Board of Directors

LAWRENCE ANDRIES:  Writer and Producer of TV series “6   Feet Under” (HBO/Greenblatt-Janolllari Productions).  He is a graduate of New York University's School of the Arts and has been writing professionally for eleven years. In 1993, while in his second year of Walt Disney Pictures' New Writers Fellowship Program, Laurence wrote the Academy Award nominated courtroom drama, Kangaroo Court.

Since 1996, Laurence has written an eclectic mix of hour drama television. His series credits include story editor of “Dangerous Minds” (ABC/Touchstone, 1996), executive story editor of “Prey” (ABC/Warner Brothers, 1997), co-producer of “Millennium” (FOX/20th-Century Fox, 1998), and producer of “Hoop Life” (Showtime/Levinson-Fontana Productions, 1999)

MICHAEL AJAKWE, JR.:  Since 1993, this first-generation Nigerian-American playwright has worked on stage with renowned performers like Glynn Turman, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Debbie Allen, Ted Lange, Phil Morris, Robert Ri’chard, Hill Harper, Niecy Nash, Tommy Hicks, Art Evans, Gary Sturgis, James Pickens, Tatyana Ali, Tracey Ellis Ross, Marc Coppage, Mo’Nique, Estelle Harris, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Robert Pine, Shayla Rivera, Gary Anthony Williams, Ralph Carter, Deniece Williams, and Charles Dutton.   As a tv writer, he’s worked with Martin Lawrence, Greg Kinnear, Tisha Campbell, Tichina Arnold, Kelita Smith, Charles Barkley, Marc Curry, Tia & Tamera Mowry, Kadeem Hardisson, Brian Hooks, Jason George, Ali Landry, Kelly Perrine, Diondre Whitfield, Paul Winfield, Tommy Ford, Tim Reid, Richard Lawson, 3-time Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou, Jackee, Steve Harvey, Steve Trevino, Eve, and Tracey Morgan. 

 As a live events show writer, he’s written for Anthony Anderson, Kimberly Elise, Jo Marie Payton, Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti, ex-L.A.P.D. Police Chief Bernard Parks, NAACP National President Benjamin Todd Jealous, Jason Alexander and Ben Stiller.  As a TV writer/producer, he’s written for “Martin,” “Soul Food,” “Sister Sister,” “Moesha,” “The Parkers,” “E!’s Talk Soup,” “Entertainment Tonight,” “The Brothers Garcia” and “Eve.”  He’s also developed TV and film projects for Russell Simmons, Dr. Dre, Brett Ratner, Kim Fields, Reuben Cannon, Norman Howard (nephew of The Three Stooges), Beverly Todd, Vidal Sassoon, ex-NBA great Kenny “The Jet” Smith and Natalie Cole. 

Mike has written and directed 9 plays and produced 16 that have garnered 27 NAACP Theater Award Nominations, winning 5.  He is a two-time NAACP Theater Award-winning Playwright/Producer, two-time NAACP Theater Award Nominated Director, an Emmy-winning TV producer, and an award-winning filmmaker, winning both the Jury AND Audience Award for Best Short Film at the inaugural 2007 Mid-Atlantic Black Film Festival in Norfolk, Virginia with his first short “Happy Anniversary, Punk!”   In 2009, Mike created “Who…” -- an original 12-episode comedy that became the first series to launch on his new web tv channel, www.Ajakwetv.com. 

MICHAEL CLARK:  President and COO of Weberworks Entertainment Group – and a thirty year music industry professional.  Through his company, he has produced over 175 CDs with releases on just about every major label as well as a host of independent labels.  Along the way, his projects have yielded two Grammys, seven Grammy nominations, at least seventeen top ten albums, two number one albums and an assortment of other honors.

MEG DELOATCH:  Creator/Executive Producer of UPN's EVE- Meg DeLoatch was the creator and executive producer of UPN's romantic comedy, EVE, starring Grammy Award-winning Hip Hop artist Eve.  DeLoatch got her start as a writer and co-producer for Family Matters.   She was a supervising producer on the comedies Malcolm & Eddie and Bette, served as co-executive producer of One on One and a consulting producer on Abby.  Most recently, DeLoatch is Co-Executive Producer on Brothers, a new comedy on the Fox network’s 2009 Fall schedule.

A native of Maryland, DeLoatch combined her interests in theater, literature and visual media and earned an interdisciplinary degree in writing for communication from American University.  She subsequently moved to California, where she graduated from the Bill Cosby Screenwriting Program at the University of Southern California.

KEVIN HOOKS:  Actor, Director, Producer - The son of African American actor Robert Hooks, "Kevin Hooks" was 14 years old when he received a "Best Newcomer" Golden Globe nomination for his performance in "Sounder" (1972). Three years later, he played the title role in "Aaron Loves Angela" (1974), which featured his dad. On TV, Hooks was seen as high-schooler Morris Thorpe in "The White Shadow" (1978-81), and 25-year-old urban mayor Carl Burke in He's the Mayor (1986). In recent years busier as a director, Kevin Hooks has helmed such made-for-TV movies as "Heat Wave" (1990), "Murder Without Motive: The Edmund Perry Story" (1992), and such theatrical-feature fare as "Passenger 57" (1994). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

EXCEL A. SHARRIEFF, ESQ: Attorney Excel A. Sharrieff is a graduate of Morehouse College.  Excel has worked for Universal Pictures, and the Law Offices of Johnnie L. Cochran.  In 2008, Excel co-founded 44filmz, an independent film production company.  Additionally, he was elected to the Board of Governors for the California State Bar’s Young Lawyer Division.  Attorney Sharrieff has been featured in publications such as Ebony Magazine, U.S. News and World Report, the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Sentinel, and the Tavis Smiley Report.

HAROLD SYLVESTER: Familiar to television audiences from his starring role on “Married…With Children”, Harold Sylvester is a veteran actor whose credits include 17 feature films and more than 400 television shows.

Born and raised in New Orleans, La., Sylvester majored in theater and Psychology at Tulane University. With college stage experience under his belt, he landed supporting roles in productions shooting on location in New Orleans, including the acclaimed television movie “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman”.

Sylvester landed his big break while still in Louisiana when he was cast in the lead in “Part 2 Sounder”, a sequel to the groundbreaking film “Sounder”, which starred Paul Winfield and Cicely Tyson. The sequel launched Sylvester’s career and he moved to Los Angeles in 1975. Since then he has starred in many high profile feature films, including “An Officer and a Gentleman” with Richard Gere and Louis Gossett, Jr.; the basketball comedy “Fast Break”; “Innerspace” with Martin Short; the Vietnam drama “Uncommon Valor”; Richard Donner’s “Inside Moves” and Corrina, Corrina with Whoopi Goldberg.

On television, Sylvester spent three seasons as Griff, a shoe salesman working with Al Bundy (Ed O’Neil) at Gary’s Shoe Emporium, on “Married…With Children”. Over the past twenty years, he has been a familiar face on television, starring and guest starring in literally hundreds of shows, including recurring roles on “Hill Street Blues”, “NYPD Blue” and “A Different World”. In 1978 he starred in the highly successful 10 part miniseries “Wheels”, the story of boardroom intrigue in the automobile industry, based on the best selling novel by Arthur Hailey.

Also a successful screenwriter, Sylvester has sold several screenplays: “Passing Glory”, a “TNT Original Movie”, about a high school basketball game between a black high school and a white high school based on a true story; “Fast Girls”, about a girls track team; and “The Muhammad Ali Story”. He was a Producer on the CBS medical drama “City of Angels” and has written for the ABC police drama NYPD Blue.

Harold has served on various Boards of Directors including The John Anson Ford Theatre Foundation, the Urban League, and currently serves as a member of Tulane University’s President’s council. Harold is a member of the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences and President of Blue Bayou Productions, Inc.

JEFFREY WEBER: Weberworks Entertainment Group - Jeffrey Weber is a thirty year music industry professional. He has produced over 175 CDs with releases on just about every major label as well as a host of independent labels. Along the way, his projects have yielded two Grammys, seven Grammy nominations, at least seventeen top ten albums, two number one albums and an assortment of other honors.

Among the many artists that have fallen under the banner of “Produced by...” include: Nancy Wilson, David Benoit, Steve Lukather, the Utah Symphony, Jackson Browne, Marcus Miller, Michael McDonald, Bill Champlin, Gerald Albright, Tom Scott, Chick Corea, Stanley Clark, Etta James, Linda Hopkins, Kenny Burrell, McCoy Tyner, Jackie McLean, Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big), Cozzy Powell, the Count Basie Orchestra, John Sebastian, Ronnie Dio, Ritchie Blackmore, Pat Boone, Buddy Miles, Billy Preston, MC Lyte, Kenny Rankin, Diane Reeves, Diane Schuur, Rita Coolidge, Luther Vandross, David Crosby, Simon Phillips, Jeff Porcaro, Patrice Rushen, Toni Tennille, among many others.

During his thirty year career, he has founded, ran or participated in various label capacities from A&R, Music Supervision for film and TV, Production, Interactive Programming, Marketing, Sales, International Relations, Business Affairs and Art Director for independent labels such as Discwasher Records, Prima Records, Beach Jazz, Agenda Records, Denon Records, Handshake Records, Audio Source Records, Voss Records, Video Arts, Clear Audio, Pony Canyon, P.C.H. Records, En Pointe Records, Cameron Records as well as his own labels, Weberworks and Stark Raving Records. 

His productions have also appeared on every major label including MCA, Warner Bros., Atlantic, BMG, Columbia, A&M, Elektra as well as such labels as GRP, Hip-O, Sheffield, Concord, Bainbridge, Silver Eagle, Zebra, among countless others.  

Jeff is a former member of the Board of Governors of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) as well as a former National Trustee and Chapter Vice President.

DAVID WYATT: After receiving a B.A. degree from California State University, Long Beach, David Wyatt launched his Hollywood career as an assistant in business affairs at Columbia Pictures Television. A studio vice president recognized Wyatt’s off-beat and raw writing talents and encouraged him to seek a career in screenwriting. Three specs scripts and twelve months later, he began work on the Fox comedy, MARTIN, where he wrote four scripts his first season.

Growing up in the sometimes perilous city of Compton to writing for a living in the heart of Manhattan, Wyatt has proven that he’s able to absorb his many life experiences, apply his unique writing talents and quirky sensibilities to an array of projects. He moved up the ranks working on the writing staff of other successful television series such as THE WAYANS BROS., COSBY, SISTER SISTER, and WHOOPI were he served as writer and producer.

Wyatt also found time to pitch and sell freelance episodes for other successful television series such as LIVING SINGLE, THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL AIR, IN THE HOUSE and EVE.

The writer/producer has excelled in the world of animation and children’s programming. He was on the writing staff of The Kid’s WB animation series, WAYNEHEAD, created by Damon Wayans, and has written for the Nickelodeon the shows HEY ARNOLD, GULLAH GULLAH ISLAND and served as a consultant on the Nickelodeon series THE BROTHERS GARCIA. PROUD FAMILY and the Cartoon Network’s CLASS OF 3000 are also on his resume.

Wyatt also invests his time helping other would be writers. He seasonally works as the television writing professor for Bill Cosby’s Guy Hanks/Marvin Miller Screenwriting Fellowship at the University of Southern California. He has spoken on many panels such as the Los Angeles Screenwriting Expo and done writing workshops for the Hollywood Black Film Festival and the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP).

Wyatt is active in the Writers Guild of America, West where he serves on the Committee Advisory Panel, the Committee of Black Writers, the Trial Committee and previously served on the Board of Directors Nominating Committee. He was recently a strike captain and studio coordinator for Paramount Pictures during the recent labor dispute.  The writer has been featured in and written for the WGA monthly magazine Written By.  For his writing on WAYNEHEAD, he received a Prism Commendation for outstanding effort in addressing the issue of drugs and violence.

Immediate Past Board Members

REGINALD BYTHEWOOD:  A Bronx, New York native, Reggie Rock Bythewood graduated from Marymount Manhattan College, where he studied acting. He then co-founded a New York City based theater company called The Tribe. The company was comprised of African-American actors who performed in the New York area for more than two years. Bythewood wrote and directed two plays with The Tribe, "The Harlem Cowboy" and "The Arm Wrestle."

In 1990, Bythewood moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in screenwriting and became one of the first members of Walt Disney's prestigious Writers Fellowship Program.  From there, he was hired as a writer on the hit NBC comedy series, "A Different World." He went on to write for Fox's drama series "New York Undercover," where he was the show's supervising producer.

Bythewood made his feature film directorial debut on the acclaimed independent feature "Dancing in September." Bythewood also wrote the film, which was screened as an official selection at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. His other feature film writing credits include the screenplay for Spike Lee's drama "Get On the Bus."

In January 2003, Bythewood's second feature film, Biker Boyz (2003), debuted in theaters. He also co-wrote the film, starring Laurence Fishburne, Derek Luke, Orlando Jones and Kid Rock.

Bythewood resides in southern California with his wife, filmmaker Gina Prince-Bythewood, and their two sons, Cassius and Toussaint.

GINA PRINCE-BYTHEWOOD:  Wrote and directed the widely acclaimed feature film Love & Basketball (2000) which premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. She won an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature and a Humanitas Prize for her work on the film. Her other directing credits include the HBO film Disappearing Acts (2000) (TV).

Prince-Bythewood earned her first feature film producer credit on Biker Boyz (2003), a Dreamworks film which was co-written and directed by her husband Reggie Rock Bythewood.

She studied at UCLA Film School, where she received the Gene Reynold's Scholarship for Directing and the Ray Stark Memorial Scholarship for Outstanding Undergraduate. Upon her graduation in 1991, she was immediately hired as a writer on the television series "A Different World" (1987). She continued to write for network television on series such as "Felicity" (1998), "South Central" (1994), "Courthouse" (1995), and "Sweet Justice" (1994) before making the transition to directing.

Her television directorial debut was the CBS Schoolbreak Special, _What About Your Friends (1995) (TV)_, which won her an NAACP Image Award for Best Children's Special and two Emmy nominations for writing and directing.  Prince-Bythewood currently lives in Southern California with her husband Reggie and their sons Cassius and Toussaint.

DIANNE HOUSTON: Is a Director and Screenwriter. She is an African American and a vegetarian.

She became interested in theater while attending Howard University with her first plays being produced around 1977. She later worked in New York City, Amsterdam, and Berlin which she says helped give her "a world view." In 1990 she was again based in the United States, but lived in a bicoastal manner. Around this time she wrote for Brewster Place a show produced by Harpo Productions. After this Oprah Winfrey remained a supporter and, on occasion, financial backer.

In 1994 she directed the short film Tuesday Morning Ride which starred Ruby Dee and Bill Cobbs. This led to her to become the first and so far only, African American woman to be nominated for directing work.  She has since directed for a variety of TV series like NYPD Blue and Crossing Jordan as well as continuing in film work. As a screenwriter she worked on Take the Lead among other projects.