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.
Kyra Brown
Kyra Brown is a comedy writer and performer from just north of the middle of nowhere Massachusetts. She recently graduated from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts where she studied — you guessed it — cinematic arts. Kyra prides herself on writing every genre (within comedy of course) from rom-coms, to angsty YA dramedys, to musical parodies. She has worked in various writer’s room support staff roles at The Late Late Show with James Corden, NCIS: New Orleans, and currently on Them: Covenant, an upcoming Amazon Prime show. In addition to that, she has written for several web series and created and produced an all female sketch comedy website called www.yesbitches.com. Kyra is also a producer and host of a popular West Hollywood monthly stand up comedy show called Spilled Milk @spilledmilkcomedy. She has produced several other shows in the past and has performed stand up all over the country, including at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles. In her spare time, Kyra can be found painting, skiing, sleeping, eating chocolate, or cuddling a stranger’s dog on the sidewalk.
Noam Ash
Noam Ash first gained recognition as the creator of the hit web series My Gay Roommate and subsequent TV pilot Boy•Friends from Keshet Studios, which garnered over 11 million views and received critical acclaim from Vanity Fair and The New York Times. He appeared in HBO MAX’s The Other Two as well as starred in and executive produced The Influencers on Amazon Prime. Noam recently wrapped his debut feature, BOOKENDS, which he wrote as part of JWI and starred opposite Academy Award® Winner F. Murray Abraham and SAG Award® Winner Caroline Aaron. He is repped by Sweeney Entertainment and HJTH Law.
Rachel McKay Steele
Rachel McKay Steele is a writer and comedian from Charleston, SC, who recently left bagels and Brooklyn for sunny Los Angeles. She has studied comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater and has performed improv and stand-up around the country. Her solo show, Shiva for Anne Frank, premiered at the 2019 Hollywood Fringe Festival to rave reviews and won a Producer’s Encore Award. She has worked on numerous award-winning independent films, from Gayby to creative development for the Oscar-nominated What Happened Miss Simone? She is thrilled and humbled to be a part of the inaugural Jewish Writers’ Initiative, even though she never spells Initiative correctly on the first try. Rachel loves breakfast sandwiches, yoga, and her two rescue cats, Roxy and Esther.
Laurel Gans
Natalie knows that time is valuable, and she is determined to not waste a moment. A top efficiency expert, she has helped hundreds of businesses succeed through her time management techniques. She swears that if she had been with the Maccabees, she could have made the oil last for way longer than eight days. Unfortunately, […]
Victoria George
Adina Jacobs, a recently turned 13-year-old biracial teen who would love nothing more than to fade into the distance and forget the utter embarrassment she endured at her Bat Mitzvah, is forced to attend J-Camp, a.k.a. Jewish sleepaway camp, where she comes face to face with her archenemy, all while trying to navigate new friendships, […]
Marina Michelson
Marina Michelson is a writer, director, and actor originally from Tel Aviv, born to Soviet émigrés from the Republics of Georgia and Moldova. Her work explores identity and power through the everyday lives of women, as well as the rhythms of the contemporary immigrant experience. She holds a BFA in Theater from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and her short films have been recognized on the film festival circuit, including “Stagiaire,” which premiered at the 2021 Maryland Film Festival and “Biophilia,” which garnered the Outstanding Achievement Award for Best Screenplay at the 2018 Brooklyn Film Festival. She is currently in development on her first feature film, a coming-of-age refusenik story set in 1970s Soviet Union, with which she was a Top 50 Nicholl Fellowship semi-finalist, a Humanitas New Voices Fellowship semi-finalist, a 2024 fellow with NYU’s Production Lab Development Studio, and a 2025 recipient of NYU’s Production Lab Financing Slate.
Danielle Dardashti
Danielle Dardashti returns to her roots with this project – revisiting her family’s story and getting back to broadcasting. She’s a former TV/radio reporter and Emmy-winning documentary writer/producer. Danielle now leads storytelling workshops and advises companies on story strategy. She’s a Moth StorySLAM champ and co-founder of Storyboom, a live storytelling show. Danielle and her husband are co-authors of the Jewish Family Fun Book series.
Vi “SnappyDragon”
V (she/her) of the YouTube channel SnappyDragon, is a dressmaker, public historian, and videographer who explores the social realities of the past and present through fashion history. Her videos use everything from sewing techniques to TikTok trends and popular media to break down historical misconceptions and discuss topics such as representation, Jewish history, and disability justice.
Micah O’Konis + Marnina Schon
Micah O’Konis (they/he) and Marnina Schon (she/her) are a real-life couple who create sketch comedy together as Couplet and #NotARabbi. They wrote and performed the award-winning musical comedy More Guns! which ran for two years at Second City and toured to San Francisco. Marnina has also performed as an actor on stage with South Coast Rep, Center Theater Group, Berkeley Rep, and Story Pirates, as well as on screen in the upcoming series Chanshi with Henry Winkler, while Micah writes sketches at Upright Citizen’s Brigade, scores films, and releases music as Lookalike (feat. Marnina on violin and vocals).