BOARD MEMBERS

We are proud to introduce the dedicated individuals who serve on the board of Black Film Space.

  • Artesia Balthrop is a Brooklyn-bred storyteller and creative process manager whose career spans television,

    docuseries, branded content, and independent film. She has worked across flagship networks, boutique shops, and

    with independent filmmakers—bringing ideas to life everywhere from cable TV studios to music agencies and

    cultural institutions. Her credits include Eyes on the Prize: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest (HBO), Hell of a

    Week with Charlamagne Tha God (Comedy Central), Essence Festival and Essence.com’s award-winning digital

    content, JAY-Z’s viral Where I’m From documentary on the opening of Barclays Center, and the HBO-licensed short

    African Booty Scratcher (dir. Nikyatu Jusu). She has also led branded campaigns for Beats by Dre, L’Oréal, and New

    Balance, and produced cultural events such as Juneteenth in Queens.

    Artesia currently consults with labels and indie artists on content strategy, helping them design rollouts and

    creative ecosystems that amplify their work. She also collaborates with independent filmmakers to build

    production pipelines that move projects from vision to screen.

    She also teaches, ensuring the knowledge she has amassed flows to the next generation of storytellers and creative

    thinkers. A graduate of Duke University and Brooklyn Friends School, Artesia builds her projects on values of

    simplicity, equality, and community, always centering the connective power of story.

ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS

  • Chana is a cultural entrepreneur who has long been obsessed with storytelling and marketing that instigates a more equitable society. She has funneled this commitment into her work in beauty, retail, film, and publishing - all of which has centered on multicultural and inclusive audiences. Chana self-funded a subscription box company that featured books, lifestyle products and experiences curated by iconic Black women.

    This experience led to her role as founder/CEO at GEENIE, a culture-first beauty platform for undiscovered creators. For nearly a decade before GEENIE, Chana led digital marketing campaigns for Emmy award-winning and Oscar-nominated documentaries for film festivals, broadcast, and theatrical release; clients included PBS, Netflix, Discovery, Firelight Media, and various independent production companies. Beyond her film marketing experience, Chana is an Executive Producer on the hybrid narrative-documentary project, "I Love Bed-Stuy" (in production). Chana is also the author of the bestselling children’s book "An ABC of Equality"(with illustrations by Paulina Morgan), which introduces complicated concepts like equality, identity, and social justice.

    Chana is a thought leader at the corner of culture, community, and commerce; her work has been featured in Yahoo! Finance, Nasdaq, BET, Black Enterprise, Bustle, Coveteur, Essence, Vogue, and more. And she has participated in panels and fireside chats at CES, NRF’s Big Show, SXSW, The Female Quotient, Social Media Week, The Junior League (Seattle), plus dozens of elementary schools and libraries across the United States. Originally from Boston’s Black cultural center—Roxbury, Chana graduated from the University of Virginia and now calls Brooklyn, NY home.

    Chana is active in the city’s arts, social impact, and business communities; she's on the Board of Black Film Space (a non-profit supporting the careers of Black filmmakers); the Advisory Board of TheLi.st (a for-profit community of high impact women and non-binary folks across media, technology, and entrepreneurship); and she serves as a Career Advisor via Women NYC (a program of NYC Economic Development Corporation).

    Follow Chana: @Chanaewing

  • Hollann Sobers is a multidisciplinary leader and Production Executive overseeing cross-platform entertainment from conception through distribution in television, short film, documentaries, promos, and events.

    Hollann rose to the position of Production Executive in her time at Viacom, where she worked on documentaries under VH1’s award-winning Rock Docs franchise and various original series, including the launches of Love & Hip Hop and Black Ink Crew.  After VH1, she worked at Al Jazeera America and Sundance TV before joining Complex Networks in 2017 as the Director of Production.   Hollann worked across all original programming brands while building an infrastructure to support 30-plus series per year,  including some licensed by Netflix, Hulu, and Roku. Before leaving Complex, she executive produced the ComplexCon(versations) series and was Sr. Director of Integrated Development & Programming Operations, which entailed a combination of innovative content development, original programming, and operational excellence.

    Most recently, Hollann served as a Production Executive at Amazon Studios overseeing their unscripted programming.   In addition to being an active member of the  PGA, NYWIFT, and NAMIC, she is in her second term on the Television Academy’s Board of Governors representing the Production Executive Peer Group. Currently, she serves as Vice Chair of the Diversity Committee.

  • With over 15 years in television, Tiffanie Young is a production expert who devises production schedules and structures, writes budgets that receive network approval, and excels at building and fostering production teams that creatively and effectively produce outstanding programming. She has produced series, pilots and development projects in various genres including docu-soap, true crime, home renovation, style makeover, competition, culinary, clip shows, and more.

    Tiffanie oversees projects domestically and internationally, on location and in studio, with staff and crew ranging from 10 to 100+ people. She communicates and meets with network execs, reviews releases and contracts with legal prior to and throughout production, sets up payroll and insurance, creates cash flows and monitors network payment milestones, maintains detailed cost reports, liaises with talent agents and managers, and negotiates graphics and other vendor agreements.

    Strategizing success is a constant process, not just for a large-scale media company, but for the individual freelancer as well. Tiffanie recognized this early on in her career and began coaching clients on how to navigate their careers. Now, she offers her guidance to college seniors seeking to enter the industry.

    Some of Tiffanie's production credits are Beat Bobby Flay, BBQ Brawl: Flay V Symon, Flipping Exes, The Flay List, Love At First Swipe, Rachael Ray's Kids Cook Off, and What Not to Wear. She has produced projects for Food Network, TLC, Bravo, HGTV, Lifetime, and several others.

    Creatively, Tiffanie is the writer and producer of “It Is Finished,” a play first performed in 2012 and the screenwriter of “Back In The Game,” a feature-length script. She is passionate about developing programming that enhances family, faith, and social values.

    Tiffanie holds a Master of Arts in Producing for Film and TV, specializing in production management and entertainment law, and a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Media and Spanish from American University in Washington, DC.

    Follow Tiffanie: @Tiffanieyounglofton

    Visit her website: www.tiffanieyounglofton.com

  • Lande Yoosuf is a Nigerian-American novelist, screenwriter, filmmaker and co-founder of Black Film Space. She has 15 years of production, development and casting experience in non-fiction programming, and has worked with several networks, including MTV, A&E Networks, NBC, WEtv, and Bravo.

    Her short film, “Privilege Unhinged”, screened at the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival, Big Apple Film Festival, the DC Black Film Festival, aired on AMC’s Shorts TV and was a finalist for “Insecure” star Jean Elie’s short film contest under his company banner, Bassett House.

    Yoosuf’s second film, “Second Generation Wedding” screened at the Bronze Lens Film Festival, Black Girls Rock! Film Festival, and inspired the novel, “Ko-Foe.” She has an affinity for telling stories that explore media influence, sociology, gender/race relations, pop culture and self-image themes.

    Lande is currently developing a mixed slate of feature films, documentaries andtelevision pilots through her production company, One Scribe Media.

    Yoosuf directed Antu Yacob’s dramatic short film “Love in Submission”, which screened at the Afrikana Film Festival, Noire Film Festival and the New York African Film Festival. The film was accepted into the “Emerging Black Filmmaker Film Collection”, screened in over 60 theaters throughout the country, and was part of a diversity case study discussion about Hollywood at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.

    As Co-founder and Partnerships Director of Black Film Space, Lande works to contribute to expanded control, ownership and media management for content creators of African descent across all cinematic formats and content platforms. She served as a host, workshop facilitator,speaker and moderator for events with organizations like ARRAY, HBO, ABFF, BAM’s New Voices in Black Cinema, The Root and many others. Her speaking engagements received coverage from outlets such as The New York Times.

    Lande earned a Bachelors of Arts from Brooklyn College in Television and Radio, and honed her writing skills through classes taught by Jackson Taylor, the Associate Director at The New School’s Graduate Writing Program. In her spare time, she loves to sing, read, travel and spend time with her loved ones. She reps her Nigerian background proudly and holds down her hometown, the world-famous republic of Brooklyn, New York.

    Stay In touch with Lande @LandeYoosuf and @OneScribeMedia on all social media platforms, or through her website onescribemedia.com.

    If you would like to view Lande’s director reel, please do so here.

  • Roland Kennedy, Jr., is director of grants management. Prior to joining the Corporation, Kennedy led special projects and operations and served as internal liaison at Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Greenwood Initiative. During his time there, he helped transform a set of presidential campaign policies into a new philanthropic program focused on civic and economic justice for Black Americans, including accelerating the pace of wealth accumulation. Earlier for Bloomberg’s grants team, he led planning and operations for data governance projects and grantmaking portfolios for education, Bloomberg Connects, and Founder’s Projects.

    His earlier work experience at the Wellspring Philanthropic Fund, Democracy Fund, and Democracy Fund Voice included 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) grantmaking for effective U.S. and international governance practice, media and journalism, international peace, and atrocity prevention, as well as a focus on elections and voting issues.

    Kennedy earned his MS in international relations from Northeastern University and BA in global affairs from Villanova University.

  • Reggie is a comedic screenwriter/director and a non-comedic non-profit executive.

    In 2015, he co-founded Black Film Space. Through his leadership at BFS, Reggie has awarded grants, created skill-building programs, and fostered collaborations that have supported thousands of Black filmmakers in developing their craft and building community.



    In 2019 he wrote and directed a short film entitled an anomalous love, a romantic comedy about a Black atheist age gap relationship. an anomalous love screened at the Urban World Film Festival, the Pan African Film Festival and the Roxbury Film Festival.

    Most recently, Williams wrote and co-directed a comedic web series entitled Regular Negroes about five roommates in their 30's who struggle to level up in life.

    Regular Negroes won best comedic web series at Black Web Fest, was a finalist at the Charlotte Black Film Festival and Runner Up at the Denton Black Film Festival.

    Born and raised in Boston, Williams graduated from Emerson College with a degree in Writing For Film & TV. During this time Reggie performed at major comedy clubs in New England such as The Comedy Studio and The Providence Comedy Connection, organized shows at Emerson and wrote for Comedy Central.

    Reggie is committed to humanizing Black characters in his work through comedy and romance.

    Watch Reggie’s short, an anomalous love, here. Watch Regular Negroes here.

  • Jeanine Daniels is an acclaimed writer, producer, director, and actor who honed her skills at KCET, ABC, Warner Bros., and Disney Animation after college. In 2008, Jeanine co-founded Black&SexyTV, a digital content studio and distribution network focusing on content starring people of color. While there she spearheaded the network’s most successful shows, and optioned the first series she created, The Couple to HBO. Various other shows she created and/or produced were licensed to BET and Centric, including her first feature film, That Guy (The Movie). A spinoff of her That Guy series, Becoming Nia, is currently being studied at Spelman College.

    In 2015, Jeanine launched nine27 Entertainment, her own full service production company. Under her nine27 banner, Jeanine wrote, directed, and produced a series of 5 Black History Month vignettes for TV One. “The Soulcial Movement”, was a series featuring African-American agents of change who use social media as their primary tool for imparting positive change within social movements. Also in late 2015, Jeanine received an Honorable Mention Award from The African American Women in Cinema at the Women of Excellence Awards.

    Jeanine is currently creating original content and developing a digital platform that will highlight the voices and everyday stories of people of color. She thrives when she’s telling authentic stories about environments and people that aren't typically highlighted. Her old fans have followed her across platforms from YouTube to VHX to Periscope and Snapchat, while new ones are joining from the Netherlands, China, and Brazil. Her latest Snap thread, #midgnightmission, is just one of a handful that has caught the attention of publications like Essence magazine.

    She is repped by ICM Partners and managed by 5 Streams.

  • Stanley Delva is an artist and arts administrator who is deeply committed to uplifting and supporting the arts; his passion lies in supporting emerging filmmakers, artists, and small businesses through fundraising.

    As an artist and storyteller, he believes in fostering an equitable community and securing resources for historically marginalized people to better challenge dominant narratives. Stanley's artistic practice encompasses writing, filmmaking, photography, and curation. His fundraising and development experience includes work with organizations such as El Museo del Barrio, Cool Culture, Film-Maker’s Coop, and Brooklyn Arts Council.

    He actively supports arts funding through grant writing and has served as a grant panelist for the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), New York City’s Department for Cultural Affairs (DCLA), and the Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC).

    A Brooklyn bred, native New Yorker of Haitian descent, Stanley cherishes the Caribbean heritage seen across the city and has received a Bachelor's degree in English and African American Studies from Brooklyn College and a Master’s degree in Museum Studies from CUNY School of Professional Studies. 

  • Marissa Crespo, known as the “Culture Curator,” is an entertainment and intellectual property attorney who focuses on copyright and trademark brand protection for content creators in the film, television, literary, fashion, and music industries.

    Marissa has been involved in deals for television shows on major networks such as NBC, VH1, Bravo, BET, and WE tv, including such shows as Love and Hip-Hop and the Real Housewives franchises.

    She has successfully drafted and negotiated film deals for directors, writers, actors, and production companies and has functioned as production legal counsel on films that have premiered at Tribeca and Sundance.  

    A frequent writer and panelist on entertainment related issues, Marissa has been published by Thomson Reuters and in leading entertainment trade journals such as Columbia Journal of Law & the Arts and the New York Bar Association’s Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Journal.

    She is currently a freelance writer for Screencraft.

    Visit her website: crespolawoffice.net

  • Ms. Johnson has extensive experience in the areas of global philanthropy, public policy, healthcare and higher education. She has over fifteen years of experience advocating for the needs of underrepresented and raising funding globally to support society's greatest needs. Ms. Johnson is passionate about connecting corporations and individuals to social causes that matter most to them to help them accomplish their philanthropic goals.


    She previously served as Senior Development Officer at Freedom House, a global non-profit that strengthens, and defends democracy worldwide through programs that support frontline activists, research, and advocacy. We are leaders in identifying threats to civil liberties and political rights, and never in our 80-year history has our work mattered more. This role leads the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship activities of major gifts for a portfolio of 75-100 prospects which includes individuals and corporations.


    Ms. Johnson completed her Master of Science in Higher Education at Drexel University. She also received her undergraduate degree from Drexel University where she majored in International Area Studies, & minored in Africana Studies. One of her most memorable pastimes includes participating in study abroad programs. In the past, Ms. Johnson has conducted research in Ghana, Brazil, Costa Rica and continuously aspires to travel and learn about the commonalities that exist between different cultures.


    Prior to working at UNCF, Ms. Johnson has extensive experience in the field of intercultural engagement, law, and government. Her most memorable job experiences include working at the United Nations in New York City, and City Council in Philadelphia, and the New York State Unified Court System in New York. She is extremely passionate about the needs of underrepresented minorities and aspires to follow a career path that connects individuals and corporations to philanthropic causes that matter.