ADILAH BARNES co-founded the Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival in 1993. She is a producer, award-winning actor, acting teacher, author, talk show host and writer’s retreat proprietor.  A film, television and stage actor, her internationally toured solo show, I Am That I Am: Woman, Black has toured three continents including North America (including the US and the Caribbean), Africa and Europe. She owns and operates The Writers Well a writer’s retreat for women in Atlanta.  She has also taught writing classes for LAWTF’s Wisdom Wednesdays solo writing workshop.  Adilah is a member of Screen Actor’s Guild, AFTRA, and Actor’s Equity Association. She has received numerous awards. Recently the Adilah Barnes Arts and Literary Achievement Award Scholarship in Minneapolis was established in her name. She received her BA in Theatre Arts from the University of California at Santa Cruz.  Adilah@lawtf.com
DONESTHER DANE has a background in the entertainment industry’s casting world. She was Casting Coordinator for ABC for 10 years. She presently serves on the Festival and Finance Fundraising Committees of the Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival.  Donesther@lawtf.com
SHYLA LA’SHA is an accomplished entrepreneur in the fields of software consulting, music publishing and licensing. She managed the intellectual and technical capital of her own software consulting company and now runs Monoceros Music Group, a music publishing and production company.  Shyla's professional affiliations  include AFTRA, SAG, ASCAP, and The Recording Academy. An AFTRA LA Local Board Member, Shyla also serves on the following AFTRA committees:  Equal Employment Opportunity, Women's, Tri-Union Ivy Bethune Diversity Awards, Golf, and Organizing.  Shyla@lawtf.com
LYDIA NICOLE is a producer of the upcoming Showtime documentary Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy. She is an award-winning actor who’s credits include the highly acclaimed and Oscar nominated film Stand and Deliver. She is also a comedian, motivational speaker, and writer. Lydia has toured her biographical solo show Calling Up Papi nationally at various colleges, correctional facilities and for religious organizations. She is a member of SAG, AFTRA, AEA, NALIP, and WGA. Lydia@lawtf.com
R. SKY PALKOWITZ is an avant-garde multimedia performance artist, director, and educator, known widely as The Delusional Diva, who has performed numerous solo shows and taught acting around the country.   Sky holds an MFA from the University of Iowa , and was highly trained in the classics at the University of Delaware’s Professional Theatre Training Program. She has toured with the National Theatre for Children and Imagination Theatre. Sky was the Executive Director of the Women’s Theatre Company at the Hudson Avenue Theatre in Hollywood . Sky is a founding member of Rachel Rosenthal’s company, Fauve Conspiracy, and is the owner and president of Delusional Diva Productions, where she produces short films, music videos, clowning events, stand-up comedy and avant-garde theatrical performances.  Sky@lawtf.com
JULIA ROBINSON SHIMIZU is a non-profit professional who serves on several boards and advisory committees. She is presently Marketing Director at the Catalyst Foundation. Her essays have been published nationally in Colere, Quiet Mountain, The Sun, Independent Film and most recently, The Los Angeles Times. Her One Act play, Blinds was selected for “New PLAYS New Voices at UCLA”, the Marianne Murphy Women & Philanthropy Series. An excerpt from her memoir, “Drowning As Fast As I Can” was published with the International Museum of Women. Robinson Shimizu is a graduate of USC Master of Professional Writing Program and UCLA Japanese Language program.  Julia@lawtf.com
TERRIE SILVERMAN is a writer/performer, arts educator and theater director. She founded Creative Rites: Workshops for Writing, Performance and Creative Expression based on her interdisciplinary training in theater, playwriting, poetry, memoir and dance. Her work has been presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, The Getty, The HBO Workspace, KPFK Radio, UCLA’s World Arts and Cultures Dept., Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, Highways, F.A.R. (Foundation for Arts Resources) the Azatlan Center for International Women’s Day and various arts festivals. Ms. Silverman received a Master of Professional Writing (MPW) degree from USC and is an Artist-in-Residence at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center.  Terrie@lawtf.com