Kelsey Baker, Comedy Writing

Kelsey Baker is a Comedy Writing Intern from Metro Atlanta and a rising sophomore at The George Washington University majoring in Journalism/Mass Communication. Kelsey has always been told that “they have been here before” and given strange looks by oldheads for knowing deep cut references to 70s R&B songs. At the ripe age of nineteen, Kelsey hopes to gain long-lasting relationships and knowledge to strengthen their comedic writing abilities. They look forward to having a fruitful career in screenwriting and producing. 

 
 
 

Derrick L. Belvin Jr., Digital Marketing: Strategic

Derrick Lamar Belvin Jr., he has a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and is a digital marketingintern. He was born and raised in Elizabeth, NJ and attended Bloomfield College in Bloomfield,NJ. He loves to travel and in his third year of college he studied abroad in Rome, Italy. Theexperience of living in another country opened up his eyes to a different world view and gavehim more of an appreciation for his community. He was excited to have been selected for thisinternship because he wants to gain more knowledge about the industry and one day be able tohave a career working in the industry.

 
 
 

Janay Bend, Digital Marketing: Social

Janay is a social media analyst with her Master’s in Sociology. Since 2015 she has been on a quest to unpack how people (specifically Black women) use social media to generate change in society. Janay understands the importance of an online presence, aiding individuals with unique strategies to elevate and excel. With her research background, understanding of the online landscape, and passion for empowering people, she hopes to use this internship as an opportunity to reach beyond her social analytic comfort zone and find her voice amongst talented creatives.

 
 
 

Cris Eli Blak, Comedy Writing

Cris Blak is a Comedy Writing Intern and a playwright, screenwriter, and forever student of the world. At the age of twenty-three, he has already begun making his splash in the art world, having his plays performed Off-Broadway, as well as in London, Australia, Ireland and Canada. A 2021 graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, he was part of the inaugural class of fellows for Broadway Across America/Black Theatre Coalition. He was awarded the 2020 Christopher Hewitt Award for Fiction and a Bronze Remi from the Worldfest Houston International Film and Video Festival, received a Pushcart Prize nomination and has earned recognition from The Negro Ensemble Company, TEDXBroadway, Austin Film Festival, and Kairos Italy Theater. He hopes to use his love for storytelling to show that it doesn't matter what you look like and it doesn't matter where you come from, your voice and your story matters. 

 
 
 

Siani Johnson, Editing

Siani Johnson is an emerging film and television editor with over 7 years  of experience. Hailing from Kalamazoo MI,  her love of film began when she was assigned a documentary film project in high school and continued into her education with a MFA in Film and Digital Technology from Chatham University. Her most recent work has been officially selected in multiple film festivals including the 2022 African Film Festival New York. When Siani isn't editing you can find her relaxing next to her dogs with a good book.

 
 
 

Ebony Jordan, Comedy Writing

Ebony Jordan, aka Ebony Stories is a comedy writing intern hailing from Long Beach, California. She is currently a senior screenwriting major at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. She’s focused on mastering her craft in comedy-drama writing for film and television.

Ebony is working on creating worlds within her stories that show honest, authentic, charming, and nuanced representations of Black people and culture devoid of stereotypes and one-dimensional character tropes. On her own merits, she is in the process of penning a comedic coming-of-age piece for the middle-aged black folk that’re still in touch with their inner child.

 
 
 

Calvin McKinney, Editing

Calvin is a CA based creative who is on the digital editing track for Smart Funny & Black's 2022 internship. Calvin has a background in producing and editing multiple web series and long/short form content for entertainment news platforms. 

Outside of his talents as an editor he has served as an on air host for Afterbuzz TV as well as The Naked Truth radio show with LaTavia Roberson and has covered several red carpet events for BET, Fox and TVOne programming. Calvin has since focused his efforts on birthing his own platform that spotlights black queer stories, aptly titled BlackGaySlay, along with other original content centered around the intersectionality of being both black and apart of the LGBTQIA+ community.

He most looks forward to learning from his peers and forging strong bonds on this SFB journey.

 
 
 

Shirley Rejouis, Editing

Shirley "Shirlz" Rejouis, MSW is a Video Editing intern hailing from Orange, NJ. She is the co-creator and co-host of The Millenni-Her Podcast; a podcast that caters to millennial bosses on the rise. She is an active advocate for social justice, having obtained her graduate degree in Social Work from Kean University. With a direct aim towards raising mental health awareness within the Black community, Shirlz keeps her hand on the pulse of African American and Haitian cultures. While fluent in American Sign Language, she works closely with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. Shirlz amplifies and supports Black businesses within her community; not to mention is a lover of all realms of Black Culture -- from Black art and history to hip-hop.

 
 
 

Nassir Wilson, Digital Marketing: Creative

Nassir Wilson, is a native from Philadelphia graduated from Central State University in 2021. He has had a lot a great accomplishments throughout his college career one in particular that he’s most proud of is creating “Beforethebuzz Entertainment“ in 2018 which launched him some “buzz” and a lot of opportunity. After graduating he’s now producing a podcast called “Awkward Thinking” and Rap snack symphony that he executive produced in 2022. The future seems very bright for Nassir.