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Meet Our Advisors & Mentors
We are honored to have incredible mentors join our non-profit mission and donate their time to help our mentees. These industry leaders offer insight, guidance, and connections to help emerging creatives navigate their next chapter in the entertainment industry.
We are continuously adding more advisors and mentors.
StreamFest Society Board
Fearon DeWeese
Co-Founder | Executive Director
Fearon DeWeese has a robust background in directing and producing, having served as the Experience Director at the Napa Valley Film Festival for eight years before transitioning to roles at Mill Valley Film Festival and Sundance Institute. In 2020, she co-founded Ashella Productions and quickly made a name for herself with the pilot for "UnCredited," winning the best new Director at San Diego Shorts Fest. Fearon's vision for StreamFest Society and Napa Valley StreamFest stems from her dedication to creating inclusive, family-friendly sets for working parents and amplifying underrepresented voices in the film industry. She is also passionate about creating experiences that bring human connection and a love for all forms of entertainment.
Juliana Folk
Co-Founder | Board President
Juliana Folk is an actress, writer, producer, and podcast host with a passion for storytelling that cuts straight to the heart. She started as an actor, but it didn’t take long to realize her true love wasn’t just performing—it was uncovering untold stories and bringing them to life. Her work dives deep into the pursuit of dreams, the struggle of self-discovery, and the beautifully chaotic human experience, creating characters that feel raw, real, and alive. Her time with the Napa Valley Film Festival lit a fire for indie film and showed her the power of amplifying voices that often go unheard. Now, as co-founder of Ashella Productions, Juliana splits her time between developing projects like her comedy feature Namasté B*tches, hosting her podcast, and building Napa Valley StreamFest. For Juliana, storytelling isn’t just what she does—it’s who she is. It’s messy, it’s honest, and it’s how she inspires people to dream bigger and live authentically.
Michael Fox
Board Vice President
Michael Fox is a veteran film festival executive working at Patron Circle Director for Napa Valley StreamFest and President and Executive Director of Mendocino Film Festival. Michael retired in 2019 and spends his time traveling and living between Houston, Texas and Palm Springs.
Festival Advisors
Adam Rose
Actor | Writer | Digital Creator
Adam Rose is an actor, writer, and digital creator with over 32 million followers and more than 1 billion monthly views. His viral original content has led to collaborations with major brands including Amazon, Disney, Toyota, Comcast, and Royal Caribbean.
With a career spanning film, television, and digital entertainment, Adam continues to make his mark both on and off screen. His recent projects include Tony Gilroy’s Behemoth, Amazon MGM Studios’ Goodbye Girl, and Paramount and Nickelodeon’s My Weird School. He is also developing an exciting slate of original film and television projects.
Kip Kroeger
Executive Producer
Kip Kroeger is a two-time Emmy Award-winning producer who never really expected to be a filmmaker. Growing up in North Carolina as the son of a doctor and a teacher, he earned a biology degree from NC State, thinking he might follow in his father’s footsteps. But a college documentary project changed everything. Ithuteng {Never Stop Learning} won awards at multiple film festivals, led to a $1 million Oprah Winfrey donation, and ultimately sold to HBO—setting Kip on a new path.
Kip has been working in television now for over 20 years, starting as a PA on the show Scrubs, and working his way up to producing a variety of shows including Ted Lasso, Shrinking, Dave, The Conners, Bad Monkey, Rooster, and many others. Kip’s experience has encompassed all aspects of production and post production. He is now the producer in charge of all things production and post production-related for Doozer Productions, which is the production company of show runner Bill Lawrence.
He is married to a former teacher turned PTA president from Northern California, and is the dad to 2 girls who make sure to keep him humble.
John Anthony Truchard
Founder | CEO, John Anthony Family Wines | Owner, Uptown Theatre
John Anthony Truchard grew up in his family’s Napa Valley vineyards and went on to study at UC Davis. He launched John Anthony Vineyards, whose first estate wines earned 92-point Wine Spectator scores. In 2008, he created JaM Cellars, home of JaM Cabernet and the household-name Butter Chardonnay. Since then, he has built a portfolio that includes Serial Wines, Weather Wines, the Johnny Tejas tequila soda, and Hachidori sake. John also owns the Uptown Theatre and Napa Music Hall, two of downtown Napa’s landmark live entertainment venues. More than two decades into the wine business, he is just getting started.
Rochelle Rose
SAG-AFTRA Foundation National Director of Performers Programs
Rochelle Rose is the National Director of Performers Programs at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, where she oversees the creation and delivery of innovative career-building programs for SAG-AFTRA artists around the world. Under her leadership, the Foundation’s programming has expanded to nearly 10,000 programs, providing performers with practical resources and insight to navigate and thrive in an evolving entertainment industry.
Rochelle also Executive Produces the 4x Emmy Award nominated children’s literacy series Storyline Online. In 2024, Meryl Streep received a Children’s and Family Emmy Award for her Storyline Online episode.
A classically trained actor, Rochelle has performed in Shakespeare for The BBC and played the Countess of Rothes in James Cameron’s Titanic. She serves on the board of BAFTA North America and is a member of SAG-AFTRA and the Television Academy. She served as a juror for the Napa Valley Film Festival and the Denver Film Festival.
Through her work as a performer, producer, and arts educator, Rochelle brings a broad perspective on storytelling, performance, and the craft of filmmaking.
Julia Cunningham
SiriusXM Radio Host
One of SiriusXM's signature voices for more than a decade, Julia Cunningham hosts The Julia Cunningham Show on Radio Andy, where she unpacks the biggest moments in pop culture, recaps must-watch TV, and interviews A-list celebrities.
A self-proclaimed pop culture obsessive, Julia holds multiple PhDs in the Laguna Beach cinematic universe, The Bachelor franchise, and Bravo. She will see any horror film in theaters, a proud Shrek-head, still believes she can vote for TRL, and has devoted an unreasonable number of hours to learning the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders' iconic "Thunderstruck" routine. Despite her best efforts, she cannot dance or sing.
Mark S. Allen
Producer | Actor | Director | TV Host
Mark S. Allen, a member of the Producers Guild Of America., is an American eight time Emmy Award-winning television producer/host; and, producer, writer, or director of multiple feature films including APParition with Mena Suvari and Kevin Pollak, Notorious Nick with Cody Christian and the FearPHarm franchise. He is the co-writer, co-director of the Eric Robert's thriller 616 Wilford Lane and director of the Cannes World Film Festival official selection and best dark comedy winner Amy's F- It List.
He is executive producer/host of the celebrity movie and streaming show “Take A Look,” and the Emmy Award-winning syndicated movie show Extra Butter TV and a cast member on ABC10 Morning news on KXTV in Sacramento.
Mentors
Kelli A. White
Producer | Line-Producer | Script Supervisor
After a couple of decades as an aviation accident investigator and emergency planner, Kelli fell in love with filmmaking and the teamwork it requires. She has produced or worked on 15 projects in the last 5 years. She produced Lost, Not Forgotten with a team from HBO’s Winning Time, and most recently co-EP’d I Really Love My Husband, which premiered at SXSW. Kelli has three goals as she selects her projects: work with a great team, do something meaningful, and have fun.
Brenda Strong
Actor | Director | Producer
Brenda Strong is an award winning actress, director and producer, perhaps best known for her seminal work on the ABC hit series Desperate Housewives as Mary Alice Young, which garnered her two Emmy Nominations and two SAG Awards. Her long and consistent work on Television and Film (Seinfeld, Dallas, Starship Troopers, Fear the Walking Dead, Supergirl, and most recently UnPrisoned, an ABC Signature/Onyx/Hulu production) has led her to find her voice behind the camera.
Her directorial debut short film, #3 Normandy Lane, had a successful 21 Film Festival run and won 12 Awards worldwide. She also directed two pivotal episodes of the hit series “13 Reasons Why” for Netflix in its fourth and final season.
Alex Trudeau Viriato
Editor | Producer
Alex Trudeau Viriato is an Emmy Award winning editor and producer in Santa Monica, California. His projects include the documentary series Simone Biles Rising, Thank You Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, and Killer Inside: The Mind Of Aaron Hernandez. He has made a career crafting stories about those who have reached the top of the mountain. From Jon Bon Jovi, to Tom Brady, Alex has learned from the elite few who are the greatest at what they do. All of this with the goal of telling stories that inspire and cause viewers to reevaluate their own perceptions and life situations.
Alexandria E. Martin
Producer
Alexandria is a California native, born in Oakland and raised in Fresno. She has produced across various media, from music videos to branded content and political ads, collaborating with companies from RCA Records to Netflix. She began her film career in independent filmmaking before joining Annapurna and later became a development executive at STX. She is currently an executive at Kas Kas Productions, with a deal at Lionsgate.
Aaron Abrams
Actor | Writer | Producer
Aaron Abrams is a versatile actor known for his roles in Hannibal, Masters of Sex, Rookie Blue, Slings & Arrows, and Children Ruin Everything. He won the FilmOut Award for Closet Monster and has starred in the Code 8 franchise and Nose to Tail. His upcoming films Levels, Clown in a Cornfield, and Best Boy are set for release in early 2025.
As a writer and producer, Abrams co-wrote the Netflix hit The Lovebirds and the acclaimed comedies The Go-Getters and Young People Fucking (TIFF 2008). He also produced The L.A. Complex for The CW and stars in Children Ruin Everything, Canada’s #1 comedy. His short film It’s Not What You Know won multiple awards and was a Vimeo Staff Pick.
Vincent Grashaw
Director | Producer
Vincent Grashaw is an acclaimed director, writer, producer, and editor known for his bold storytelling. He produced Bellflower (Sundance 2011), which earned two Independent Spirit Award nominations. His directorial debut, Coldwater (SXSW 2013), was followed by And Then I Go (LA Film Festival 2017), an adaptation of Jim Shepard’s Project X. His psychological horror What Josiah Saw (Fantasia 2021) received critical acclaim, earning a 91% Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and recognition as a top horror film of 2022. His latest films include Bang Bang (premiering at Tribeca 2024) and Keep Quiet, currently in post-production.
Christina Moore
Actor | Writer | Producer
Christina Moore is a multi-hyphenate with a prolific, successful career as an actor, writer, and producer. She has starred in more than 90 television shows and films since moving from Chicago to Los Angeles in 1995. She branched out and wrote two films in 2015, which led her to serve as lead creative producer on 16 films and 1 television series in the last 10 years. These projects have found homes on Netflix, HBO MAX, Amazon Prime, and TUBI, many reaching #1 globally. Her focus: excellent storytelling and high production value while creating a nurturing environment for talent to emerge in front of and behind the camera.
Ali Afshar
Actor | Producer | Race Car Driver
Ali Afshar is an actor, producer and race car driver. Born in Tehran, Iran, Afshar was forced to flee the country at five years old and arrived in the small town of Petaluma, CA. In 2001, Ali turned pro, racing for Subaru of America. Ali won 2 World Championships, 18 National Hot Rod Association championships and numerous world records, inspiring the first film he produced titled BORN TO RACE.
Creating ESX, Ali has thrived producing 24 films, all with a focus on diversity, underdog themes and the promise of the American Dream. These films include AMERICAN WRESTLER: THE WIZARD with Academy Award Winner Jon Voight, THE RIDE (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges), and BORN A CHAMPION (Dennis Quaid). In 2020 Ali produced A CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS, which became the #1 film worldwide on Netflix. Ali’s next 6 holiday films for MAX and NETFLIX all reached the #1 spot. In 2025, DAY OF RECKONING hit #1 on HBO Max Globally, and ESX produced 3 films: CASA GRANDE: THE MOVIE, DOUBLE TROUBLE, and WIND OF CHANGE. ESX has been housed on the Warner Bros lot since 2016.
Amey René
Casting Director
Artios-nominated casting director known for assembling bold, unforgettable ensembles. Her work spans more than 40 festival standouts (Sundance, SXSW, Cannes, and beyond) and includes breakout series like PENELOPE (Netflix) and EVERYTHING SUCKS! (Netflix).
Her latest independent series THE SCREENER, from frequent collaborator Jim Cummings, premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Coming soon to Hulu is NEVER CHANGE!, starring and written by John Reynolds and directed by Marty Schousboe, featuring an incredible ensemble of rising comedic stars. Upcoming SXSW 2026 premieres include STAGES, a Live Nation production spotlighting musicians from the Nashville and Austin scenes and featuring standout cameos from David Strathairn, Raúl Castillo, Leslie Grace, and Marc Menchaca, and THEIR TOWN, a two-hander starring Ora Duplass and Chosen Jacobs, directed by Katie Aselton and written by Mark Duplass, with the two leads carrying the camera for the entire film.
A trusted collaborator to indie icons and rising stars alike.
Interested in Being a Mentor?
Are you an industry leader ready to give back and shape the next wave of storytellers? Contact us to learn more about The Big P!VOT mentorship program and how you can make a meaningful impact.
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