Leadership

Beverly Gray, a film industry veteran, is the author of the bestselling Roger Corman: An Unauthorized Biography of the Godfather of Indie Filmmaking, which in paperback was tastefully retitled Roger Corman: Blood-Sucking Vampires, Flesh-Eating Cockroaches, and Driller Killers. She has also published Ron Howard: From Mayberry to the Moon . . . and Beyond, and, most recently, Seduced by Mrs. Robinson: How ‘The Graduate’ Became the Touchstone of a Generation. Her articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, the Hollywood Reporter, Family Circle, and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. She blogs twice weekly at Beverly in Movieland.

Lottie Joiner is the editor-in-chief of The Crisis magazine, the official publication of the NAACP, and a Washington, D.C.-based freelance writer. She writes about social justice and civil rights with a focus on issues that impact marginalized and underserved communities. Lottie’s work has been published in The Washington Post, USAToday, Time.com, TheAtlantic.com and The Daily Beast. Most recently she was named a 2019 Folio: 100 Honoree which recognizes media professionals in magazine and digital media.

Christopher Johnston has published more than 3,500 articles in numerous regional and national publications including American Theatre, Christian Science Monitor, History Magazine, and Scientific American. His book, Shattering Silences: Strategies to Prevent Sexual Assault, Heal Survivors, and Bring Assailants to Justice, was published by Skyhorse Publishers in May 2018. He teaches playwriting and creative nonfiction courses at Cleveland State University and a variety of workshops for the William M. Skirball Writers Center and Literary Cleveland. In 2020, Johnston received an Ohio Society of Professional Journalists award for best investigative reporting for a digital publication. In 2018 and 2019, he received an Ohio Arts Council grant and a Dramatists Guild Foundation Writer’s Alliance Grant. In 2019, he also received the Distinguished Professional Contribution Award from The Renee Jones Empowerment Center in Cleveland that provides a full spectrum of services to help women survivors of human trafficking recover.

Jennifer Billock is an award-winning writer, bestselling author, and writing coach. She has worked with businesses and publishers including the Smithsonian, The New York Times, National Geographic Traveler, Disney Books, The Atlantic, Kraft Foods, Midwest Living, Arcadia Publishing, and the MSU Press. She specializes in food, travel, history, and witchcraft. Check out her website at www.jenniferbillock.com, subscribe to her Substack at kitchenwitch.substack.com.

Merlisa Lawrence Corbett is a Central Florida-based independent journalist and author who writes about sports, home and garden, and real estate. She is the author of the book, “Serena Williams: Tennis Champion, Sports Legend, and Cultural Heroine.”

A former tennis columnist for Bleacher Report and reporter for Sports Illustrated, Lawrence Corbett wrote the foreword for Arthur Ashe Jr’s. “A Hard Road To Glory: A History Of The African American Athlete: Track and Field.” She covered sports for the Tampa Bay Times, Tampa Tribune, and Pittsburgh Press.

Her work has also appeared in The Guardian, Essence, AARP, Black Enterprise, HGTV.com, Apartment Therapy, Capitol File, TennisView, First and Pen, and AJC.com (Atlanta Journal-Consititiuion). www.merlisa.com

Holly is an award-winning writer, a profiles editor for Literary Mama, a drama teacher, and a mom. She covers many topics though her passion lies in parenting and family relationships. Her articles and essays appear in Parents, The New York Daily News, The Independent, Newsday, Kveller, Huffington Post, Psycom, and more. Holly won Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition awards for her NextAvenue profile, “Women Share Tales at Stories Around the Table,” some of her Parents’ articles, and her short story “Three.” She has spoken on panels at the ASJA Conference and HerStories Project. Her essay, “Hippo Tent,” will be featured in Literary Mama’s forthcoming Anthology. She’s working on a book about her interfaith family. Check out her website www.hollyrizzutopalker.com