Co-Director

Betsy Hershey is an artist dedicated to humanitarian issues through her music and filmmaking. She co-founded Guest House Productions. Her first feature, NOT HERE, NOT THERE, followed a family of six Costa Rican siblings separated through undocumented immigration. Her second documentary, TODAY IS THE DAY, was a short film that examined the high rates of infant and maternal mortality among the Tarahumara tribe in Mexico. Both films screened at several domestic and international film festivals. Hershey has worked as a cinematographer and photographer for the Mind and Life Institute at their conferences in India, and at the residence of the Dalai Lama. As a musician, she has released two original albums under the name BETS and toured across the U.S., Canada, and Europe. She has combined her love of music and film to create music videos in support of prisoners of conscience, voting rights, and climate change that have screened at film festivals and had nearly two million views on Youtube.

Co-Director

Emma Staehr Johansen Wall is a first-time documentary filmmaker, child psychiatrist and co-founder of Guest House Productions. Born in Denmark, she received her BA in Psychology from Brown University, graduated from Oxford University Medical School with Honors, and completed residency and fellowship at Columbia and Cornell Universities. She was awarded the UCLA Max Gray Fellowship for Mood Disorder training and the Solsbery Endowed Fellowship to fund research on child detainees in the West Bank and Gaza. She has worked with Afghan and Syrian refugees in Greece, Tibetan refugees in Dharamsala, India, and volunteered in hospitals in Kyrgyzstan and South Africa. Most recently, she was a clinician and educator at UCLA and worked in the Los Angeles foster care system. Emma currently divides her time between Copenhagen and New York.

Executive Producer

Trevor Noah is a South African comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and former television host. He was the host of The Daily Show, an American late-night talk show and satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 2015 to 2022. Noah has won various awards, including two Primetime Emmy Awards. He was named one of "The 35 Most Powerful People in New York Media," and Time magazine named him one of the hundred most influential people in the world. "The Daily Show" host is no stranger to unpacking big political and cultural stories with his nightly monologue and news satire program. Trevor Noah serves as Executive Producer on Guerrilla Habeas as part of "The Turning Point," a documentary series that will tackle the big issues of the era — from voting rights to civil rights, human rights to climate change, to the fight for American democracy.

Executive Producer

Michael Sugar is an acclaimed producer, known for his Academy Award-winning work on "Spotlight," and his executive roles on "The OA" and "The Knick," earning him a Peabody Award. His contributions extend to documentaries, enriching his diverse portfolio. A member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Sugar is also committed to education, frequently lecturing at USC, NYU, Columbia, and AFI​​​​​​.

Editor

Nancy C. Kennedy is a New York-based, award-winning editor. Her many credits include Sundance Grand Jury winner WHY WE FIGHT (BBC Storyville/Arte/CBC), FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO, GREGORY CREWDSON: BRIEF ENCOUNTERS, SHE'S BEAUTIFUL WHEN SHE'S ANGRY, WHEN THE DRUM IS BEATING, ORCHESTRA OF EXILES, and WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS? Recent projects include THE JINX, a six-part doc series for HBO, FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO, and HARRY & SNOWMAN. Nancy has also worked for major networks on series such as American Experience, American Masters, National Geographic, and Saturday Night Live.

Assistant Editor

Anita Hei-Man Yu is a New York-based, multi-faceted assistant editor. After an early career in short-form videos and web series, she transitioned to feature documentary projects. She has assisted on several major feature documentaries, including Academy Award-nominated STRONG ISLAND, Academy Award-nominated HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING, and Academy Award Winner documentary short LEARNING TO SKATEBOARD IN A WARZONE (IF YOU’RE A GIRL). She has executed motion graphics for the feature documentary SHE’S BEAUTIFUL WHEN SHE’S ANGRY and THE PEOPLE VS. AGENT ORANGE. Recently, she co-edited the feature documentary FREE CHOL SOO LEE, with editors Aldo Velasco and Jean Tsien, which premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.

Archival Producer

Lewanne Jones is a New York City-based, Emmy-nominated archival producer, audio-visual researcher and project archivist. After beginning her career in the 1979 documentary THE TERROR AND THE TIME, she has researched or network and public television programs, museum installations, and university-sponsored educational websites. Lewanne's research encompasses archives around the world and subjects ranging from African American history to neuroscience. Her most recent News Emmy nomination was for her work on CURED in 2022. She has contributed to many award-winning projects, including ABC’s CENTURY, PBS’s AMERICAN EXPERIENCE and BLACK PANTHERS: VANGUARD OF THE REVOLUTION (Firelight Films), and REVERSING ROE (Netflix). She is currently consulting on several projects, including an independent documentary about a school of radical American women poets and another about the Native American history of California.

Composer

Chris Ruggiero is an Emmy-nominated Composer and music producer. His work includes the scores to Oscar-nominated MINDING THE GAP, LOS COMANDOS, I AM ANOTHER YOU, HOOLIGAN SPARROW, and the celebrated PBS series SOUNDBREAKING. His compositions have appeared in over 160 television series, such as THE VOICE, PAWN STARS, and AMERICAN PICKERS. As a music producer, Chris works with bands and artists across genres.

Consultant

Byron Young, MD is an emotional wellness program developer, consultant, and outpatient psychiatrist with LA County Department of Mental Healths Enhanced Specialized Foster Care Program. Dr. Young was born and raised in the New Orleans, LA metro area and attended Xavier University of Louisiana for undergrad and Tulane University School of Medicine for medical school. Dr. Young came to NYC for a general psychiatry residency at Hofstra Northshore-LIJ at Zucker Hillside and a child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at New York Presbyterian Hospital of Columbia and Cornell Universities. Dr. Young is passionate about being impactful in under-resourced and marginalized communities, particularly communities of color, in both his daily work with the LA County Dept of Mental Health and various community service projects. He participates in, consults on and develops creative programs and initiatives to serve as tools for the improved emotional wellness of citizens of LA, NYC, New Orleans and beyond. Dr. Young has also consulted with program development for organizations like Teen Hub Program of New York Presbyterian Hospital of Columbia and Cornell Universities as well as Google, the New York City Department of Health, and the LA County Department of Mental Health.

Consultant

Claudia Folgar is an educator and consultant who focuses on diversity, equity, inclusion and justice. She has developed workshops and lesson plans for students, employees, and parents that engage and teach about different cultures and global citizenship. She has also presented workshops on empathy and multiculturalism and how they can benefit the greater community. Claudia has delivered innovative strategies and created curriculums to promote accountability and awareness around microaggressions. She has also offered creative outlets to various constituents in order to foster a safe and supportive environment. Currently, Claudia is attending the Emerging Leaders Program sponsored by NYSAIS. In addition to her DEIJ work, Claudia is a designer who has attended Polimoda’s summer program in Florence, Italy, and the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City in their Continuing and Professional Studies Program.