The New Black

Yoruba Richen is a journalist and documentary filmmaker who has worked on films that have aired on HBO, A&E, and BET. Her award–winning documentary, Promised Land, received a Diverse Voices Co-Production fund award from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and aired on POV in 2010. The film screened at festivals around the world, premiering at the Full Frame Documentary Festival, and winning the Fledgling Fund Award for Social Issue Documentary. Richen was co-producer of Take It From Me, a POV-broadcast documentary exploring the effects of welfare reform on New York City women. Richen was also an associate producer for the investigative unit of ABC News, as well as a producer for the independent radio and television news program, Democracy Now. She is the recipient of numerous grants, including a Fulbright Award and an International Reporting Project (IRP) grant.

Yvonne Welbon is an award-winning independent filmmaker, producer, and media consultant. She has successfully produced and distributed more than 20 films, including Sisters in Cinema, Garbage!, The Revolution Starts at Home, That's My Face/É Minha Cara, and Living With Pride: Ruth Ellis @ 100, winner of 10 best documentary awards, including the GLAAD media award. Her films have screened on PBS, Starz/Encore, TV-ONE, IFC, Bravo, the Sundance Channel, BET, HBO, and in over 100 film festivals around the world, including Toronto, Berlin, and Sundance. As a consultant for independent filmmakers, she focuses on distribution and niche marketing employing social media. She has presented nationally on numerous topics including producing, the state of black independent cinema, and self-distribution. Welbon received a B.A. in History from Vassar College, completed a Masters of Fine Arts degree in film and video at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a Ph.D. in Radio/TV/Film at Northwestern University. She is also a graduate of the American Film Institute's Directing Workshop for Women.