Fenny Adhiambo is a Beneficiary of The Pad Project at Inua Dada Foundation based in Korogocho slums. She is a brilliant 21-year-old who pulled herself out of the slum through her work at the Foundation and her love of music as a flutist. She plays a crucial role as a mental health advocate through talking circle sessions called Tandika Leso held every month at the Foundation's center in Korogocho.

Rudolph is most widely known for her turn on NBC's Saturday Night Live, where she was one of the show's regular players for over seven years, as well as her various television projects and film appearances. Since her debut on SNL in 2000, Rudolph's memorable portrayals included Oprah Winfrey, Kamala Harris, Whitney Houston, Donatella Versace, and Beyoncé as well as such recurring sketches as "Wake Up Wakefield" and "Bronx Beat." In 2020, Rudolph won two Emmy Awards in the categories of Outstanding Guest Actress in A Comedy Series for her portrayal of Kamala Harris on SNL and Outstanding Voiceover for Big Mouth. In 2021, she repeated her 2020 Emmy wins in both categories again.

Rudolph was recently seen starring as the villain ‘Malvina’ opposite Amy Adams in DISENCHANTED, the long-awaited sequel to the hit film, ENCHANTED, for Disney+. It was released worldwide on the platform on November 18th. Additionally in 2022, Rudolph was seen cohosting Season 2 of the holiday competition series, BAKING IT, alongside Amy Poehler. Peacock released the second season on December 12, 2022.

 

Earlier in 2022, she was seen starring in Apple TV+ comedy series, LOOT, in which she starred as the lead and executive produced the series through her production company, Animal Pictures. LOOT premiered in June 2022 and was renewed for Season 2 shortly thereafter.

 

In 2021, Rudolph lent her voice to two Oscar-nominated animated features – MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES for Netflix and LUCA for Disney+. She also co-hosted the competition series, BAKING IT, a holiday spin-off of MAKING IT, alongside Andy Samberg for Season 1, and will be returning as host and executive producer alongside Amy Poehler for Season 2 in December 2022.

On the television front, Rudolph continues to recur on multiple animated series. She can currently be seen voicing the fan favorite, “Hormone Monstress” on Netflix’s Big Mouth as well as the Big Mouth spin-off, Human Resources alongside Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, Jordan Peele, Fred Armisen and Jenny Slate.

 

In 2020, Rudolph was seen in the film, Hubie Halloween, a Halloween comedy from director, Steve Brill. She starred alongside Adam Sander. Netflix released the film in October 2020. Additionally, Rudolph voiced the character, Nanny, in Netflix animated film, The Willoughbys, alongside Terry Crews, Martin Short, Jane Krakowski and Sean Cullen.  The animated film is based on Lois Lowry’s popular book of the same name and was released in April 2020.She also voiced characters on the Fox animated series, Bless the Harts, created by Emily Spivey. She was seen on NBC’s The Good Place as “Judge” and her performance earned her 2018, 2019 and 2020 Emmy nominations for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. Lastly in 2020, Rudolph narrated the Hulu series, Eater’s Guide To The World which premiered on November 11.

 

In 2018 Rudolph announced the formation of her production company, Animal Pictures, alongside her longtime friend, Natasha Lyonne. The duo has signed a first-look deal with Amazon Studios to create and develop a series projects for the Prime Video service. They are currently developing The Hospital, a darkly comic animated series and Desert People, a comedy series about Iraqi immigrants. In 2020, Animal Pictures produced the Netflix comedy special, Sarah Cooper: Everything's Fine. Rudolph guest starred, wrote and produced the special that premiered in October 2020.

 

In 2019, Rudolph was seen in Amy Poehler’s directorial film debut for Netflix, Wine Country, alongside Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, Ana Gasteyer, Paula Pell, Emily Spivey and Tina Fey. Wine Country was released in May 2019.  Rudolph also lent her voice to a character in The Lego Movie: 2.  Warner Brothers released the movie in February 2019. In 2018, Rudolph was seen in the Amazon series, Forever, which she also produced.Amazon released the series on September 14, 2018. She also starred in Ben Falcone’s Life of the Partyalongside Melissa McCarthy. Warner Bros. released the film on May 11, 2018. Additionally, Rudolph starred in STXfilms’ The Happytime Murders, directed by Brian Henson, opposite Melissa McCarthy and Elizabeth Banks. STXfilms released the animated feature on August 24, 2018. In 2017, Rudolph lent her voice to two animated films, The Emoji Movie and The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature. She voiced the emoji “Smiler” in the former, which was released by Sony Pictures July 28, 2017. Rudolph returned to voice “Precious” in the latter, which was released by Open Road on August 11, 2017.

In Summer 2016, Rudolph starred in her variety show Maya and Marty alongside Martin Short. Executive producer, Lorne Michaels and NBC produced alongside Maya and Martin. She also lent her voice to Sony Picture’s animated film, The Angry Birds Movie, released on May 20, 2016. Additionally, she appeared as “Deborah” in Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone’s Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. Universal released the film June 3, 2016. Also, in 2016, Rudolph starred alongside Danny Glover in Diego Luna’s Mr. Pig. The film tells the story of an elderly pig farmer and his estranged daughter who go on a road trip from Southern California to the Jalisco region of West-Central Mexico. The film premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. For her role in the film, Rudolph was nominated for a 2017 Ariel Award for “Best Actress.”

 

In 2015, Rudolph appeared in the hit comedy movie Sisters opposite Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Released on December 18, 2015 by Universal Pictures and written by Paula Pell, Rudolph played “Brinda” the frenemy of Tina’s character.

 

She created and stared in her well received comic-variety show special, The Maya Rudolph Show, which aired on NBC on May 19, 2014. The special was executive produced by Lorne Michaels and debuted with 7.23 million viewers.

 

Additional film credits include: The Spoils Before Dying opposite Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell; Disney’s animated feature Big Hero 6 alongside Jamie Chung and T.J Miller; Paul Thomas Anderson’s crime-drama Inherent Vice alongside Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Josh Brolin and Owen Wilson; Jim Rash and Nat Faxon’s directorial debut The Way, Way Back; family comedy Grown Ups 2 alongside Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Kevin James, and David Spade; animated comedies The Nut Job and her Black Reel Award® nominated vocal performance as “Burn” in DreamWorks’ film, Turbo.

 

As a master in the art of comedy, Rudolph starred in Paul Feig's comedy Bridesmaids alongside Kristen Wiig, which has grossed nearly $300 million worldwide and garnered numerous accolades since it opened on May 13, 2011. In addition to being nominated for two Academy Awards®, Bridesmaids was nominated for a Golden Globe® for Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and won the following awards: the 2011 AFI Film Award for AFI Movie of the Year, the 2012 Critics Choice Movie Award for Best Comedy Movie, the 2012 People's Choice Award for Favorite Comedy Movie, and Comedy Central's 2012 Comedy Award for Best Film.

Rudolph has teamed up with musician Gretchen Liberum to form the female-fronted Prince cover band, "Princess." In tribute to His Purple Majesty, the duo became an immediate Internet success last year when they performed "Darling Nikki" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Since then, the band has continued performing hit-after-hit as Prince fans everywhere have tuned in praising their pristine mimicry of the artist.

Nisha’s acclaimed début feature, CHUTNEY POPCORN with Jill Hennessy and Sakina Jaffrey, won Audience Awards at the Berlin International Film Festival, Newport Film Festival, Outfest Los Angeles and many more. Her sophomore feature, COSMOPOLITAN, starring Carol Kane and Roshan Seth, premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival.

Known for her heartfelt humor and engaging voice, filmmaker Nisha Ganatra is a Golden Globe winner and an Emmy nominated director and writer seamlessly working in television and film. Nisha has directed  GIRLS, MR. ROBOT, TRANSPARENT, DEAR WHITE PEOPLE, FUTURE MAN,  SHAMELESS, BLACK MONDAY, BROOKLYN 9-9 and, LAST MAN ON EARTH.

Recently, Nisha directed WELCOME TO CHIPPENDALES (HULU) starring Kumail Nanjiai, Murray Bartlett, Juliette Lewis, and Annaleigh Ashford, and the finale of Jason Katims’ DEAR EDWARD (Apple TV+) starring Connie Britton and Taylor Schilling. She is creator of the upcoming RAMAYANA for Sony Pictures Animation & Apple TV+.

Ganatra, whose work is always in service to giving voice to the underrepresented, is excited about making new films that align with her creative and social impact values.  Nisha has been creating emotional, authentic and humorous stories since her debut feature Chutney Popcorn by infusing her keen sense of comedy and storytelling with her personal life experience and point of view.

Santigold–born Santi White in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania–is a genre-defying musician, style renegade, and visionary artist across multiple platforms, celebrated for her fearless ability to fuse unexpected elements into bold new work. An artist whose perseverance relies on invention, her singular aesthetic has made her a major muse watched by the inspired world.

Since her classic self-titled debut in 2008, Santigold has revealed herself to be the most eclectic artist of her generation with a broad influence. Over her expansive career, she has collaborated with fellow icons from Jay Z and the Beastie Boys to Mark Ronson, Pharrell, Julian Casablancas and Tyler The Creator; not to mention, her songs have been sampled by Drake & Lil Wayne, among others. She’s had a #1 record on Billboard’s Dance/Electronic chart, won an ASCAP Pop Music award (Vanguard Award), and has been nominated for a Q Award, MTV Europe Music Award, and BRIT Award. Most recently in September, Santigold released her fourth album Spirituals, which captures the feeling of surviving in the modern world while elevating yourself to new places.

Santigold has engaged in new ways to express and release her ideas, allowing her greater range to be even truer to her creative intentions on her own terms. She created Spirituals as a multisensory experience that includes not only the music and video vignettes, but a brand new tea line bearing the same brand name, Spirituals. She is also the host of her very own podcast “Noble Champions” in which she interviews other artists and visionaries around some of the same themes explored in her music. And it doesn’t stop there: Santigold has other literary, film and product lines in the works as well.

Renowned for her iconography, Santigold has collaborated with visual artists including Kehinde Wiley, Wangechi Mutu, Kara Walker, and Sanford Biggers. She has also done various brand collaborations for shoe, accessory, and cosmetics lines, as well as had comedic roles on The Office, and Adult Swim’s NTSF:SD:SUV.

While taking yourself to new places is core to her outlook at this point in her impressive career, she has always been an artist who has charted new paths in the world of pop music and beyond, breaking down barriers of genre along the way, further cementing her as an essential artist when surveying the last two decades of popular culture at large.

Cyrus Dunham is a trans writer and organizer. His writing has appeared in the New Yorker, The New York Times, Granta, and the Intercept, among other publications and anthologies. His first book, A Year Without A Name: A Memoir, was a Lambda Literary Award finalist. Cyrus also works with California Coalition of Women Prisoners (CCWP).

Ruchira Gupta is a social justice activist, feminist campaigner, journalist, Emmy award-winning documentarian, professor, and founder of Apne Aap Worldwide. Ruchira Gupta has dedicated her life to creating a world where no child is bought or sold. She has aided thousands of girls and women in exiting prostitution systems, and now she is ready to tell their stories of bravery, courage, and perseverance against all odds. I Kick and I Fly is her debut novel.

Janet Mbugua is a Kenyan Media Personality, Author and Women's Rights Activist. She is the Founder of the Inua Dada Foundation, which focuses on restoring dignity and Economic Empowerment through Menstrual Justice. Janet will speak about reproductive rights from a global perspective and about how students can "turn advocacy into agency" through storytelling, policy mainstreaming and integrating intersectional issues.

Lisa Pimentel is a music Teacher/Director, Musician/Songwriter, and Music Producer/Engineer. She has been working as an Educator for over twenty-five years in Los Angeles and Massachusetts. Lisa’s professional music credits are vast and range from NPR to Ghostbusters, from Santa Clarita Diet to Rock Band, and from Billboard to Muppet Puppeteers. 

Sara Silkin is a French-Tunisian-Jewish artist who holds her BA from UCLA and her MFA from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, where she was awarded The John Houston Directing Scholarship and Kodak Grant. 

 

She is currently the Managing and Artistic Director of the Glorya Kaufman Performing Arts Center at Vista Del Mar. She recently choreographed and performed in the Emmy-winning short film JIBARO, part of Netflix’s Love, Death, and Robots series.

 

In 2018, she had the opportunity to motion capture and choreograph for Refik Anadol’s live installation projected on Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall for the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s 100th Anniversary. Silkin’s stage work has been presented at LACMA, Diavalo, Electric Lodge Theater, Ford Theater, CONGRESS: Legalize Dance, and The Centre Pompidou Museum in Paris, France.

 

She was commissioned by LA Contemporary Dance Company in 2020 to direct and choreograph her short film LOST MIND.

 

Sara Silkin is currently at Oakwood teaching: Contemporary, Ballet, Jazz, and Modern dance classes.