Liv Scott (they, them) - CO-WRITER, DIRECTOR, PRODUCER

Liv is a multi-disciplinary creator and system’s facilitator, who works within and outside of existing systems to nurture their capacity towards ecological, social, and individual healing. Since realizing at five that humans were destroying the home of their beloved stuffed sloth, Liv has been seeking to understand and address the roots of the climate crisis.

Now, with training in Biology, Systems Thinking and Collective Trauma, Liv uses this understanding of relationships to act at leverage points of perspective. This work has led Liv to elevating the intersection of global health and the climate crisis by designing an African-focused UN-side conference featuring the Director-General of WHO, former Presidents, and senior decision makers, and writing a report in partnership with Harvard Global Health Institute.

Liv is living on Mohican and Munsee Lenape lands in what is currently called Millerton, NY.

Dena Hysell-Cornejo (she, her) - CO-WRITER

Dena Hysell-Cornejo is restlessly creative, working across mediums depending on the direction the story takes her as a writer, director, photographer, producer, and multimedia artist. Her work has been recognized with top honors at multiple festivals (Toronto, Seattle, Indiana, NYFF), and acquired by major distributors.

After graduating from Stanford University, she has written, directed and produced for Eli Roth’s Crypt TV, Legacy Entertainment Partners, Drive Media and various other companies. She was featured in the 2017 Buzzfeed article on female directors talking about gender and representation in Hollywood. In 2020, Dena was in the inaugural cohort of “Writer’s Room 50/50”, a program to train and promote female and POC writers in television, and her pilot from the program, “Doomsday Clock”, has now been accepted into the 2021 Stowe Story Labs for development. When not on set, she spends her time traveling the world shooting photographs in some of the most remote locations.

Dena is living on Tongva, Kizh, and Chumash lands in what is currently called Los Angeles, CA.

Samantha Isom - (she, her) - UNDERWATER CINEMATOGRAPHER

Samantha's mother was gifted a brownie camera as a young adult and began documenting every waking moment of life, Samantha was soon to follow. Samantha spent years shooting on her own and working as a photo assistant and digital tech to some of the top image-makers in the business. Since then, she has incorporated more motion/video working both as a photographer, camera operator, and director of photography. She has shot all over the world and has created the online journal and travel show Brown Passport, which travels “through the eyes of a brown westerner”. In 2015 she began training to shoot underwater and received her PADI divemaster certificate in 2018. She has lived and worked in Chicago, New Orleans, Miami, Philadelphia, and spent a few months living and shooting in Hawai’i, and Indonesia.

Samantha is living on Munsee Lenape lands in what is currently called Brooklyn, NY.

Alec Simmons (he, him) - ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Alec Simmons is a filmmaker, occasional musician, and enthusiastic cook in the mid-Hudson Valley. Alec is committed to crafting socially substantive films while firmly situating them in the surreal and the weird. Since age eight, he’s been honing his experience in directing, cinematography, editing, visual effects, and sound design.

Born and raised in Ithaca, NY, Alec is on the staff of local documentary company PhotoSynthesis Productions, where he has worked as a motion graphics designer for the past eight years. His work also extends to freelance videography and post-production for both local and distant clients. But his deepest love is for making independent films, where he applies his technical and soft skills to every step of the process, start to finish. Alec’s independent work marries the humorous and improbable with deep earnestness and curiosity, in universes ablaze with vivid colors. His projects have taken him to obscure locations, learning opportunities, and film festivals all across upstate NY. Alec recently graduated from Bard College with a BA in Film & Electronic Arts.

Alec is living on Mohican and Munsee Lenape lands in what is currently called Tivoli, NY.

Natasha Fetkovich (she, her) - LINE PRODUCER

Natasha is a recent graduate from Bard College (2022, Bard Film Program). She is a freelance producer, script supervisor, and production assistant. Originally from Long Island, she has helped produce numerous short films and local projects throughout Long Island, Manhattan, and the Hudson Valley. She gravitates towards projects with strong personal or local meaning and enjoys collaboration with other creatives to make stories come to life!

Natasha is living on Mohican and Munsee Lenape lands in what is currently called Red Hook, NY.

Douglas Lau - (he, him) - CINEMATOGRAPHER

Douglas Lau is a Narrative Director of Photography, Steadicam Operator, and Photographer.​ He spent most of his childhood and adolescence in Hong Kong, where he was indoctrinated into the cult of Hong Kong's Golden Age of Cinema. His roots in storytelling started with street photography, which slowly and steadily morphed into photojournalism, and now cinematography. Whilst shooting for local and international publications during the 2019 Social Movement in Hong Kong, he joined the World Scholar's Cup team as the first-ever photographer, traveling around the world and photographing events all across the globe.  After 38 countries (and counting!) and over 200 events, he hung up his photography career in exchange for one in film.

After receiving offers from Top Film Schools in the US and China, Douglas decided to drop out after a semester during the peak of the Covid-19 outbreak to pursue film full time. He worked as a Steadicam Operator and DOP in Mainland China for two years before moving back to the US and relocating to Philadelphia. Douglas speaks English, Cantonese, and Mandarin; writes and reads simplified and traditional Chinese characters.  He holds citizenship in the US, Mainland China, and Hong Kong.

Douglas is living on Lenni-Lenape lands in what is currently called Philadelphia, PA.

SHANESHA BROOKS (she, her) - GRANT WRITER

Shanesha Brooks is an artist and advocate based in Phoenix, AZ and Los Angeles, CA. As an alum from the University of Southern California School of Social Work, she intertwines her passion for the Arts and social justice by creating innovative ways to empower youth in underrepresented communities while raising awareness in education, self-love, and mental health. Shanesha uses her experience as an advocate to develop authentic relationships to understand each person’s narrative and translating it into visual storytelling.

Expanding her knowledge and skills to the film and television industry, she is currently working on a documentary centered on youth development. Shanesha also creates artwork that highlights the natural beauty and excellence of Black and Brown communities under the name Soulific Artwork. She has also storyboarded music videos for local Arizona artists, such as Lish. When she is not creating, Shanesha is supporting businesses and individuals through fundraising, program development, branding, and counseling.

Shanesha is living on Hohokam lands in what is currently called Phoenix, AZ.

ALLY RYAN (she, her) - POOL CASTING DIRECTOR

Since childhood, Ally Ryan has explored many forms of creativity and performing arts. A lover of animals and the environment, she is excited to combine her passion for the beauty in the world with her love of film. She is a recent graduate of UNC School of the Arts with a BFA in Filmmaking and a concentration in producing. After interning for Blue Water Entertainment and helping to facilitate the Blue Water Film Festival, she found a love for nature and conservation documentaries. As an empath, Ally loves meeting and collaborating with other artists. She loves helping others discover and express their talents and skills.

Ally is currently living on Lumbee and Skaruhreh lands in what is currently called Wake Forest, NC.

HENNA CHOU (she, they) - COMPOSER

Henna Chou is a Geographic Information Systems Analyst and musician residing in Austin, Texas. She is a volunteer steering team member of COTFG, a non-profit organization dedicated to the proliferation of creative music and future-minded expressions. Chou has contributed music for community theater in Austin, TX and has performed in a number of local and touring ensembles as a keyboardist, cellist, guitarist, and sound artist.

Henna is living on Tonkawa, Comanche, and Apache lands in what is currently called Austin, TX.

Desdemona Dallas (they, them) - PHOTOGRAPHER & VIDEOGRAPHER

Desdemona Dallas is a non-binary filmmaker and photographer. Their work focuses on the power of personal narrative and capturing the transformation of one’s intimate experience over time. The photographic images they create are windows into worlds that people can find home within. Through their film and photography work Desdemona hopes to show the human element that connects us all, thus bringing the audience back to a centered perspective of themselves and the world around them. with a belief that the personal can impact the larger cultural perspective.

Currently they are writing and directing Survivor's Toolbox, an informational video series aiding survivors of sexual violence in the aftermath of assault.

Desdemona is living on Munsee Lenape lands in what is currently called Brooklyn, NY.

CELIA TEWEY (she, her) - WEBSITE DESIGNER & BRANDING CREATOR

Celia Tewey a producer, photographer, and visual artist based in New York City and Boulder, Colorado. She is currently a student at New York University pursuing a major in Film and Television Production with quad-minors in Journalism, Bioethics, Entertainment Producing, and BEMT (business, entertainment, and media technologies). She has a passion for producing meaningful films and hopes to use her skills.

Celia has been creating content from a very young age and hopes to use her skills in journalism and producing to work in the documentary, animation, and film worlds.

Celia is living between Lenape land and Arapahoe land in what is currently called Manhattan, NYC and Boulder, Colorado.

CLARA RICHARDS (she, her) - COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Clara Richards is a dreamer, introvert, and a hype man for creatives everywhere. As a trained anthropologist and a professional community coordinator she is always searching for ways to support vibrant communities. After graduating from her liberal arts college, St. Mary's College of Maryland, with a degree in Cultural Anthropology and Master's of Public Health in Behavioral and Community Health Clara has been finding ways to marry her deep appreciation of art and culture with the practical programing of community wellness. Previously, Clara has designed and instructed college level courses Global Public Health Anthropology, Medical Anthropology integrating community engagement. Her mission is to create healthy community spaces that foster creativity and support meaningful connections through creative projects.

She is currently a program coordinator for local community programs and founder and CEO of The Community Cooperative, a social organization dedicated to creating inviting social spaces for people to connect, grow, and collaborate. She is excited to bring these experience to the Emergence of Heart team.

Clara is living on Susquehannock lands in what is currently known as Columbia, MD.

Liting Tan (they, them) - Regeneration MC, Co-Producer

Liting Tan graduated from the Graduate Institute of Theatre Performance and Playwriting at the Taipei National University of Arts with an MFA in Directing. Liting’s work centers on queer performance and gender. Their past works include Journey to The Jest: A Pilgrimage in 72 Transformations (Drag Royals Taiwan 2022), O-Life’s A Drag! (Taipei Blooming 2021), Pretty Butch (Taipei Arts Festival 2018 and M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2017), The Truth About Lying (The Finger Players, Singapore) and Taking The Subs (The Substation Director’s Lab, Singapore). Liting is also affectionately known as drag king Uncle Southside Tingles and performs regularly with Drag Royals Taiwan. Liting likes guitars, sneakers and referring to Liting in third person.

Uncle Southside is currently living on Ketagalan Basay lands in what is currently called Taipei, Taiwan.