Vladimir Cvetko (Drama)
Born in Ascot, England and raised in Yugoslavia, Vladimir Cvetko and his family immigrated to the United States in 1987 where they settled in San Francisco, CA. When he was thirteen years old, the family returned to Bosnia to take active roles in humanitarian aid during the Civil War. The impact of this devastating conflict was a catalyst for Vladimir's passion for writing which he captured in journals and short stories. In college Vladimir began by studying Chemistry with a minor in Pre-Med but he continued to take writing classes on the side. After the publication of a few of his poems he decided to study writing and literature full time. He worked for the Orion Newspaper as a photojournalist and graduated from California State University, Chico with a degree in English Literature. Looking for a change in life he later moved to Los Angeles and worked as a camera assistant until his acceptance for graduate study in Screenwriting at the University of Southern California. Vladimir discovered a passion for writing television after taking a spec writing class. Inspired by the writing on shows such as Six Feet Under and The Wire, he set his sights on a career as television writer. After graduation, he has held writers'/showrunner assistant positions on drama series such as My Own Worst Enemy and Outlaw. In his off time, Vladimir could be found pursuing his other passions: boxing and surfing.

Gabriel "Gabe" Fonseca (Drama)
Gabriel "Gabe" Fonseca was destined for a career in television the moment his parents named him after Welcome Back Kotter's Gabe Kaplan. He developed a passion for television early on which led to enrollment at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Gabe's determination to write for television lead him to graduate a year ahead of schedule with a Bachelor of Arts in Film & Television. As he developed his entertainment career strategy, Gabriel enhanced his life experience by taking on an array of jobs, from teaching high school to tending bar. Knowing that he ultimately needed to be in the heart of television, Gabe relocated to Los Angeles in 2006. He landed his first entry-level position at Brian Robbins' Varsity Pictures. He then segued to the company's production of Disney Channel's Sonny with a Chance as a production assistant. Gabe later went on to become a writers' assistant on Disney Channel's Wizards of Waverly Place. After a brief exposure to the world of television drama while temping on the final season of ER, Gabe knew his true passion was the one-hour format. Already on the right track, he earned his first writing win by landing "Best One-Hour Teleplay" in Creative Screenwriting Magazine's 2010 AAA.

Tricia Johnson (Comedy)
Island girl Tricia Johnson was born in Trinidad, West Indies and raised in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. She got her first taste of television at age 10 when cable television came to the island and their channels increased from two to a whopping five. Inspired by classic comedies such as The Cosby Show and Three's Company, Tricia has performed stand-up at comedy clubs around the country including Steve Harvey's Comedy House in Dallas as well as The Comedy Store and The Improv in Los Angeles. After studying at Syracuse University, she transitioned into entertainment working at MTV and VH1 where she developed the first hip-hop based story for Behind the Music.

Justin Lo (Drama)
Born in the desert heat of Palm Springs and raised in the coastal breeze of Newport Beach, Justin Lo's passion for storytelling started early in life. A self-proclaimed "fish out of water," Justin has used the power of words as an escape and as a weapon. Justin recalls: "It was shattering and inspiring at the same time." He received his Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of California, Los Angeles where he somehow managed to find "drama" in his writings about everything from the Venice Lanes night-owls to the capuchins at the L.A. Zoo. He then wrote his first screenplay, The Conrad Boys, which debuted on cable television and played in national and international film festivals. He then went on to earn a Masters in Professional Writing from the University of Southern California. In 2009, he was named a Nicholl Fellowship semi-finalist for his thesis project, Drama. Prior to joining the Writing Program, he was Director of Publicity for Strand Releasing, a theatrical distributor fusing quality art films with commercial product.

Silvia Cardenas Olivas (Comedy)
A native of one of Los Angeles' more urban neighborhoods, Silvia Cardenas Olivas turned to television as an escape and a source validation of her dreams. She recalls: "I knew I could go to college because after all, the Cosby kids were planning to go." And, so Silvia headed to Loyola Marymount University where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Television. Although her Spanish wasn't all that great, she landed her first job in television as a receptionist for the Spanish-speaking show El Show de Paul Rodriguez. She later worked as a writers' assistant on series such as The Sinbad Show, The Nanny and Moesha.

Lauren Otero (Comedy)
A native of Southern California, Lauren Otero's childhood creative writing teachers predicted they would see her name in print someday. Early on she developed a passion for print journalism and began studying the discipline while attending Stanford University. But, after spending time working at publications such as the Los Angeles Times and Stanford Magazine she realized that this structured writing style stifled her creative writing skills. Lauren discovered television writing in one of Stanford's first screenwriting classes which was taught by a professor who also taught prisoners at San Quentin State Prison. She recalls: "In one quarter I learned the basics in screenwriting along with a few gems about prison life." She went on to do internships at Oscar award-winning producer Douglas Wick's Red Wagon Entertainment and Nickelodeon. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a Masters in Sociology, Lauren put her plan to become a television writer in motion. She has worked in the motion picture and television literary departments at CAA and as a showrunner's assistant on the broadcast comedy series Friends with Benefits.

Jessica Ramos (Drama)
Jessica Ramos, a New York native, comes from a large extended family that for the most part hasn't ventured beyond the state line. So, when Jessica decided to move to California in pursuit of her dream, as far as her family was concerned she was moving to a foreign country. She knew from an early age that she wanted to be involved in television. When things got tough while growing up, as a source of comfort, she turned to everything from My So Called Life to the entire Disney Afternoon line-up. Although television was Jessica's dream, she initially attended Syracuse University to study environmental engineering. It didn't take long for her passion to take over. Jessica changed her focus and earned a Bachelor of Science in Communications with an emphasis on television, radio and film. A month after graduation, she loaded her car with her belongings and beloved cat and braved the cross country journey in search of a home and a job. After blindly faxing countless resumes to various productions, she landed her first television job, a producer's assistant on The Practice. When that series completed she was offered a position on Boston Legal. After her time at David E. Kelley productions, she tried her hand in the world of video games at Activision Blizzard whose portfolio included Guitar Hero® and DJ Hero®.