Shimeka is an entrepreneur, writer, and unconventional content creator. After leaving the federal government to care for her mother's unexpected illness, Shimeka's own spiritual well-being was restored, and new writing journey begun. Her fellowship film is called “Dear Daddy: Where were you?”.

Peggy is a photographer, and documentary filmmaker, has a diverse background that includes working for John F. Kennedy and being a Park Ranger. She started her career as a still photographer in 1988 and as a documentary filmmaker in 2009. Her photographs are in several collections, including The Library of Congress and the Smithsonian museums. Peggy returns to Docs with a new story “Grandmothers: Witnesses”.

Mariah Phillips is a marketing entrepreneur, storyteller, and podcast host that aims to close America’s education gap in unconventional ways while also archiving Black mental health history. Mariah wrote her first screenplay “FRANTZ” while earning her Bachelor of Arts in English Creative Writing from Fairleigh Dickinson University. The working title for her fellowship film is “Black Mama”.

Dr. Alan ‘Jerry’ Friedman is a neurologist affiliated with the Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in Gaithersburg, MD. He is an active member of various professional organizations, including the American Academy of Neurology. He turned his level of commitment to a personal documentary in “A Filmmaker’s Search for his missing sister: A Holocaust Story”.

Janelle is one half of the producing team for “Not My Choice: The Annette Polly William’s Story”. As a television Line Producer, she has built valuable knowledge and a strong network working across genres from crime to lifestyle programming. Janelle has teamed up with Robin Harris who leads the communications efforts at a national education advocacy nonprofit in Washington D.C. Robin has published several in-depth profiles of pioneering education leaders. NOT MY CHOICE is their first film. 

Christopher started his career in the arts in front of the camera as an actor at the Baltimore School for the Arts. For the past 10 years he has worked in the non-profit sector and is returning to filmmaking with the production of his first documentary “Faded Lines – The Promise and Peril of Baltimore’s Transit System”.

Arun is an IT professional. He holds certifications in Juniper Networks, Palo Alto Networks, Checkpoint, Pulse Secure, and Cisco. Arun recently the Best Writer Award in the 2022 48-Hour Film Project and is working on his first documentary “Healing Movement”.

Ariel is an award-winning, disabled queer horror and documentary filmmaker, advocating for underserved communities. Her horror short, “Our First Priority”, won the Disability Advocacy Award. Ariel has spoken at SXSW, is a member of BAFTA and a fellow of PAM CUT Sustainability Lab. Her fellowship film is called “Freaks & Shriekes”.