Meet the 2022 Fellows of the JFMS
Black, Indigenous, People of Color Sci-Fi Screenwriting Lab

The BIPOC Sci-Fi Screenwriting Lab was created by Justice for My Sister in 2020. Now in its third year, JFMS welcomes our third cohort of Fellows who are in the process of developing their first TV pilot in conversation with the literary traditions of Afro-futurism, Indigenous-futurism, and more. Fellows receive training in character development, story structure, media literacy, and pitching to expose and diminish the white supremacist, capitalist, heteronormative-patriarchy–reimaging other worlds that are possible. The Fellows in this cohort are a talented group of writers driven by their love for storytelling that has the potential to heal and promote social justice, redistribution of wealth, anti-colonialism, and non-violence. Read more about them below! 

Interested in applying to an upcoming cohort? Visit the Applications page to get started, or email info@justiceformysister.org for details.

  • Azure D. Osborne-Lee (he/they) is a multi-award-winning Black queer & trans theatre maker from south of the Mason-Dixon Line. He teaches at New York University and The New School. Azure holds an MA in Advanced Theatre Practice (2011) from Royal Central School of Speech & Drama as well as an MA in Women’s & Gender Studies (2008) and a BA in English & Spanish from The University of Texas at Austin (2005).

  • Although from a Black(Haitian-American) Jewish family, Nakita (she/her) struggles to make sense of G-D and the world as is. A powerful, yet poignant journey that has renewed Nakita’s passion for writing. As a social worker and a non film school graduate, Nakita is proud to have written series, shorts, and features that are in various stages, as well as direct her work. She enjoys storytelling through a queer Black feminist lens.

  • Born in New York, Michelle has a litany of experience; both in social work and within entertainment. She has also completed three years of PhD courses and was awarded three separate scholarships to attend Upright Citizen’s Brigade (UCB) where she completed both their Improv and Sketch programs. Currently, she writes television pilots telling stories with non-nuanced black characters focusing on identification, healing, and self-empowerment.

  • Monica Juarez is a visual artist and writer who uses science fiction to create worlds that reimagine a future free from the linearity of imperial power and violence. Her stories encapsulate Latine futurism and sci-fi mumblecore to transform colonial histories of language and media to new realities rooted in joy, comedy, and fantasy. She also works as a teaching artist in her community in the San Fernando Valley.

  • Chasity Salvador is full-spectrum doula and an indigenous breastfeeding counselor providing birth work services to her community. She is a poet that weaves together how each of these grounding lives of work contribute to the holistic well being and healing of Pueblo women from the impacts of ongoing settler colonialism, unsettling capitalism, and now the medical industrial complex as she maneuvers her way through healing from chronic illness and Covid-19.

  • Julissa is a freelance video editor, production assistant and writer. She first came to JFMS as a student for Nuevas Novelas 2017, and has since risen up the ranks in leadership. She has also found work in different companies in post production, some including Spotify and Warner Bros. She now serves the JFMS community as Programs Assistant and Teaching Artist. Julissa also enjoys illustrating comics and watching animation. She aspires to write for animation and live action TV shows.

  • Wuendy (she/they) is a storyteller and advocate for her Maya Mam indigenous community. She grew up in East Oakland’s Fruitvale. She writes revolutionary, magical, and loving stories that shift the narrative on the complexities of finding justice and healing in immigrant first-generation low-income families. She is a former Bridges Fellow at BAVC and a former writing fellow at BAYCAT. Also, a previous resident artist & writer at Moments Cooperative and Community Space.

  • Alesia (she/her) is an angelic troublemaker in her mother’s image. Alesia uses storytelling to play in the mess that is human connection and grapple with questions that have no answer. Alesia works for a non-profit providing services to vulnerable populations. Alesia has written and performed for a few Capital Fringe Plays and The Page to Stage Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

  • Sharis Delgadillo is a producer with over 10 years in broadcast journalism. In recent years, she’s parlayed her journalism experience into narrative storytelling for TV and digital platforms. She’s consulted on multiple projects, including as a researcher on Netflix’s SELENA: THE SERIES. She’s produced short films and worked as a script supervisor for web series and commercials. She earned her M.A in Broadcast Journalism from USC.

  • Marlene is an actor and storyteller that began their career performing sketch comedy and improv while attaining a bachelors degree in journalism from CSULB. They have a passion for production and directing and have worked on multiple film sets as a PA, casting coordinator and set designer. Marlene is excited to develop their pilot with the JFMS Sci-Fi writing Lab and strives to tell stories through a trauma-informed and decolonized lens.

  • Fox Kier (He/Him) is an Afro-Caribbean writer who writes across Sci-fi, Fantasy, Horror, and Comedy genres. As a Black Christian raised with a Muslim best friend in a predominately Latino neighborhood, Fox’s projects explore Multiculturalism, Family traditions, and mono/poly religious motifs. Fox was introduced to storytelling through Manga, his favorite Mangaka is Sui Ishida and he is the host of an anime channel on Tiktok called KitareTV.

  • Irina is an Oakland/LA-based interdisciplinary artist. They have worked for the last fifteen years at the intersections of mental health, public education, and the arts within institutional (job) and community-based (organizing) platforms. They currently serve as the School and Community Programs manager at the Museum of African Diaspora in San Francisco and hold a Dual Degree MFA/MA from CCA. They are the founder of 12-year-old project, The Miracle Bookmobile.

  • Rigoberto is a screenwriter from Oakland, California who was raised on art and film from the day he was born. The son of a Chicana Documentary Filmmaker and an Irish-American Artist, he’s always strived to tell compelling, complex, and gorgeous stories. Lately he’s become disillusioned by the saturation of dystopian sci-fi in film and television and hopes to create an optimistic future through his writing.