FROM THE ACTOR'S STUDIO. KATHARINA HAS DIRECTED & WRITTEN A NUMBER OF SHORT FILMS THAT HAVE BEEN FEATURED AT CANNES, HOFER FILMFESTSPIELE AND ROME INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL. SHE WAS RECENTLY CREATIVE DIRECTOR AND FASHION EDITOR FOR SWAROVSKI MAGAZINE AND THE FACE OF THE GERMAN AND FRENCH CRYSTAL BLOG - SWAROVSKI’S BRAND BLOG THAT CONSISTS OF A VAST NETWORK OF HIGH-PROFILE  CONTRIBUTORS. KATHARINA HOLDS A MBA IN BUSINESS AND COMMUNICATION AND HAS STUDIED AT THE CELSA SORBONNE IN PARIS AND FU BERLIN. HER THESIS PRIME-TIME FOR SCIENCE WAS PUBLISHED WITH SPRINGER RESEARCH. BEING FLUENT IN ENGLISH, FRENCH, GERMAN, POLISH AND SPANISH AND HAVING LIVED IN BERLIN, LONDON. PARIS,  SHE HAS DEVELOPPED AN INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF THE MOST SOUGHT AFTER TALENTS IN THE ART, FASHION. AND FILM WORLDS. KATHARINA LIVES AND WORKS BETWEEN NEW YORK AND LOS ANGELES.