Tamar Feinkind
Tamar Feinkind was born in Brooklyn, raised in the suburbs of Chicago, and came of age in LA. She is a writer, actor, and reluctant producer. She previously ran a small theater company for emerging writers where she produced five full length plays, including her own, and currently runs a storytelling event in Los Angeles called Mothers Unleashed with the mission of enabling and empowering mothers to give voice to their experiences. Most recently, Tamar was commissioned to write a WWII historical drama about an Armenian Genocide Survivor, and she wrote for the podcast Solve, set to be released in 2020. BS from Northwestern in Theater and pre-med. MFA from Stephens College in Television and Screenwriting. Tamar is represented by Epicenter.
Daniel Housman
Daniel Housman is a screenwriter, and a former journalist, who works in communications, and is active in cultural programming for the Israeli American Council in Los Angeles. After getting his MFA in Filmmaking from Columbia University, he was an adjunct professor of film studies at Adelphi and Fordham Universities in New York, and wrote the screenplay for the 2007 indie film The Treatment. With the IAC, he co-founded the BINA-LA program in 2010, leading its intellectual salons for six years, presenting a myriad of TED-like events with a range of speakers on topics of science and technology, Israeli concerns, social impact ventures and the arts.
He completed the professional fellowship for NewGround: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change in 2014, and directed their annual “Spotlight” event, a night of live storytelling. Daniel was on the steering commit- tee for the UCLA Nazarian Center for Israel Studies’ “Israel in 3D” seminar in May 2015 and designed the concept in 2017, which attracted 300 attendees for a “one-day university.” He was hon- ored to visit Kenya with an Israeli Consulate Mission in 2016, to observe the benefits of Israeli-sponsored development projects with an L.A. delegation. He lives in Los Angeles, where he leads a bi-weekly screenwriting group of 15 professionals.
Sam Barnett
After graduating from the University of Michigan’s Screen Arts and Cultures program with a screenwriting concentration, Sam Barnett grew tired of his home state of Michigan and relocated to the ancient homeland of his parent: New York. In addition to his writing, he has served as a longtime story analyst for Lionsgate, and has worked on feature films and documentaries at production companies such as Big Beach, Ideal Partners and Keshet Studios. His work has been featured on websites such as The A.V. Club.
Samuel Franco
Samuel Franco graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Writing and Producing for Film. Shortly afterwards, he secured an apprenticeship as a researcher under investigative journalist Mike Wallace at CBS News’ 60 Minutes, and six months later he joined The Charlie Rose Show as a research writer. A year later Samuel was recruited to work for The Howard Stern Show, where he focused on marketing, strategic sales and branding, creating Howard’s first-ever ad campaign: Stern Warning.
Samuel then went on to work for Infinity Broadcasting (CBS Radio), Paramount Pictures, and CBS Daytime Television, before moving to Los Angeles to focus on writing and producing. His credits include writing the feature scripts: Keeper of the Diary (Fox Searchlight) and Mayday 109 (Thunder Road Productions), and TV shows: The Fall of the House of FIFA (FX Networks), and Camelot (NBCUni’s Peacock), alongside writing partner Evan Kilgore. On the producing end, Samuel is executive producing a documentary about the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum art heist titled Ghosts of the Isabella (Ample Entertainment), and producing a feature film, which he is also co-writing, about heavyweight boxer Rocky Marciano titled Unbeaten (Impossible Dream Entertainment). Samuel lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.
Charlotte Lan Steiner
Charlotte Lan Steiner is a filmmaker born and raised in the Washington, D.C. area. Following her graduation from Middlebury College with a degree in Film and Chinese, she spent several years working, writing and studying in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Beijing, before returning to the U.S. to attend a TV Writing Intensive program at Columbia University. She is currently back in D.C., where she recently produced and directed episodes of “GROWN the web series.” When not making films or writing, Charlotte enjoys rock climbing and trying to convince other folks to rock climb with her.
Zack Bornstein
I know him as Uncle Nathan. As my Nana’s stoic, kind-eyed brother-in-law, whose name was sewn into the lining of my Bar Mitzvah suit. But to Colonel Mendel Marshak, the Soviet overseer of defeated Germany, Nathan Freisinger is the only tailor in East Berlin fit to fashion his leather jacket. And the suit maker Stalin […]
Emil Stern & Sigmund Stern
Brothers Emil and Sigmund Stern, originally from Sydney, Australia, have established themselves as accomplished writers across different media, with both individual achievements and collaborative projects. Emil’s screenwriting credits include the thriller LIFE BEFORE HER EYES (directed by Vadim Perelman, starring Uma Thurman and Evan Rachel Wood), which was based on his Black List script IN BLOOM, and TENDERNESS (directed by John Polson, starring Russell Crowe). Sigmund Stern has built his reputation as a longtime contributor to renowned satirical publications The Onion and McSweeneys. Together, they were co-creators of comedy noir audio series KING OF THE EGG CREAM with Justin Bartha, starring Richard Kind, Michael Stuhlbarg and Melanie Lynskey, among many others. Emil has also written for Tablet, Jewish Review of Books, and the Washington Post.
Jessie Kahnweiler
Jessie’s films have been featured everywhere from the New York Times to
the Cannes Film Festival. Jessie wrote, directed, and starred in ‘The Skinny’, a dark
comedic series based on her 10-year relationship with bulimia. ‘The Skinny’ was
produced by Joey Soloway and Refinery29. It premiered at Sundance and won a
Webby for best series. Jessie also developed ‘Viagra Diaries’ for CW, ‘Bump’ for ABC,
and staffed on ‘Skam AUSTIN’ for Facebook Watch. Fox commissioned Jessie to write
and direct the comedic thriller Retreat which premiered on Hulu in 2020. Jessie’s short
film, ‘He’s The One,’ premiered at Sundance and her series of the same name sold to
Topic Studios. She is an alumnus of the Sundance Labs, Six Points Fellowship, and the
Jewish Writer’s Initiative.
Currently, Jessie is directing a documentary about circumcision for Reboot Studios and
writing the verticals ‘Pregnant by the Boss’ and ‘Royally Screwed’ for Interactive Films.
IG: @jessie_kahnweiler
Danielle Berrin
Danielle Berrin works at the intersection of Jewish spirituality and social impact, helping lead development and philanthropic engagement for Or HaLev, a global center for Jewish mindfulness dedicated to personal and collective transformation through contemplative Jewish practice.
An award-winning journalist and storyteller, Danielle spent over a decade as a senior reporter and columnist for the Los Angeles Jewish Journal, where she explored the interplay of Jewish identity, politics and culture. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Yedioth Ahronoth, The Forward, Hadassah Magazine, and the Los Angeles Review of Books, and she has provided commentary on CNN, MSNBC, and major Israeli media outlets.
In 2017, the Los Angeles Press Club named her Journalist of the Year for her groundbreaking reporting on sexual harassment—published a year before the #MeToo movement emerged. She later served as California Jewish Outreach Director for the Bloomberg 2020 presidential campaign and was named one of The Forward’s most influential American Jews.
Danielle is a recipient of the David Twersky Journalism Award. She served as a Global Justice Fellow with American Jewish World Service and currently serves on the committee for the Baruch Link Scholar-in-Residence Program in Los Angeles, a weekend of deep exploration of Hebrew literature and culture.
Most recently, she was a 2023–2024 fellow of the Jewish Writers’ Initiative screenwriting program and is currently in her third year of advanced study to teach Jewish mindfulness meditation.
In 2025, Danielle received a first-place Rockower Award for a personal essay she wrote about naming her first child in honor of murdered Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
Roni Geva & Margaret Katch
Roni Geva and Margaret Katch are an award-winning writing team with a focus on bold, female-driven storytelling. Since partnering in 2015, they’ve written four pilots, four features, two short films, and the Emmy-nominated short-form series ctrl alt delete, a workplace comedy set in an abortion clinic.
Their work has been selected by 17 film festivals, earned five awards, and led to a development deal at CBS Studios. As actors, their credits span film, television, and stage, including Ovation and Joseph Jefferson Award nominations for their theatrical work.
Their greatest desire is to change the world through funny, thoughtful TV and film.