Malakai is a director who describes her mission as “to be a disruptor by telling world-building and fantastical narratives that turn archetypes of the Black diaspora on its head.” She is the founder and CEO of the nonprofit Made in Her Image, which provides opportunities to women and nonbinary youth of color to create their own films, scripts, content and more.

Michelle K. Sugihara is the executive director of CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment), a nonprofit professional organization that supports emerging and established Asian and Pacific Islander creatives in Hollywood through fellowships, consulting and partnerships with production companies.

Vamsee Juluri is a professor of media studies and Asian studies at the University of San Francisco.

Ana López is a professor of communication, director of the Cuban and Caribbean Studies Institute, and associate provost for faculty affairs at Tulane University.

LeiLani Nishime is a professor of communication at the University of Washington.

Ted Van Alst is professor and chair of Indigenous Nations and Native American Studies at Portland State University.

Hua Hsu is an assistant professor of English and director of American Studies at Vassar College and a staff writer at The New Yorker.