Stephanie Linus

Stephanie Linus is an award-winning actress/filmmaker who has starred in more than 100 films and has received several awards and nominations for her work as an actress and producer. These include; the Afro-Hollywood Awards, Film Makers USA Award for Excellence, Reel Awards for Best Actress and recently, the prestigious AMVCA Award for Best Overall Movie in Africa and AMAA Awards for Best Nigerian Film for her most recent work - DRY. This comes after her highly successful directorial debut in 'Through The Glass', the country's first box office movie, which set the trend for Nigerian film to be seen in the cinema and then carted away several awards. As a result of her experience as an industry leader, she was selected to be part of the highly coveted Tribeca Festival jury in 2023 where she reviewed a diverse roster of groundbreaking films.

In 2010 she joined Hollywood A-list star Meryl Streep for an exclusive stage reading of the play "Seven" at the Hudson Theatre in New York City as part of the Women in the World Conference, opened by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

On a special invitation from the Queen of England, Stephanie was one of the distinguished guests who attended the 2015 Queens Young Leaders Award in Buckingham Palace, where 60 young people across Commonwealth Nations were honored. As an avid campaign supporter, Stephanie met with England's Queen Elizabeth II and other dignitaries at the Palace.

Beyond her work as an actress, she is passionate about women's rights, and she is the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Regional Ambassador on Maternal and Reproductive Health for West and Central Africa. Stephanie is also passionate about raising her voice against electoral violence. In March 2016, she spoke alongside other world leaders like the First Female U.S. Secretary Of State, Madeleine K Albright and the Canadian First Lady, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, at the #NotTheCost Conference in New York in her capacity as the NDI's Celebrity Ambassador for the 'STOP Violence Against Women In Elections' campaign. She was awarded Nigeria's fourth highest award, Member of the Order of the Federal Republic.

James "Jimmy" Thomas

Mr. Thomas is a senior level creative executive with more than 30 years of entertainment business experience. He has been providing consulting services to senior level executives at major entertainment companies for the last 15 years. His leadership skills in the multi-media digital industry have kept his unparalleled skills in high demand.
He is a graduate of Berklee College of Music where he earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music Production and Engineering. Mr. Thomas was groomed and mentored by Mr. Clarence Avant Aka “The Black God Father” for over 30 years. He was signed to him as a writer and producer and also worked as Mr. Avant’s executive assistant as well as an advisor to Mr. Avant for the last 15 years.

Mr. Thomas is the founder and current CEO/president of Dweblife Sports Assistant LLC, the parent company of Do Something Athletic (DSA), which owns several copyrights to digital media processes and applications that he has developed over the course of his career. As the co-founder of CROWDAA Inc., Mr. Thomas oversees all operations in the US while also serving as its CCO worldwide. 

Mr.Thomas is also the co-founder of Hey Fans! Sports Platform, along with Avant & Thomas, a Boutique and High-end NFT Marketplace for celebrity content creators, as well as a minority owner in Xgenlabs

Mr. Thomas has served as VP of A&R and Digital Media for several of the top music and multimedia companies in his career (Upfront Megatainment, Def Jam Recording Group, Ruthless Records, Motown, Winsonic, Tabu Records) As a writer and producer, Mr. Thomas has written and produced music for several major and independent artist, record companies, movies and commercials, which has earned him several multi-platinum and gold records over his career Mr. Thomas is currently head of business development as well as an executive producer for Lion Forge Animation Studio. He was part of the Oscar-winning team that produced “Hair Love,” The winner of the Best Animated Short for 2020.
He has developed and designed numerous successful websites and apps and helped with the creation and deployment of marketing strategies for many clients. Mr. Thomas is clearly an innovator in the field of new media and digital technologies. He has led the way in new concepts and technology, bringing together technology and entertainment to provide the best possible experience for his clients.

Osahon Akpata

Osahon Akpata is a pan African investor, writer, and film producer with extensive experience in business development, strategy and finance. He leads CANEX Creations Inc. (CCInc), a subsidiary of Afreximbank’s Fund for Export Development in Africa, dedicated to acquiring and commercializing intellectual property across Global Africa’s creative industries.

Osahon has been instrumental in driving high-impact projects across film, television, publishing, music, and the visual arts, helping to monetize and globally position African creative assets.

Prior to CCInc, he led SME banking, retail payments, and partnerships at Ecobank Group, and earlier worked at McKinsey & Company, advising CEOs across multiple sectors.
He began his career at Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical division in the U.S.

A published author since age 11, Osahon’s writing has appeared in Essence, Forbes, and Vogue Itali

Osahon holds an MBA in Media Management from Columbia University and a Diploma in Documentary Filmmaking from Sundance Collab.

Tamir Muhammad

Tamir Muhammad is a Producer Of Film & Television and Founder of Populace which was launched with an initial investment from Warner Bros. & HBO. Current credits includes the critically acclaimed HBO series Random Acts of Flyness.

Muhammad previously oversaw OneFifty at Warner Media (formerly Time Warner Inc.), including developing & producing the original slate. Under his direction, OneFifty incubated several boundary-pushing projects before positioning them in the company’s divisions (Warner Bros., HBO, & Turner). Prior to joining Warner Media, Muhammad was VP, Content Development, for Tribeca Enterprise's Digital Studios, overseeing development. He also previously served as VP of Film, TV and Online Programming at the Tribeca Film Institute, overseeing funding and development. Muhammad is repped by Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Grey Krauss Sandler Des Rochers.

Bethann Hardison

Advocate, documentarian, model, muse—with a career spanning over five decades, Bethann Hardison has gone from working in NYC’s Garment District, to becoming one of the first Black models favored by European and New York designers, to creative director and producer, to founding her namesake modeling and management agency. In 1988, she founded the Black Girls Coalition, and in 2013, she spearheaded the launch of the Diversity Coalition, sparking an industry-wide movement for diversity and inclusion. In recognition of her decades of advocacy work, Bethann has received numerous awards, including the CFDA’s Founder’s Award. In 2018, with the support of the CFDA, she founded The Designers Hub to guide and empower Black designers, and the following year, she became an inaugural member of Gucci’s Changemakers Council. The 2023 release of Invisible Beauty, a documentary she co-directed with Frédéric Tcheng, marked her directorial debut. Premiering at Sundance, it has since been featured in over two dozen film festivals and won several awards, including the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Documentary. The film is now available on Hulu after an eight-week nationwide theatrical release by Magnolia Pictures. Currently, Bethann serves as Founder & Chair of her namesake 501(c)(3) foundation, as a member of the CFDA's Board of Directors, and, after five years as Gucci's Executive Advisor for Global Equity and Cultural Engagement, now holds the same position at Kering, Gucci's parent company.