Elissa Hecker

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Long-standing New York Super Lawyer, Top Attorney of New York Metro Area’s Outstanding Lawyer, and recognized as among The Best Lawyers in America (Copyright Law) practicing in the entertainment and business fields, Elissa Hecker has a wide range of experience in corporate, copyright, and trademark law, with clients encompassing a large spectrum of the business and entertainment world. Since its inception, Elissa has been Chair of the Board of Directors of Dance/NYC.  She is Past Chair of the Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law (EASL) Section of the New York State Bar Association, Editor of the EASL Journal, and Co-Chair and founder of the EASL Pro Bono Committee.  Elissa is a frequent author, lecturer and panelist, a past Trustee of the Copyright Society of the U.S.A. (CSUSA), and Associate Editor and member of the Board of Editors for The Journal of the CSUSA.

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Elon D. Johnson

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EXECUTIVE. STORYTELLER. VISIONARY. Television and film executive, producer and writer, Elon D. Johnson is an Emmy Awardnominated, NABJ Award, Gracie Award and Caribbean Heritage Salute to Hollywood & Excellence Legacy Award recipient. She has facilitated in the creation and execution of various critically acclaimed shows across several networks and platforms. Elon currently serves as the Senior Creative Executive, Head of Development at Tyler Perry Studios. A Brooklyn native and graduate of Columbia University, Elon maintains close ties to her family roots in Barbados.

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Euzhan Palcy

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Euzhan Palcy is an award-winning filmmaking pioneer, an international activist and humanitarian, and the founder and CEO of Jump and Fly, Inc.  Among her many firsts, she is the first Black woman to direct a film produced by a major motion picture studio and the first female director to win a César Award, the French equivalent of the Oscars®.  She has the distinction of being the only woman who has directed Marlon Brando (MGM’s a Dry White Season).  Ms. Palcy is best-known for her trailblazing classics Sugar Cane Alley, A Dry White Season and Disney’s Ruby Bridges.  She continues to share her talent and passion as a filmmaker and mentor with a new international generation.

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Grant Anderson

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Grant Anderson is an executive producer, visual effects, and VR/AR supervisor with decades of experience in the entertainment industry. Throughout his career, he has focused on melding imaginative stories with the latest advances in technology including visual effects, 3D, and now virtual and augmented reality. He has served as is a producer for Marvel. In addition, he helped form Jaunt Studios to create leading cinematic VR experiences leveraging Jaunt’s technology platform. He was Executive Director at Sony’s 3D Center working with leading 3D filmmakers including Baz Luhrmann, Ridley Scott, Ang Lee, and Michel Gondry. His career as a digital artist and CG and visual effects supervisor includes work on Academy Award winning teams for Titanic, Spider-Man, and the short film the Chubb Chubbs. He is Virtual Reality Committee Chairman of the Advanced Imaging Society and Board Member of the VR Society. Grant Anderson is also C.E.O. of Mirrorscape.

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Marva Griffiths Herman

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Marva Griffiths Herman has been working in the Hollywood community for over 20 years.  Born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, she is the founder and CEO of the Caribbean Heritage Organization, Inc. (CHO) and Caribbean Heritage Magazine. CHO produces the acclaimed official Los Angeles Caribbean-American Heritage Month gala, the Caribbean Heritage Salute to Hollywood & Excellence and the CaribbeanLens International Film & Art Festival, Where Hollywood Celebrates the Caribbean™.  In addition to serving as executive director of the CHO, she is the West Coast Representative for Institute of Caribbean Studies, the architects of National Caribbean-American Heritage Month.