OUR TEAM

For Underrepresented Creators and Entrepreneurs, by Underrepresented Creators and Entrepreneurs

Mahyad Tousi

Mahyad Tousi is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, and filmmaker whose work moves fluidly between Hollywood and the art world. His directorial debut, "REMOTE" (2022), co-created with Mika Rottenberg, premiered at the New York Film Festival and Tate Modern, and now resides in several permanent European museum collections. Currently, he is directing "CURA," a pioneering documentary designed as a mind-altering experience to reveal humanity's deep connection to the rainforest, and developing a follow-up to "REMOTE" with Hauser & Wirth. Previously, he executive produced the CBS primetime comedy "UNITED STATES OF AL."

A former conflict-zone documentarian who worked across 50 countries, Tousi has built a career at the intersection of entertainment and innovation. Over a two-decade career, he has written, produced, and consulted on over 25 film, TV, and Broadway productions, including blockbusters and notable independent collaborations with Jon Stewart and Oscar-nominated artist/director Julian Schnabel. His body of work spans documentary and narrative films, television series, video art, VR, interactive media, and comics. He is also the co-founder of BoomGen Studios, an independent incubator and producer of films and TV, and serves on the advisory boards of MIT's Center for Advanced Virtuality and Get Media Savvy, a collective advancing media literacy through pop culture and education.

FOUNDER & MANAGING PARTNER

  • Born in 1973 in Portland, OR and raised in Tehran, Tousi spent his childhood amid revolution, war, and sweeping social upheaval. He emigrated to the United States as a young teenager without his family and has called New York home for the last 29 years.

Sian Morson

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.

PARTNER, MEDIA TECH INVESTMENTS & MARKETING LEAD

  • 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.

  • 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

PHILANTHROPIC INVESTMENTS & 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.

  • 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.

Claire Salinda

General Manager

Claire oversees Starfish's day-to-day operations, coordinating closely with the executive team on program execution, budget management, and operations. She brings over fifteen years of experience to Starfish, including a background in steering startups, studios, agencies, and nonprofits toward success through holistic direction and impactful strategic planning. 

Claire's career trajectory has been shaped by dynamic, purpose-driven collaborations spanning in-house and fractional roles. Most recently, Claire focused on consultancy work, including her tenure as a consulting senior director of creative and brand operations at Daily Harvest, where she spearheaded transformative overhauls in team structures and operational processes. She has also held advisory roles with the architecture studio Social Works and with BEST, a branding and design agency.

  • Before her consultancy endeavors, Claire played a pivotal role at Buffy, contributing to the company's growth from its early stages by building the creative and brand teams, eventually assuming responsibilities as the Chief of Staff. Claire also spearheaded the launch of the Elevate mentorship program for high-growth startups in partnership with MIT for Venture Asheville, a public-private economic development initiative in North Carolina. Her ability to navigate high-level initiatives and foster diverse, inclusive environments has been instrumental in shaping her reputation as a trusted advisor and thought leader.

    Claire is also a writer whose essays have appeared or are forthcoming in the Los Angeles Times, Image magazine, The Surfer's Journal, The Missouri Review, Off-Assignment, Assay, G*Mob, Thrillist, and Pen and Ink, among others.

    Outside of her professional pursuits, Claire is deeply entrenched in her community, volunteering as the Executive Committee Secretary of the Surfrider Foundation's Los Angeles chapter and as a surf coach with INTRSXTN Surf, empowering marginalized communities in the surfing world and advocating for environmental conservation.

    Claire is based in Los Angeles, where she was born and raised. She spent most of her adult life in New York City, however, and credits her experiences in both the East and West Coast creative hubs with her expansive, iterative approach to her work (as well as with her inability to declare an allegiance to either coast).

Alesia Weston

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.

  • 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

Rez Aslan is a co-founder of Starfish and an internationally renowned writer, commentator, professor, Emmy-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, the Chuck Lorre comedy United States of Al. He is the host and Executive Producer of Rough Draft with Reza Aslan and Metaphysical Milkshake with Rainn Wilson.

Diana Williams

ADVISOR

Diana Williams is the CEO & Co-founder of Kinetic Energy Entertainment, a multi-platform venture studio that partners with creators at the intersection of story and technology to build business in support of story-based IP. Kinetic’s slate includes political sim videogame Political Arena, entrepreneurship podcast series Founder Hustle, YA sci-fi adventure Space Hoppers, a TV series adaptation of The Gatecrashers comic, art+story publishing venture with Davide Bianca’s Shifting Tides, a TV series in development at HBO and a documentary feature film in post-production with Apple+. 

  • Prior to Kinetic, Diana was the Creative Development and Franchise Producer at Lucasfilm for the Star Wars universe, as well as helped launch Oscar™-winning ILMxLAB. She has consulted with tech companies, studios and streamers. An award-winning producer, her credits include the critically acclaimed feature film Our Song for which she received an Independent Spirit Award nomination, Room 237 and Industrial Light & Magic: Creating the Impossible. 


    Diana is a member of the DGA and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). A graduate of Georgetown University, she was previouslyChair of the Interactive Board of Jurors for the Peabody Awardsand is on the board ofDiverso, a non-profit organization empowering the next generation of storytellers.

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.

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.   

  • 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.