Filmmaker Ayana Saunders was the most recent guest speaker at our New Economics for Women Youth Workshop. Ayana shared the intriguing story how she became a media maker and encouraged students to never give up on their dreams - no matter what they are. Along with Filmmakers/Producers Wil Prada, Sassy Mohen and Antonio Ogaz, our students are being exposed to highly successful media makers who are as committed as us at Next American Media Makers to ensuring the next generation

Title: Director/Editor Education: BA Boston College, MFA New York University Tisch School of the Arts Asia My mother is Nigerian and Jamaican born in London. My father is Cuban and Jamaican born in Kingston. I grew up all along the East Coast due to my mother's work. I have lived in Africa, Asia and Europe and permanently moved to Los Angeles in 2017. "...your work influences society. You have the potential of having the SAME if not greater effect on history as Marlon Brand

My personal story fuels our origins story. It explains why I am so passionate about this project and why I believe we must invest in training programs for our youth and our communities. It is also a case study for the Power of our Story. I have been a storyteller all of my life. My reporting days began in high school in the border town of Nogales, Arizona. I joined my school newspaper and quickly realized it didn’t accurately reflect our reality as students, so I started an “

We probably don’t know where our tomatoes come from anymore than where our bread is baked or where our chickens are raised. As consumers we stopped asking those questions long ago – not because it doesn’t matter – but probably because it became too complicated to understand. And really, as long as it was affordable, easy to get and (we hope) safe, we probably stopped caring. The same now goes for our news and information. We can plug into any one of thousands of “streams” of

This headline in the LA Times made me cough up my morning coffee the other day. While I'm sure it was a tragedy to the family of the poodle, it also provides a striking example of how "news" has changed in this the 2nd largest media market in the country. But more importantly, it underscores the dramatic need we have for sources of news and information that are relevant to our respective communities. If you live in La Crescenta and own a small dog this is probably relevant, m