Story Movements 2026 10202 - Center for Media and Social Impact

March 5-6, 2026

Planet Word Museum, Washington DC

Register now for Story Movements 2026, a celebration and learning convening at the intersection of community power, narrative and civic media for social good, and building positive futures!

Registration

Speakers

ANDREW deWAARD

Associate Professor
University of California San Diego

ANDREW deWAARD

Andrew deWaard researches the cultural industries, the political economy of media, financial capital, and media authorship. He is an Associate Professor of Media and Popular Culture in the department of Communication at the University of California, San Diego.

BARON VAUGHN

Comedian

BARON VAUGHN

Baron Vaughn is an actor, writer, director, and comedian. He’s best known as “Bud” on the hit Netflix series, Grace & Frankie. Baron also voiced “Tom Servo” in the recent seasons of cult-hit, Mystery Science Theater 3000. He co-created and co-hosted the groundbreaking Comedy Central showcase variety series The New Negroes with Baron Vaughn and Open Mike Eagle.

CATY BORUM

Executive Director, Center for Media & Social Impact (CMSI)
Professor, American University’s School of Communication

CATY BORUM

Caty Borum is Executive Director of the Center for Media & Social Impact (CMSI) and Professor at American University’s School of Communication. She is an award-winning media producer, scholar, and author or co-author of four books about entertainment media and social change.

CHERYL CONTEE

AI4NP.org
Co-Author, AI for Nonprofits

CHERYL CONTEE

Cheryl Contee is a pioneering technology entrepreneur and digital transformation expert. She is renowned as a trailblazing startup founder and a trusted advisor on innovation and impact. She inspires audiences globally as a leading voice on inclusive entrepreneurship and social enterprise.

CHRIS HASTINGS

President & CEO
WXXI

CHRIS HASTINGS

Chris Hastings is the President and Chief Executive Officer of WXXI Public Media. Hastings brings to WXXI a rich and diverse background in public media, joining from GBH in Boston. At GBH he served as Executive Producer and Editor-in-Chief of the WORLD Channel, where he elevated diverse perspectives through critically acclaimed documentary series, including “America ReFramed,” “Local USA,” and “Doc World,” which he co-created and led curation and production.

ESTEBAN GAST

Comedian

ESTEBAN GAST

Esteban Gast is a comedian, writer, and host. He is Colombian, was raised in Puerto Rico and Illinois and lives in L.A. His work has been called “irreverent but aspirational” by Variety and, honestly, they nailed it. After teaching creativity and design thinking at the University of Illinois and running an eco-community in Panama, he’s now telling silly stories that matter.

GABE GONZÁLEZ

MC
Comedian & Writer

GABE GONZÁLEZ

Gabe González is a Puerto Rican comedian, writer and actor living in Brooklyn, NY. He was born and raised in Central Florida. Most recently, he wrote for Season 2 of After Midnight on CBS and worked with GLAAD’s Spanish-language & Latine Media team as a consultant and creator of the comedic digital interview series”’Dímelo.”

IMAN ZAWAHRY

Filmmaker
Professor, University of Florida
Non-Profit Director, Islamic Scholarship Fund

IMAN ZAWAHRY

Iman Zawahry is one of the first hijabi American-Muslim filmmakers in the nation. She has worked on numerous films that have played at over 150 venues worldwide. She’s an Emmy Award winner, Princess Grace Award recipient, Lincoln Center Artist Academy Fellow, Sundance Momentum Fellow, Sundance Universal Fellow, and is a part of the Warner Brothers Directing Program.

JULIE ANN CROMMETT

Founder & CEO
Collective Moxie

JULIE ANN CROMMETT

Julie Ann Crommett is a powerhouse in media and storytelling, driving transformative change at the intersection of entertainment, business, and culture. As the Founder and CEO of Collective Moxie, a global storytelling, media strategy and audience engagement agency, she advises top studios, brands, and creatives on innovative strategies that reshape industries.

LAYLA ZAIDANE

President & CEO
Future Caucus

LAYLA ZAIDANE

Layla Zaidane is President & CEO of Future Caucus, the largest nonpartisan organization of young lawmakers in the United States. Future Caucus works with over 1,900 Millennial and Gen Z elected leaders in Congress and state legislatures to bridge divides, collaborate on future-oriented policy, and scale a healthy culture of democracy.

LISA LEEMAN

Director & Producer
Professor & Mona and Bernard Kantor Endowed Chair in Production
School of Cinematic Arts, USC

LISA LEEMAN

Lisa Leeman has been directing and producing award-winning feature documentaries for 35 years. She is a MacDowell, Yaddo, and Bogliasco Fellow, and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Art and Sciences. Leeman is a tenured professor and endowed chair at University of Southern California, where she teaches documentary filmmaking and cinematic ethics.

PAMELA RAE SCHULLER

Comedian & Disability Advocate

PAMELA RAE SCHULLER

Pamela Rae Schuller is what happens when you mix stand-up comedy with a master’s degree in advocacy and just the right amount of neurological chaos. As an internationally known disability and mental health advocate with one of the most severe documented cases of Tourette Syndrome, Pamela transforms her experiences into powerful, laugh-filled lessons on inclusion and authenticity.

REBECCA SANDERSON

Senior Principal Research Fellow
FrameWorks Institute

REBECCA SANDERSON

Bec Sanderson is a Senior Principal Research Fellow with the FrameWorks Institute, where she leads framing research on a range of topics. including labor justice, climate change and child development.

SARAH ROSE SISKIND

Science Comedy Writer
Founder Hello SciCom

SARAH ROSE SISKIND

Sarah Rose Siskind is a science comedy writer based in New York City. She’s the founder of Hello SciCom, a company that combines science communication and comedy to help smart people get their message across. Clients and collaborators range from OpenAI to National Science Foundation to Honda to Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, producing comms that measurably boost engagement and positivity.

SEANNE WINSLOW

Filmmaker
Senior Advisor, Resetting the Table

SEANNE WINSLOW

Seanne Winslow is an award-winning writer, director, and producer who bridges continents and cultures through story. Raised across Germany, England, Israel, and the Middle East, she has built a career on crafting emotionally resonant, globally-minded films and series that inspire empathy and spark change. Her breakout hit, Nowhere for Netflix, became one of the platform’s most successful non-English releases worldwide.

TARA HEIN-PHILLIPS

CEO
Jolt

TARA HEIN-PHILLIPS

Tara Hein-Phillips has spent more than two decades as a digital product and technology leader, with a focus on the arts and education. She was the Chief Product Officer at Sundance, launching the first virtual festival in 2021, and was co-founder of Sundance Collab. As the CEO and Co-Founder of Jolt, she leads the efforts to deliver relevant new audiences for extraordinary new independent films. Jolt’s Interest Delivery Network uses analytics and AI to connect premium content with the audiences most eager to engage with it.

TINA FRIML

Comedian

TINA FRIML

Tina Friml is a New York City based comedian, originally hailing from Middlebury, Vermont. In 2024, she was named one of Variety’s “Top 10 Comics To Watch.”

WENDY LOBEL

Director & Producer
Anxiety Club

WENDY LOBEL

Emmy Award–winning filmmaker Wendy Lobel made her feature directorial debut with Anxiety Club, a humorous and heartfelt exploration of our shared experience with anxiety, told through the lens of comedians.