OUR TEAM
For Underrepresented Creators and Entrepreneurs, by Underrepresented Creators and Entrepreneurs
Mahyad Tousi
Mahyad Tousi is a multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker whose work moves fluidly between Hollywood and the art world. His projects span network television to major museum installations—including REMOTE (with Mika Rottenberg), which premiered at the New York Film Festival and Tate Modern and now resides in major European museum collections. He is currently in production on two new works: a follow-up to REMOTE, combining video, animation, and performance; and CURA, a large-scale, multi-channel immersive installation and non-verbal work of cinematic ritual shaped through sound, video, vibration, and architecture.
Tousi’s practice centers on the intersection of cinematic arts, immersive narratives, and social impact. His films and installations explore consciousness, ecology, and technology through non-verbal, experiential forms that invite audiences to feel rather than analyze. Before moving into long-form work, he spent years as a conflict-zone documentarian and has worked in more than fifty countries—an experience that continues to shape his eye and approach.
BOARD PRESIDENT & MANAGING PARTNER
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Across more than two decades of cinema, television, print, visual art, and stage, Tousi has written, produced, and consulted on a wide range of projects. His screen work includes serving as writer and executive producer on CBS’s United States of Al and ABC’s Of Kings & Prophets, and his collaborations with Mika Rottenberg have been exhibited at institutions including SF MoMA, X Museum Beijing, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul, and the Moderna Museet. He has contributed to dozens of independent films, studio features, narrative and unscripted series, Broadway productions, and visual art projects shown at museums and biennials worldwide.
Starfish is the evolution of Tousi’s long-standing commitment to creative ecosystems. He previously co-founded BoomGen Studios (with Reza Aslan), a pioneering incubator and producer of films and television rooted in the cultures of the greater Middle East. At Starfish, his creative practice expands into supporting a diverse cohort of mid-career artists reimagining distribution, performance, civic practice, and community-based storytelling across multiple mediums. Starfish is developing ROOT—a peer-to-peer model that allows each project to operate as its own sovereign app for fundraising, distribution, and long-term value-sharing.Tousi serves on the Advisory Board of MIT’s Center for Advanced Virtuality, supporting research at the intersection of immersive media, culture, and emerging technologies. A first-generation Iranian American who came to the U.S. as a teenager, his work is rooted in the meeting point of cultures and ideas, exploring themes of belonging, connection, and community. His current project, CURA, builds on years of collaboration with two Indigenous communities in the Amazon Rainforest—what he calls the most consequential conflict zone of our time.
Sian Morson
BOARD MEMBER, MEDIA TECH INVESTMENTS & MARKETING LEAD
Sian Morson is a trailblazer in the fields of entrepreneurship, investment, and web3. Renowned for her thought leadership and innovative ideas. Her influence transcends multiple domains, from mobile app development and beauty tech to web3 spaces and venture capital.
As an entrepreneur, Sian is the CEO of Kollective Mobile, a boutique mobile development studio that has carved out a niche in delivering unparalleled mobile experiences. She is also the mind behind Cast Beauty, a data-driven beauty recommendation app that gained widespread acclaim and was eventually acquired.
For her innovations in the beauty tech space, Morson was honored with the L’Oréal Women in Digital Award, recognizing her gift for blending technology and aesthetics seamlessly.
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Sian took her entrepreneurship acumen to the next level when she became the first Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) at Cross Culture Ventures, working alongside industry veterans Troy Carter and Marlon Nichols. She has also been an active angel investor and startup advisor, providing mentorship and expertise to budding entrepreneurs at Techstars, Backstage, and other incubators.
As the founder of TheBlkChain, Morson has become a leading voice for culture and creativity in web3. This online platform has quickly become a hub for underrepresented artists and collectors in the NFT space, giving them a much-needed platform to amplify their work. In recognition of her contributions, she was awarded the NEAR Foundation Women in Web3 Changemakers Award for 2023.
Sian is not only an art curator but also a passionate collector and artist, having showcased her work in multiple exhibitions. She has also authored two books on iOS design—*Learn Design for iOS* and Designing for iOS with Sketch, the latter being the first book ever written on Sketch for iOS design and was #1 seller on Amazon.
Sian seamlessly weaves through the diverse sectors of technology, investment, art, and social impact. She is consistently pushing the boundaries of what is possible and setting new standards in every field she touches. Sian holds a degree in Film & Television from New York University and a Master’s in Electronic Art from Middlesex University and has been featured in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Essence, Ebony, Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Bloomberg.
Mauricio Mota
PARTNER, ARTIST-ENTREPRENEUR STRATEGY & INVESTMENT LEAD
Mauricio Mota is an investor and entrepreneur with 25 years experience across Edtech, Media, Entertainment and Impact Investing in the US and Latin America. Recently he founded Ashé Audio Ventures with JuVee Productions, Viola Davis’s and Julius Tennon production company. He also served as executive producer of East Los High, an award-winning drama series that earned 6 Emmy nominations during its run on Hulu for its realistic portrayal of Latino high school students. The show also became a global case of Impact Investing and how Social Impact for its partnerships with philanthropies and non-profits.
Mota began his career as an entrepreneur at the age of 15 when he developed a storytelling board game, which he sold door-to-door all over Brazil. It is now present in over 5,000 schools. It later became a YA book collection and has been used by many Forbes 500 companies and the United Nations to foster creativity and innovation for their Millennium Development Goals. The game’s patent was used as the foundation for a literacy social network employed by 700,000 kids in public schools across the city of Rio de Janeiro.
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Later, Mota founded multiple companies, pioneering multi-platform content by designing and creating products and content for TV channels, Audiobook companies, movie studios, and advertisers globally. Mauricio was the first Latin American to speak at the Futures of Entertainment conference at MIT. He has been a judge on many international juries, such as Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, Festival of Media, the Emmys, and the One Show. Mota represents the 4th generation of one of the most important Latin American storytelling legacies and has helped his mother re-shape the estate created by his grandfather, Nelson Rodrigues, who is considered the Brazilian Shakespeare, into the largest and most diverse IP estate in Latin America. Most recently, he designed The School of Series, a TV series/IP development lab that aims to shape the next generation of showrunners and content creators in Brazil.
Mauricio currently serves as a General Partner of Starfish, an organization built by artist-entrepreneurs of color to help other underserved artist-entrepreneurs turn their culture-defining ideas into career-defining ventures. He sits on the boards of Young Storytellers (a non-profit focused on mentoring low-income students through storytelling), A Call To Men (non-profit focused on reshaping manhood in society), the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and the Center for Third Space at the Annenberg School (an Institute focused on shaping the next generation of business leaders). Mauricio also has spoken for national and international audiences including the World Bank, The White House Fellowship and the State Department.
Luis Castro
BOARD MEMBER, DEVELOPMENT & STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS LEAD
Luis Castro is an accomplished strategist and creative producer with two decades of experience developing and executing strategies to create a more diverse and inclusive entertainment industry. As a producer, Luis works with diverse storytellers to develop TV, film and multiplatform projects that change the cultural narrative. Through his consulting practice, Luis works with institutions large and small – from global media companies to groundbreaking nonprofit organizations and innovative funders – to design and implement integrated and impactful inclusion strategies, organizations, and creative talent development initiatives. Luis specializes in integrating equity into overall strategy, program design, implementation, and operations.
Luis was an executive in programming at HBO in Los Angeles, where he devised a comprehensive equity strategy and worked across film and television to expand the network’s relationships with diverse creators, find new scripted projects, and identify diverse writers for existing shows. Before joining HBO, Luis led corporate grant-making as Executive Director of Philanthropic Initiatives at Time Warner.
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Luis was Acting Commissioner of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, overseeing the agency charged with supporting and promoting NYC’s multibillion-dollar film, TV, and theater industry. Luis began his career in Washington, DC, as a legislative aide to U.S. Senator Paul Simon and served as a legislative advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Education. Luis served as a Senior Fellow of TV Storytelling and Culture Change at The Pop Culture Collaborative. He was a member of the TONY Awards Nominating Committee and served as an advisor to The Sundance Institute Theater Program. He is on the Board of Directors of New Dramatists and the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival. Luis lives in Garrison, NY, with his wife and 13-year-old son.
Luis was born and raised on Chicago’s southside, the son and grandson of Mexican immigrants. His mother emigrated to the United States from Guanajuato. Luis’ paternal grandparents came to South Chicago in the 1920s to work in the steel mills. They helped build the community and parish that made up the first Mexican settlement in Chicago. Luis’ late father, Ray Castro, was a prominent community and political activist.
Teni Lanre-Amos
PROGRAM ADMIN AND COORDINATOR
Teni Lanre-Amos is a multifaceted strategist and art producer who brings extensive experience in the social sector, creative organizing, and artistic practice to their role as Starfish's project coordinator, where she will support day-to-day operations, strategic planning, organization, and program management. With a foundation in Economics from Yale University, Teni's career has focused on the intersection of creativity, community, and impact.
In their consulting work with The Bridgespan Group, Teni helped numerous nonprofits such as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Black Girls Code navigate strategic growth and transformation in engagements ranging from strategic planning to operating model design. She also supported multiple philanthropic partners like The Audacious Project and Blue Meridian Partners in mobilizing over $1 billion in funding to organizations dedicated to the arts, education, and community care. Additionally, Teni has authored articles and facilitated webinars on key topics such as strategic planning and talent development.
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Beyond consulting, Teni is deeply embedded in the art community as both an artist and an organizer. They have curated large-scale programs including fashion shows, workshops, and exhibitions featuring over 60 artists across various disciplines, and have created works spanning dance, painting, photography, and fashion. This dual perspective—as both a strategic advisor to arts organizations and a practicing artist—positions Teni uniquely to support Starfish's operational excellence and programmatic growth.
Jess Lee
CHIEF OF STAFF
Jess Lee is an experimental documentary filmmaker and cultural producer whose work sits at the intersection of artistic practice, institutional collaboration, and the operational infrastructure that sustains creative ecosystems. She serves as Chief of Staff at Starfish, where she translates ambitious creative visions into durable organizational frameworks.
She has held long-term roles at nonprofit arts and media organizations including Downtown Community Television Center (DCTV) and Triple Canopy, as well as with independent film distributors and museums such as Icarus Films, First Run Features, California Newsreel, OVID, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
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From 2021–2022, Jess served as project manager for The Worlds We Speak, a half-million-dollar permanent public art installation commissioned for Delta Air Lines' Terminal C at LaGuardia Airport in partnership with the Queens Museum. The work visualizes the more than 700 languages spoken across the New York metropolitan area through hundreds of handmade ceramic tiles — transforming linguistic data into a material expression of cultural presence within a major public transit hub. Jess led the project across all phases of planning and execution, coordinating a global team of artists, fabricators, and institutional partners to realize a complex, site-specific work in a highly regulated environment.
Across these roles, her work reflects a sustained commitment to supporting artists, strengthening nonprofit cultural infrastructure, and enabling collaborative processes grounded in experimentation, equity, and collective storytelling.
Vikram Singh
DIGITAL STRATEGIST (FOUNDING MEMBER)
Vikram Singh is a full-stack developer and digital strategist who joined Starfish as a founding member in 2019, building the organization's initial online identity, brand presence, and website infrastructure.
Singh works in digital strategies at the Foundation for California Community Colleges, supporting technology solutions that serve California's 115+ community colleges and 2.1 million students—the largest and most diverse system of higher education in the nation. Vikram has also supported Starfish founders Mahyad Tousi and Reza Aslan in the promotion of their primetime dramedy United States of Al on CB, Reza’s book An American Martyr in Persia, and Mahyad’s short film Remote.
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With an eye on system building and harmony, Singh worked for the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative, where he managed the Los Angeles headquarters, led digital strategy, and collaborated with Forest Whitaker on film and television projects while coordinating operations across South Sudan, Uganda, Mexico, and Paris. His earlier career in journalism included positions at New Delhi Television 24x7 in India and the San Francisco Business Times.
Singh studied journalism at San Francisco State University and holds an MIT professional certification in full-stack web development. An aspiring writer who has spent his career telling stories through other means—journalism, brand-building, digital strategy—he is drawn to Starfish's mission of helping artists turn vision into sustainable practice.
Alesia Weston
ADVISOR (FORMER FOUNDING BOARD MEMBER)
Alesia Weston is Chief of Creative at FLOODLIGHT, founded in partnership with OCCRP (Organizational Crime and Corruption Reporting Project) and the Gabriel Garcia Marquez Foundation (Fundación Gabo). Floodlight’s annual Summit brings global investigative reporters together with film and television luminaries to adapt their investigations for a broader audience. She led the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program, International for a decade, establishing the screenwriters’ labs and overseeing the grant programs for filmmakers across 5 continents.
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She was the Executive Director of the Jerusalem Film Festival, Cinematheque and Archives and later, an advisor to Martin Scorsese and his work supporting emerging auteurs. She was part of the founding team and creative leads at Starfish and has served as Guest Curator for the Beirut and New Zealand film festivals. Growing up in 5 countries has bred the deep curiosity that guides her work. She is a graduate of Georgetown University and did her post graduate studies at University College London.
Reza Aslan
BOARD CHAIR, ADVISOR
Reza Aslan is a renowned writer, commentator, professor, Emmy- and Peabody-nominated producer, and scholar of religions. A recipient of the prestigious James Joyce award, Aslan is the author of three internationally best-selling books, including the #1 New York Times Bestseller, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth. His producing credits include the acclaimed HBO series The Leftovers and the hit CBS comedy United States of Al. He is the host and Executive Producer of CNN’s Believer and Rough Draft with Reza Aslan, as well as co-host along with Rainn Wilson of the podcast Metaphysical Milkshake.
His newest book, An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville, was nominated for the PEN/Jacqueline Beograd Weld Award for Biography.
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Aslan’s first book, the International Bestseller No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam, has been translated into twenty languages, and was named one of the 100 most important books of the last decade by Blackwell Publishers. He is also the author of Beyond Fundamentalism: Confronting Religious Extremism in a Globalized Age (originally titled How to Win a Cosmic War), as well as editor of two volumes: Tablet and Pen: Literary Landscapes from the Modern Middle East, and Muslims and Jews in America: Commonalties, Contentions, and Complexities.
Aslan’s degrees include a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from Santa Clara University (Major focus: New Testament; Minor: Greek), a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard University (Major focus: History of Religions), a PhD in the Sociology of Religions from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa, where he was named the Truman Capote Fellow in Fiction.
Aslan is Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside and serves on the board of trustees for the Chicago Theological Seminary and The Yale Humanist Community, which supports atheists, agnostics, and humanists at home and abroad. A member of the American Academy of Religions, the Society of Biblical Literature, and the International Qur’anic Studies Association, Aslan’s previous academic positions include the Wallerstein Distinguished Professor of Religion, Community and Conflict at Drew University in New Jersey (2012-2013), and Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion at the University of Iowa (2000-2003).
Born in Iran, he lives in Los Angeles with his wife and their four children.
Jamie Bennett
ADVISOR
Jamie Bennett [he/him] is the interim co-CEO of Americans for the Arts, working alongside Suzy Delvalle.
Through a partnership with Lord Cultural Resources, Jamie consults with nonprofits, philanthropy, and governments across rural, suburban, Tribal, and urban geographies. Recent clients include the American Museum of Natural History, Barr Foundation The BIG We, Design Studio for Social Intervention, Greater Columbus Arts Council, MacArthur Foundation, Museum Trustee Association, National Endowment for the Arts, PolicyLink, One Beat, and Walk with Amal.
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Previously, Jamie was the Executive Director of ArtPlace America, interim CEO of United States Artists and Chief of Staff at the National Endowment for the Arts in President Obama’s administration and at the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs in Mayor Bloomberg’s administration. Jamie worked at the Agnes Gund Foundation, New York Philharmonic, The Museum of Modern Art, and Columbia University.
Jamie’s volunteer service includes the David Rockefeller Fund, HERE Arts Center, The Heritage Center (Itówapi Owápazo) of the Red Cloud Indian School (Maȟpíya Lúta Owáyawa), Make Music Alliance, NeuroArts Blueprint, NEW INC, University of Toronto’s School of Cities, and Weeksville Heritage Center.
Jamie lives, works, worships, and plays in Brooklyn, NY and Toronto, Canada and has been sober since 2009.
Ruby Lerner
ADVISOR
Ruby Lerner is the founding Executive Director of Creative Capital, an innovative arts foundation that adapts venture capital concepts to support individual artists. Under her leadership, Creative Capital designed a comprehensive support system for artists that combined money with advisory support. It committed more than $40 million in financial and advisory support to 511 projects representing 642 artists. This commitment helped grantees leverage nearly $100 million in additional support. She stepped down from the organization in June 2016 to pursue consulting work and independent research.
In 2017, Lerner became the inaugural Senior Policy Advisor to the Herberger Institute at Arizona State University and Senior Advisor to the Patty Disney Center for Life and Work at CalArts. In 2018 she began serving as an Advisor to the Cultural and Art program at the Open Society Foundations, assisting in the design of the new Soros International Arts Fellowship. She continues to work with the program fellows.
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Prior to Creative Capital, from 1992-1998, Ruby Lerner served as the Executive Director of the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers (AIVF) and as Publisher of the highly regarded Independent Film and Video Monthly. Having worked regionally in both the performing arts and independent media fields through the 1980’s, she served as the Executive Director of Alternate ROOTS, a coalition of Southeastern performing artists, and IMAGE Film/Video Center, both based in Atlanta. In the late 1970s, she was the Audience Development Director at the Manhattan Theatre Club, one of New York's foremost nonprofit theaters.
A native of North Carolina, Lerner worked in the state's Visiting Artist Program following graduate work in theater at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Her undergraduate degree is in comparative religion from Goucher College. In 2016, Lerner was awarded honorary doctorate degrees from the Maryland Institute College of Art and Maine College of Art, and in 2020, she received a third honorary degree from Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia.
In her nearly 50 years in the arts, Ms. Lerner has written and lectured extensively, including at Harvard Business School (in conjunction with a Harvard Business School case study on Creative Capital) and for the University of North Carolina’s Entrepreneurship Program. She gave the 2016 Purchase College Jandon Business of the Arts Keynote, and has spoken at numerous schools across the nation, including CalArts, RISD, Columbia, Oberlin, Harvard, the University of Texas at Austin, Syracuse University and Arizona State University. She has frequently presented on arts issues at conferences and summits, including the Grantmakers for the Arts conference, the National Innovation Summit for Arts & Culture, IdeaFestival in Louisville and the Three Million Stories Conference at Arizona State University.
Lerner was a 30th Anniversary ArtTable Honoree (2011). She is recipient of the Art in General Visionary Award (2016), the John L. Haber Award from the University of North Carolina (2009), the Catalyst Award from the National Association of Artists Organizations (2007), the BAXten Award from the Brooklyn Arts Exchange (2007), a Creative Leadership Award from the Alliance of Artists Communities (2005), the Artist Advocate Award from the Alliance of New York State Arts Organizations (2003) and a Special Citation from Artists Space for her support of individual artists (2003).
Shortly after leaving Creative Capital, she was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. She also serves on the boards of Eyebeam Art and Technology Center and Light Industry. Her Advisory Board work includes New INC at the New Museum, Creative Capital, The Center for Artistic Activism, Missing Movies, The Ackland Art Museum at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, and Arts Everywhere, also at UNC-CH.