OUR TEAM

For Underrepresented Creators and Entrepreneurs, by Underrepresented Creators and Entrepreneurs

Mahyad Tousi

Mahyad Tousi is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, and filmmaker with nearly two decades of experience working across multiple media platforms. He is currently writing and producing a television adaptation of Ted Chiang’s award-winning novelette “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate.” Tousi wrote and co-created “REMOTE” in 2022 with renowned video artist Mika Rottenberg, marking his directorial debut. Previously, he executive produced two seasons of the CBS primetime comedy “UNITED STATES OF AL,” honored by the MPAC Media Awards for “reaffirm[ing] the importance of on-screen representation and narrative building.”

Originally a conflict zone videographer and documentarian, Tousi has been writing and producing narratives across film, TV, VR, and emerging media for 18 years. Beyond the screen, he founded Starfish, a hybrid social enterprise investing in underrepresented artist-entrepreneurs and amplifying their culture-defining ideas. He is also the co-founder of BoomGen, an independent incubator and cross-platform development studio, and sits on the advisory board of MIT’s Center for Advanced Virtuality.

FOUNDER & MANAGING PARTNER

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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+. 

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.