Our BOARD AND ADVISORS
DANNY GLOVER is an award-winning actor, producer, and humanitarian with a performance career that spans more than 35 years. Glover trained at the Black Actors’ Workshop of the American Conservatory Theater and had his Broadway debut in Fugard’s Master Harold…and the Boys, which brought him to national recognition. Following this success, he starred in three Oscar-nominated Best Pictures: Places in the Heart, Witness, and The Color Purple, and four hugely successful Lethal Weapon films. He also co-starred in the critically acclaimed features Dreamgirls and Po’ Boy’s Game and earned an Emmy nomination for his performance in the title role of the HBO movie Mandela.
Danny Glover, Actor, Director, Humanitarian
HATTIE WINSTON is an actress and exceptionally talented vocalist. Winston attended Howard University in Washington, D.C. after receiving a full voice scholarship. Winston moved back to New York City after one year at Howard and enrolled in an actor’s group study workshop; success came quickly. In 1968, Winston became a replacement performer in Hair, in 1969 obtained a part in Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?, and in 1970 was cast in The Me Nobody Knows, all of which were significant Broadway roles. In 1983, Winston scored a starring role in the critically acclaimed Broadway play The Tap Dance Kid. Winston’s roles in To Take Up Arms and Up the Mountain earned her two Los Angeles Critics Drama-Logue awards.
Hattie Winston, Actor, Vocalist, Producer
Board of Directors
ADILAH BARNES is one of few veteran actors in Hollywood who have not only mastered the art of successfully marketing herself but also of utilizing all of her many creative skills – all the while staying true to herself and maintaining her integrity. She is probably best known for her recurring role of “Anne-Marie” for 7 seasons on the hit ABC series, Roseanne. Barnes has guest-starred on such other tv series as CW’s upcoming series 4400, NCIS, Shameless, The Middle, Body of Proof, Harry’s Law, and Prime Suspect. Her film credits include Murder By Numbers, the Universal blockbuster award-winning Erin Brockovich, and the made-for-tv movies, Little John and Iron-Jawed Angels. Barnes most recently performed on stage in 2018 in the highly successful award-winning play, A Raisin in the Sun at UC Santa Cruz.
Adilah Barnes, Actor, author
KAREN A CLARK is an actor, singer, songwriter, and producer. Karen’s one-woman theatrical solo show, “THE WOMEN”, has graced LAWTF stages to appreciative audiences since 2013 and also locally at such venues as the Ivy Substation (home of The Actor’s Gang), The Electric Lodge, Citizen, and the Fremont Centre Theatre.
In addition to serving on the Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival, Karen serves on the Boards of Educating Young Minds, Pacific Coast Regional Small Business Development Center, Streetlight Women’s Production Assistant Training Program, and the Duke Media Foundation. Most days, Karen can also be found at City National Bank, creating and executing marketing strategies to attract diverse clients. As the Multicultural Strategy Manager, she also oversees diversity and inclusion strategies internally.
SKY PALKOWITZ (AEA, SAG-AFTRA) is an Avant-Garde Multimedia Performance Artist, Actor, Director, Producer, Musician, Filmmaker, and Educator from New York, who has been acting and singing professionally since the age of 14. SKY studied Shakespeare and the classics at the nation’s top graduate conservatory, the Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP), at the University of Delaware. She received her MFA in Acting at the University of Iowa, where she also taught undergraduates, and performed in 3 seasons of Iowa Summer Repertory Theatre.
SKY has toured the country with 7 solo shows. Her last multimedia extravaganza had its premiere off-Broadway, where she played 50 characters in 90 minutes to sold-out, standing ovations.
JC CADENA moved to Los Angeles to pursue her directing dreams and instead fell in love with acting. She was at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles while working in the entertainment industry on the producing side of the business.
She was given the role of Belle in Beauty and The Beast (En Espanol) and got more involved with the Los Angeles theatre scene. Currently, JC is part of the creative team producing plays with The Robey Theatre Company an African American award-winning theatre founded by Ben Guillory and Danny Glover, located in the historic Los Angeles Theatre Center. JC’s mission is to give a stage for the BIPOC community while representing a positive role for Latinx women on the screen.
JAHNA HOUSTON is an actor, writer, and producer who first appeared as a series regular in the indie crime drama GET THEE BEHIND ME on the ION Network. Jahna has also appeared in the indie films, TRIUMPHANT: SHE FIGHTS TO WIN, TAJ, I FEEL LIKE GOIN’ ON, and A LITTLE PROBLEM. Her stage credits include UNDERTOW by Harlem Renaissance playwright Eulalie Spence and FINAL PLACEMENT by award-winning author Ara Watson.
Advisory Board
LYNNE CONNER SMITH’S L.A. upbringing and passion for entertainment led her to publicity where she formed Publiicty4You out of a need to garner media attention and build audiences through media. A desire to complete her degree channeled Lynne to film school and ultimately produced short films. Lynne’s directorial film debut, Raising Kings, steams on African American Women in Cinema (“AAWIC”) and BHERC.TV. Lynne produced numerous shorts, including Young & Naïve and A Gift for My Sister, among others. An alum of the Inner City Cultural Center, Lynne is an active Board Member of the Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival where she has promoted LAWTF events since 1999.
SINDEE LEVIN ESQ is a veteran entertainment attorney whose credentials include business affairs at major film studios, music publishing, mechanical collection, and extensive private practice with invaluable contacts with music publishers and record labels. As a former owner and past president of American Mechanical Rights Agency, Inc. she handled licensing of copyrights with record companies.
JESSICA LYNN JOHNSON (Director and Developer) is a published playwright, recipient of the BEST NATIONAL SOLO ARTIST AWARD, Advisory Board Member of the LA Women’s Theatre Festival, Director for Whitefire Theatre, and Founder and CEO of Soaring Solo LLC. Jessica has aided in the development of over 100 solo shows (and still going strong)!
KAT KRAMER is a former Miss Golden Globe Ambassador. She is the daughter of legendary filmmaker Stanley Kramer, actress/producer Karen Sharpe-Kramer, and the Godchild, namesake of screen icon Katharine Hepburn Ms. Kramer is the founder of “Kat Kramer’s Films That Change The World” an international cinema series to showcase motion pictures that raise awareness of important social issues.