C. Thomas Anderson, Ph.D.

Dr. C. Thomas Anderson is known world-wide for his unique motivational and inspirational teaching style. Growing up in a line shack in Loretta, Wisconsin, he learned to overcome the limitations of a humble beginning and is now one of the foremost teachers in America on a variety of self-improvement topics, including finances, investments, health, leadership and relationships. Dr. Anderson is the author of numerous books, including the popular new book Becoming a Millionaire God's Way.

Appearing frequently on a variety of television and radio programs, Dr. Anderson is helping millions to improve the quality of life for themselves and their families.

Dr. Anderson and his wife Maureen are the founders and pastors of the 6,000-member Living Word Bible Church in Mesa, Arizona. Their desire is for people around the world to get a vision for a healthy, prosperous and fulfilled life.

"Tom Anderson teaches his congregation to be masters of money and he, too, is a master of money. He is spiritually and financially a rich and generous person. Reverend Tom practices what he preaches... and in today's world, that is rare." Robert T. Kiyosaki - Author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad

Dean Batali - TV Writer & Producer
Dean Batali worked as a writer on “That 70s Show” for seven years, serving as an executive producer for the show’s final season. He wrote for the initial two seasons of “Buffy, The Vampire Slayer,” and has written for “Duckman,” “Hope and Gloria” “Bruno the Kid” and “The Adventures of Pete and Pete.” Before coming to Los Angeles, he worked as an actor and playwright for Taproot Theatre Company in Seattle, Washington, and has written and produced numerous musical theater productions. He is a graduate of the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. and lives in La Crescenta with his wife, Beth, and two daughters, Erin and Katharine.

Janet Scott Batchler & Lee Batchler - Screenwriters
As a husband-wife writing team, Janet and Lee's feature credits include the international blockbuster Batman Forever for Warner Bros., Shores of Tripoli for Disney, and Modesty Blaise, a "female James Bond" based on the well-known English novels and comic strip, for Miramax. In addition, their adventure movie Smoke and Mirrors is currently in development with Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones set to star. The Batchlers have taught seminars on writing and the film industry for UCLA Film School, USC Film School, UC San Diego, Biola University, the Scriptwriter's Network, Women in Film, and the Writer's Connection, among others.

Lisa Carrell - Paramount Pictures, Producer, Writer
Lisa is still looking to make her living as a feature film producer but currently pays her bills by working behind the castle walls of Paramount Pictures. She has worked there for 8 years, supervising the Company’s 401(k) and pension plans. In 1997, she was an associate producer for the play Ondine. Lisa is pursuing a Director of Development position for next year, Lord willing.

Prior to Paramount, she worked as producer for a multimedia production company for 5 years, fled the “industry” for the safety of post-Cold War Russia, and lived in Moscow for one year.

Lisa is active in helping to coordinate the National Day of Prayer for the entertainment industry each May, is an active member of Premise and Inter-Mission, and helps co-lead the Industry Women’s Small Group.

Christinna Chauncey - Casting Professional, Acting Coach, Actress Christinna Chauncey moved to L.A. in 1995 from Orlando, Florida where she got her start in television doing guest roles on the TV shows “In the Heat of the Night,” “SeaQuest DSV,” and Disney’s “Emerald Cove.” Once in L.A. Christinna enrolled in the Larry Moss Studio where she studied extensively under the guidance of acclaimed acting teacher Larry Moss, who first gained public recognition for coaching Helen Hunt and Hilary Swank in their Academy Award-winning performances in “As Good As It Gets,” and “Boys Don’t Cry,” respectively.

In 1999, seeking to learn more about the secrets of the casting process, Christinna went to work for casting director Greg Orson on the Will Smith-produced WB pilot “Loose Cannon.” Two years later she went back to work for Orson as his associate on the WB hit “Reba,” and the Kevin Williamson-produced (“Scream,” “Dawson’s Creek”) 1-hr drama “Glory Days.” She continued to cast full-time with Orson through the 2001-2002 episodic and pilot seasons for the pilots “In My Opinion,” “Trash,” “WB Twins Project,” and “So Downtown.”

Because of her experience in front of an behind the camera Christinna’s popularity as a private coach quickly grew. Her unique blend of professional experience as a working actress combined with her understanding of the casting process continues to provide an essential edge. As her clients began to book work, test for series, and experience drastic improvement in the quality of their auditions, Christinna decided to start a workshop for actors called the “8-Week Intensive On-Camera Audition Workshop.” Due to the success of the workshop and demand of her students to create an on-going cold-read format, Christinna started an advanced workout class. “Working in casting forever changed my understanding of the audition process,” she says. “My passion is to empower actors with this same valuable perspective so they may avoid crucial mistakes and command a process that can often be intimidating and overwhelming.” As far as her own work as an actress, Christinna continues to practice what she preaches. Recent guest star credits include “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “Girlfriends,” “Judging Amy,” “Strong Medicine,” “Boston Public,” and “Run of the House.”

Kathleen Cooke - Vice President/Partner Cooke Pictures, Actress
A commercial actress as well as a businesswoman, Kathleen Cooke is a founding partner and Casting Director at Cooke Pictures, based in Santa Monica, California. As an actress, she has won "Critic's Pick" awards from Backstage West Magazine for her performances in the Los Angeles theater scene, and was the featured actress in a national commercial campaign to raise awareness about Lupus, as well as advertising for Home Depot, Mitsubishi, "On Air" with Ryan Seacrest, and more. Kathleen supervises casting on all dramatic and commercial projects produced by Cooke Pictures, and is a key member on the creative team.

Phil Cooke - Producer, President & Creative Director of Cooke Pictures
Phil Cooke is President & Creative Director of Cooke Pictures, based in Santa Monica California, and founding partner in television commercial production company “Thomas Winter Cooke.” TWC’s commercial clients include Home Depot, Mercedes, Aleve, Kraft Foods, Allstate and many more. As a producer, and consultant, Phil works with many of the largest and most effective faith based organizations in the world, and speaks at workshops, seminars, and conferences on a global basis. He’s considered an international expert on the subject of “change” and a regular contributor to major magazines. Possibly the only working producer in Hollywood with a Ph.D. in Theology, his blog at philcooke.com is considered one of the most insightful resources on the web on issues of faith, culture, media, and the power of change. Phil's new book: "Branding Faith: Why Some Churches and Non-Profits Impact the Culture and Others Don't" will be published by Regal Publishing in February.

Jim & Karen Covell - Composer and Producer (respectively)
Karen Covell is a television producer and director of the Hollywood Prayer Network (hollywoodprayernetwork.org). Her producing credits include Headliners & Legends with Matt Lauer for MSNBC and America's Throwaway Children. Jim Covell's musical scores range from feature films to television series and specials. He has several commissioned orchestral works which have been performed around the country. Jim and Karen have authored two books, How to Talk About Jesus Without Freaking Out and The Day I Met God, both published by Multnomah Press.

Josh Daugherty - Actor
Josh Daugherty was born in Eugene, Oregon, on a rainy Valentine’s Day in 1975. Born to parents who had been living a very ideal hippie and organic life, his upbringing, was common to the community in Eugene. Such a colorful childhood prepared Josh for being open to new experiences, and as he began his acting career at the age of 5, it fed his desire to live vicariously through the different types of characters the stage provided. Josh moved to LA in the winter of ’98 and by the spring of 2000 a new career had begin. A small part in the Paramount film “We Were Soldiers” whet Josh’s appetite for more. For the past few years Josh has found himself working consistently in more than 30 national network commercials-- including Taco Bell, Miller Lite, Honda, Bahamas Tourism, and T mobile-- as well as recurring roles on Judging Amy, Providence and Day Break. Most recently, Josh made guest starring appearances on CSI Las Vegas, Charmed, Ghost Whisperer, Dexter and Navy NCIS. This season you can see him in the Season Premier of CW’s Supernatural and Fox’s new show Journeyman. He continues to push himself forward by directing and producing short films for creative exercise. Josh has recently purchased the rights to his first book, Mattanza and is in pre-production on his feature directorial debut, currently titled “The Lake.”

Shun Lee Fong - Actor, Writer, Musician, and the Founder and Creative Director of The Greenhouse. In 2003, he left his law practice in Omaha, Nebraska, and moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting, writing, and other creative opportunities full-time. He graduated summa cum laude from Creighton University with a Bachelor's degree in journalism & mass communications. After obtaining his Juris Doctorate at the University of Iowa, he practiced law for five years at the firm of Lamson, Dugan & Murray, focusing on civil litigation, corporate transactions, intellectual property, and entertainment & media law. He also taught Mass Media Law for three years at Creighton University.

While in Omaha, Shun Lee was quite involved with many community and creative endeavors. He co-founded The FeedBack Group and Group Therapy, two organizations formed to mentor young creative people in their artistic activities. He served for several years on the board of the Metro Marketplace Ministry, an ecumenical organization aimed at effectively and appropriately integrating ethics and spiritual growth into the areas of business, government, education, and media.

Shun Lee has been an actor in various film, stage, commercial, and print productions, and is a member of the Screen Actors Guild. He has spent a significant amount of time on stage and in the recording studio as a songwriter and musician, playing several instruments, and is an often-requested speaker. He has written a number of screenplays, articles, essays, and other works. He also consults and strategizes with various groups involved in the entertainment industry to help them maximize their impact.

David Shark Fralick - Actor
www.davidshark.com

David Shark Fralick currently plays the menacing ex-con, ‘Warton’ on the #1 Daytime Drama “The Young and The Restless”; can be seen chasing Nicholas Cage through film, “Gone in 60 Seconds”; plays opposite ‘Master P’ as the Aryan supremacist ‘Graffiti’ in “Lockdown”; played mercenary ‘Flat Top’ pursuing Cuba Gooding Jr. and Skeet Ulrich in the thriller “Chill Factor”; makes a guest appearance in Stu Segall’s latest series, “18 Wheels of Justice”; and co-starred with Jean Claude Van Damme in the film, “Desert Heat” as ‘Matt Hogan’, a role which was for Shark, a study in contrasts.

Shark himself is a study in contrasts. He is the quintessential tough guy in action films, yet he is the genuine article. Influenced by his father’s military discipline, Shark has continually studied various styles of the martial arts since the young age of five. At eighteen, he impressed Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant with his unlimited physical abilities, determination and grit; which earned him the position of a walk-on wide receiver on Alabama’s “Crimson Tide” (’79 - ‘82).

Shark’s toughness also served him well in roles such as Master of the killing art ‘Southern Cross’ in “Fist of the North Star”, the vicious vampire ‘Ulmer’ in “Night Hunter”, and as a deadly assassin in “Without Warning”. He doubled John Jackson fighting Steven Seagal in “Glimmerman” & has appeared in action films such as; Invasion Force, the One, TNT, Future Shock, Scorpion King, Soultaker, Dark Rider, Uncle Sam; and the episodic; “VIP”, “Sons of Thunder”, “Babylon 5”, and the series, ”The Big Easy”.

On the other side of the paradox, Shark has spent years diligently studying his craft and committing himself to the art of acting. As a result, his chameleon-like ability has allowed him to portray a wide variety of characters with totally different physical appearances. He has disappeared into roles such as ‘Hans’, the Dutch drug buyer in Sylvester Stallone’s “Assassins”; Dwayne, the sensitive and simple-minded escapee in “The Legend of Wolf Mountain” w/ Mickey Rooney and Bo Hopkins; & played Darryl Hannah’s love slave in “The Last Days of Frankie the Fly”, starring Dennis Hopper; and most recently starred in “When I Find the Ocean” with Lee Majors and Diane Ladd as an Inbred Poacher.

Shark’s avid pursuit of arts led him from the stage where he played roles such as Don Baker in Butterflies are Free; Lenny in Of Mice and Men; Shakespeare’s Hamlet; Tom in The Glass Menagerie, Teach in American Buffalo,& Phil in That Championship Season.

Comedy is also a part of Shark’s repertoire. He has emceed as well as performed stand-up in comedy clubs on both the east and west coasts since ‘87.

Shark’s diversity carries over into his personal life. In his spare time, he enjoys golf, restoring antique cars, playing bass guitar and classical piano, and playing ‘daddy’ to three dogs and a snake. He has a passion for water sports, chess playing (at which he is a champion) and has done some choral singing as well! Through the love and support of his mother, and his belief in the Yin and Yang of life, Shark studies Tai Chi from a Shao-Lin Monk, and considers himself a ‘Spiritual Warrior’. He attends sanctuary religiously.

Shark started his own Production Company “Shark Eye Prods. Inc” in 2003, has co- produced 6 films to date and with several upcoming projects in the works, he is proven to be a visible player in the Entertainment Industry for a long time to come…

Brian Godawa - Screenwriter
Brian Godawa is the screenwriter for the award-winning feature film, To End All Wars, starring Kiefer Sutherland and Robert Carlyle. Most recently, he has adapted Frank Peretti’s best-selling novel, The Visitation, for Ralph Winter (Fantastic Four). His scripts have won multiple awards in screenplay competitions. Mr. Godawa’s articles on movies and philosophy have been published in magazines around the world. He has traveled around the United States teaching on movies and culture to colleges, churches and community groups. His book, Hollywood Worldviews: Watching Films with Wisdom and Discernment (InterVarsity Press) is in its seventh printing. He is a member of the Studio Task Force at Biola University; a founding board member of Arts & Entertainment Ministries, LA; the Senior Fellow of Film for the Center for Cultural Leadership, CA; and on the advisory board of The Apologetics Group, Nashville, TN.

Mark Joseph - Founder and President, MJM Entertainment Group, Inc.
Mark Joseph has worked steadily in the world of media as a music producer, talk show host, columnist, author, film consultant and media strategist. He has been quoted widely on issues relating to the intersection of faith and pop culture in media outlets like The New York Times, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, VH-1 and others.

Joseph's most recent book Faith, God & Rock ‘n’ Roll was published in 2003, and will be followed in '06 by Rock Gets Religion. His writings have appeared in publications like Billboard, Beliefnet, Christianity Today, The Jewish Press, NRO, World, The Yomiuri and others.

Joseph produced the soundtrack for The Passion Of The Christ featuring Lauryn Hill, Scott Stapp of Creed, MxPx, Blink 182, POD and others and received a GMA Music Award for his work. He has also supervised the international releases of over 70 records and produced the music for dozens of television commercials.

As a TV host, Joseph anchored The Entertainment Report for Group W and CNN, before beginning a five year run as host and producer of The Interview an international talk show that featured Joseph interviewing public figures like Jay Leno, Larry King, Charlton Heston, George Gallup and others.

Mr. Joseph also spent a decade as U.S. correspondent for two radio stations, Tokyo FM and FM Yokohama for whom he reported daily from Los Angeles and covered the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles in 2000 for the Talk America Radio Network.

From 2000-2005 Joseph worked as a film consultant for Walden Media working in development and marketing on such films as The Chronicles of Narnia, Ray, Holes, Because of Winn-Dixie and others and recently executive produced two short films for corporate clients. He is also a co-founder and board member of the Damah Film Festival. Mr. Joseph lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife and four children.

David McFadzean - Television & Film Producer
David created and executive produced the ABC hit television show Home Improvement. Prior to that he served as executive story editor on the premier season of Roseanne. He has executive produced and co-created television shows with Carol Burnett, Ed Asner, Haley Joel Osment, Dave Chappelle, and Dan Aykroyd. In film, David produced Where the Heart Is, starring Natalie Portman and Ashley Judd, and What Women Want, starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. David has a B.A. in theater from the University of Evansville and an M.A. in Theater from Illinois State University. He and his wife Elizabeth have two children: Meredith and Court.

Tim McGinnis - Life Coach
Tim McGinnis is a Los Angeles based life-coach and dream catalyst whose passion is to help people understand and activate a life based on what they do better than anyone else on the planet. He's a motivator and catalyst, a proactive jolt to the already existing "genius" that each of us possess. Through various tools including Clifton Strengths Finder, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and intuitive listening, he assists in connecting a person's internal passion to timeless truths, igniting insights and propelling them toward their goals and God-given vision. He has a special focus on working with people who want to make a difference in the world and build God's Kingdom.

Cherise McVicar - Marketing Professional
Ms. McVicar is an experienced marketer who has spent over two decades in the entertainment industry. As Senior Vice President of National Promotions for Buena Vista Pictures Marketing at the Walt Disney Studios (Disney Enterprises, Inc.), she has been responsible for all aspects of the development and execution of national promotions, including championing the global negotiation of studio alliances for The Walt Disney Company. Ms. McVicar also manages the day-to-day execution and advertising development of various national promotions. This includes directing toy and product creation as well as the development of in-store, print, radio, television advertising and promotional events. The scope of her responsibilities spans the entire slate of motion pictures released under the Walt Disney, Touchstone and Buena Vista Pictures banners.

Working with corporate America for well over a decade, Ms. McVicar has forged relationships and partnered with top companies such as Burger King, The Coca-Cola Company, Dr Pepper, Ford, Frito-Lay, General Mills, General Motors, Kellogg's, Kodak, Mattel, McDonald's, Nestle, Pepsi, SBC, Toys ‘R Us, and Verizon. Ms. McVicar negotiated and managed over $2 billion in promotional contracts during the last few years at Disney, and has been the recipient of numerous promotions and marketing awards (FIC, Golden Marbles, Mickeys, Reggies) for promotional efforts on Finding Nemo, The Lion King, Monsters, Inc., The Toy Story Franchise, The Haunted Mansion, Pearl Harbor, 101/102 Dalmatians and others. Ms. McVicar began the entertainment portion of her career nearly twenty years ago at Warner Bros., where she worked in the development of series for prime-time television before segueing into her own successful consulting business. After joining Disney in 1989, Ms. McVicar was initially responsible for managing the administration for 150 employees.

Ms. McVicar graduated Summa Cum Laude from Pepperdine University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications. Ms. McVicar formerly served as the community news reporter for a local radio station in Oregon and has emceed numerous Disney and community shows and events. She also worked for several years in the fashion and beauty industry, including two seasons with Nordstrom department store.

Tracy Melchior - Actress, Model, Author
Tracy Lindsey Melchior began acting in high school and continued at Colorado State University. Her passion for acting led her to Los Angeles where she immediately landed several commercials for products such as Old Spice, Nike, Toyota, and Coca Cola. She has guest starred on various television shows including the new NBC show Windfall. Tracy has also developed an amazing soap opera career with contract roles on Sunset Beach, One Life to Live and currently on The Bold and The Beautiful which airs in 134 countries. She just completed the independent film A Simple Twist of Faith starring John Schneider. Tracy has been a presenter for three years at the Movie Guide Awards. And she appeared on Larry King Live as well as numerous national television and radio shows to discuss her recently completed memoir Breaking the Perfect 10.

Rev. Joel Pelsue - Musician, Director of Arts and Entertainment Ministry
Joel Pelsue started playing in orchestra pits when he was 14, trained first on Clarinet and Oboe; in college, he studied improvisational jazz on both Tenor and Soprano Sax. His first CD, “Windsome Thirst” played on radio stations across the country and is currently in its second printing.

Joel has a B.A in Philosophy from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA., and his M.Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando Campus. He’s been ordained in the P.C.A. (Presbyterian Church in America) for over 6 years, and has been ministering to artists for over 13 years. Joel has taught, lectured or preached all over the country for colleges, arts ministries, churches and seminaries.

Joel believes God has always been a redeemer of individuals and entire cultures. His passion to reunite the church and the arts has led him to teach his series, “Christianity, Culture & Creativity” in New York, Florida and Los Angeles at churches and arts ministries (such as Intermission NY).

Audiences continue to be surprised how well Joel brings clarity to the challenges of integrating their Christian walk with their artistic passions. Joel is inspiring churches to rediscover the Biblical values of beauty, creativity and cultural engagement. Joel has been a pastor in New York and in Los Angeles where he currently lives with his wife and two children. Two years ago Joel launched Arts & Entertainment Ministries (AEM) with his wife Michelle. AEM is a ministry dedicated to educating the church and the artist, mentoring young artists in their faith and craft and providing resources for the artist and the church to change the world through cultural renewal.

For more information go to: www.A-E-M.org

Korey Pollard - Assistant Director, Producer
At ten years old in 1980 Korey Pollard worked as an extra in a movie shot in his hometown of Eugene Oregon. His life changed. At sixteen years old he was cast as a minor character in the acclaimed film Stand By Me, also shot in Eugene Oregon. His life and the lives of his family changed again. These two experiences set into motion a lifestyle disguised as a career that has now spanned twenty years and over forty substantial projects, each bringing challenges and changes.

Korey moved to Los Angeles from Oregon in 1988 hoping to learn how to make movies. As part of his on the job training he has worked his way through many positions over the last eighteen years. Starting as a swing gang furniture mover on The Fabulous Baker Boys, he spent some time as a property assistant, an electrician, a grip, a food stylist for commercials, and a producer’s assistant.

Korey has been married for twelve years, is a father of two amazing children, and is currently an assistant director on the USA Network series Monk where his responsibilities on the show are scheduling and daily management of physical production elements. Other television projects he has been involved with are Grey’s Anatomy (for which the production team received a DGA Award Nomination for the pilot episode in 2005), CSI Season Five, Deadwood Season One, House Season One, Threshold Season One, and Boomtown Season Two.

Korey was given his first opportunity to Co-Produce a feature film in 2006, an adaptation of a Robert Whitlow novel, The List. You may have heard of other films Korey has worked on such as: Thirteen Days, Once Upon A time in Mexico, Spy Kids 2, And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself, Clear And Present Danger, Waterworld, Odd Couple 2, Out of Towners 2, Scary Movie 2, and many others you may have never heard of.

Through struggle and failure Korey seems to have found a way to serve God by serving the crewmembers on projects that most believers would consider despicable. He was not allowed to see the first film he worked on because of an “R” rating. Imagine his mother’s surprise when she realized the first film was about lesbianism and Olympic athletics. He judged content early in his career, until another believer hired him to work on a horror film about a town of werewolves. “God blew my mind on the Howling Seven, who knew they made that many? I only saw the first one.” and the story goes on and on.

Struggle is synonymous with the entertainment business. Korey describes the struggle as on going but notes that “God is faithful and present, especially in the darkest places.” Korey also claims “each job seems to be almost the last time I will judge content and begin to trust God is in control of where He wants me to walk in this industry. It’s a good thing God is faithful, especially when I try to limit Him or keep him in a box of my preconceived notions of service.”

The stories and experiences of a renegade, from the industry perspective and at times from the cultural view of the church, as a believing husband and father of two, juggling his family, responsibilities with a three bedroom house, mini van, guinea pig, dog and swimming pool while working in the film industry will confuse, challenge, and hopefully encourage you. Some of the experiences may make you laugh yourself silly; all of them will make you think about following God out of the preconceived box we keep him in.

Chris Reneau - Real Estate Investor
Chris Reneau moved to Los Angeles two years ago to become a movie producer. He recently completed the Act One Executive Program and is actively seeking material for motion picture production.

Prior to moving to Los Angeles, Chris worked as a real estate investor having renovated and “flipped” eight homes. He did this by assembling an expert team that remodels houses for a fraction of the cost that contractors charge and in a fraction of the time. His career as an investor began when he became a real estate agent where he specialized in working with investors and first-time buyers for both Century 21 and for an independent broker.

Chris enjoys teaching others about real estate as an investment and takes great pride in having trained several first-time buyers to become successful real estate investors. Additionally, he also educated real estate agents to understand and improve their business.

Chris earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Marketing from Cal Poly, SLO and, as an entrepreneur, has started numerous companies involving trade shows, advertising, web development, consulting, and real estate development.

David Rogers - Co-founder, Actor’s Tax Prep
David Rogers co-founded ActorsTaxPrep in 2000. His own experience as an actor began in 1993, in New York City. For the previous twenty-five years, Rogers worked in the advertising agency business, and served some of the world's largest ad firms as a senior executive. Early in his acting career, drawn by both opportunity and weather, he became a refugee from the East Coast, immigrating to Los Angeles, where he has lived happily ever after.

A long-time member of AFTRA, SAG and AEA, outside of tax season he works in film, television, theatre and voice-over.

His is a member of the National Association of Tax Professionals, the National Society of Accountants, and has been registered with the California Tax Education Council since 2000. Rogers lectures extensively throughout the country on taxation issues affecting the entertainment industry, and is the author of several articles on the same subject matter.

Nancy Stafford - Actress
An actress for twenty years, Nancy has starred in numerous TV movies and series, including five years as Andy Griffith's law partner, Michelle, on ABC's Matlock, and three years on the NBC Emmy-award winning St Elsewhere. She starred in the ABC series Sidekicks, and began her television acting career as a regular in a dual role on the NBC daytime drama The Doctors. She has been a guest star on numerous shows, with recent appearances on Judging Amy, ER and Frasier. She has starred in several TV movies, including NBC's Moment of Truth: A Child Too Man and Fox's Deadly Invasion. For the past ten years Nancy has hosted TV's Main Floor, the network-syndicated fashion, beauty, and lifestyle magazine series airing in over 40 countries around the world.

Shawn Tolleson - Career Coach, The Advance Team
Shawn graduated from North Carolina School of the Arts with a degree in Theatre Directing and currently works as director, writer, producer and career coach. As a multiple Advance Team participant, she accomplished such breakthrough goals as signing with an agent and manager, and enrolling television showrunners on top ten shows as mentors, securing multiple invitations to observe on their shows. Her breakthroughs also include selling a romantic-comedy pitch, attaching A-list and Oscar-nominated actors to her feature projects, and securing financing for a feature project.

As a director, Shawn has worked extensively in the theatre. She is also the writer/director of three short films that have played film festivals worldwide. She is currently putting together two feature films that she will direct, her adaptation of Shakespeare’s Henry IV with Martin Sheen, Angela Bassett and Chiwetel Ejiofor, and her original screenplay Yazoo Cryin’ with Oscar-nominated Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda.) She is also writing the romantic comedy Down, Boy! for producers Gina Matthews and Grant Scharbo and just completed the television pilot Scrapyard Barbie for Grammnet. She is an accomplished line producer and production manager of commercials, music videos and still photography. Recent projects include a Rolling Stones music video, a Coke commercial, and cover shoots for Vogue and W magazines.

Since taking over the Advance Team as coach, she has coached several participants to such results as television writers securing staff writing jobs, filmmakers attaching Oscar-nominated actors to their projects and securing financing, and actors, writers and directors to securing representation. Her goal as a coach is to provide a structure for fulfillment for individuals to accomplish the breakthrough results they dream of. You can find more information at www.advanceteam.info.

Joanne Weidman, MS, MFT - Marriage & Family Therapist
Joanne Weidman, MS, MFT, is a licensed marriage and family therapist and former story editor. A graduate of Penn State University and Fuller Theological Seminary, she is on staff at La Vie Counseling Center in Pasadena and enjoys her work with talent from all corners of Hollywood. Joanne believes that learning how to function well in personal and professional relationships may be among the most important skills the Christian pursuing an entertainment career can acquire. “As you seek to minister and witness on the way up the ladder to serving God as a successful professional,” she says, “how you deal with the inevitable relationship stresses and storms may matter more than the work you actually do.”

David Wood - Spiritual Advisor
Mr. Wood, after many years in the Business and Media world now spends all his time working on God's Business with such global thinking groups as Cities of the World, Campus Crusade for Christ Canada, and his main ministry priority /Institute For Global Affairs (I.F.G.A). He is now traveling the Global World building relationships and gathering the Church in the new wineskin of Believers finally working together under God in these End Days. With Hollywood being such a Global Gate influencer he looks forward to working with his new lovely wife as a Spiritual Couple first and foremost based in Hollywood. They are walking together in a world that needs to see strong covenant relationships and solid commitment to one another and, of course, as always to God.

Michele Wood - Musician, Executive Director of Hollywood Connect
Michele received her Undergraduate and Graduate degrees from the University of Southern California in Violin Performance and served in the Arts and Entertainment Industry for over 10 years.

Musically speaking, Michele’s range of musical styles has ranged from classical to jazz to rock. She has performed with a variety of artists including Mary J. Blige for her Music video, “We Ride”, Vittorio for the Miss Universe 2006 Pageant, Leann Rimes, David Benoit, Rod Stewart on the American Music Awards, Guns N Roses on the MTV Music awards, Burt Bacharach, film composers Lalo Schifrin, James Horner and Michael Kamen, and world renown classical conductor, Zubin Mehta, to name a few. She also founded and toured nationally with the alternative rock group, the Remnant, for two years and is part-time faculty at Azusa Pacific University coaching chamber music.

With an equal passion for unifying faith-based artists in the Arts and Entertainment ministry, she started an Industry Women's Support Group, served as the Assistant Coordinator for the Arts and Entertainment group, Media Fellowship International Los Angeles, coordinated the Hollywood Prayer Network Studio Lot Prayer Walks for 4 years. In 2003, she started and currently directs the organization, Hollywood Connect, an Arts and Entertainment ministry equipping Industry Christians to realize their God-given Calling.