Sal Calleros
Sal Calleros is a Southern California native. He earned a BA in Radio, Television and Film from California State University Northridge. Upon graduating, Sal was hired as a research analyst by the FX Cable Network. After a few years, Sal joined Arenas Entertainment, a Hispanic advertising agency specializing in film marketing, as the agency’s media planner. Sal has developed and written nearly one hundred marketing plans for Universal Pictures, DreamWorks, Paramount and Universal Studios Hollywood Theme Park. He has also pitched television shows to MTV and SiTV. His submission to the Fellowship program was a spec episode of THE SHIELD titled “Chitty-Chitty Tag Bang.”
After growing up in Katy, Texas, Steven attended and graduated from Harvard University, where his greatest achievement was taking a class (Gaelic Women's Poetry) with Natalie Portman. As a Manhattan-based management consultant, he then used Google to convince insurance and airline executives that he actually had prior experience in the insurance and airline industries. Since moving to L.A, Steven has written several teleplays, including his submission to the Fellowship program, a spec ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT entitled “Fair Enough.” Hired as Staff Writer on MISS GUIDED (ABC) 2007
Massachusetts native Charley Dane is a graduate of St. Paul's School and Georgetown University. Before discovering screenwriting, he spent time as a paralegal, freelance journalist, and winemaker's assistant. While earning his MFA in Dramatic Writing at NYU, Charley interned for the Fifth Night at the Nuyorican Poet's Café, Apostle Pictures, and Crossroads Films. In 2003, Charley and his wife, Ismenia, moved to Los Angeles, where he worked as an assistant on JUDGING AMY and IN JUSTICE. His submission to the Fellowship program was a spec SHIELD entitled "Sangrenegra." Staffed as a Fellow on KYLE XY (ABC FAMILY)
Raised within earshot of the nation's capital, Jason grew up with a fine appreciation for both politics and fiction. After graduating from Harvard University, Jason served as a lobbyist for American Indian tribal colleges, helping to pass landmark educational legislation and a presidential executive order. He spent the past season as a writers' assistant on THE GEORGE LOPEZ SHOW. His submission to the Fellowship program was a spec SOUTH PARK entitled “Dive Into Diversity.” Staffed as a Fellow on ACCORDING TO JIM (ABC)
New Yorker Tracy Grant earned both his BS in Finance and MFA in English from Georgetown University. As a grad student he wrote magazine articles for Today’s Black Woman, Word Up! and XXL, among others. Grant published a novel, Hellified, in 1999, and his short fiction can be found in several anthologies, including After Hours (Plume/Putnam), Proverbs for the People (Kensington) and the recently released Beloved Harlem (Doubleday). His contribution to Beloved Harlem garnered a mention in the “Reading Room” section of O: The Oprah Magazine in August 2005. Grant was an adjunct English instructor at the College of New Rochelle in NYC until May 2005. His submission to the Fellowship program was a spec DEADWOOD titled “Providence Will Be Yours.” Hired as a Staff Writer on LINCOLN HEIGHTS (ABC FAMILY) 2007
Raised in Orange County, Claire graduated from the University of California at San Diego with a BA in sociology. She worked at Warner Bros. TV in business affairs and later became an executive producer’s assistant on THIEVES and SKIN. Her last job was working for another executive producer on MEDIUM, where she recently sold a story. Claire also wrote a short entitled My Life Disoriented, which received funding from an ITVS grant. Her submission to the Fellowship program was a spec DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES entitled “Careful What You Wish For.”
Manhattanite Laala Matias has a BFA in Film & Television from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she received the Warner Bros. Post Production Award for the completion of her thesis film. She has worked with SNL's film unit and HBO's documentary division. Two of her short films screened at the Kennedy Center/Smithsonian Institution and in various cities. After graduation, Laala coordinated props and locations on major productions. She participated in the 2005 Institute of American Indian Arts Summer Film and Television Workshop, sponsored by ABC/Disney, where she wrote and directed her Fellowship submission, the short Frybread: A Traumedy.
Anthony Sparks was born and raised on Chicago's south side and has eight brothers and sisters, most of whom were born in Mississippi. He studied theatre and graduated with honors from the University of Southern California, where he also taught and received PhD fellowships in American Studies & Ethnicity. Anthony lived for several years in New York, and was a featured performer in the hit show “Stomp.” His play “Ghetto Punch” was presented at several venues, including P.S. NBC and the HBO Workspace, and was featured in American Theatre magazine. After participating in the Warner Bros. and Cosby Screenwriting programs, Anthony served as a staff writer on CBS' THE DISTRICT, penning multiple episodes. He is most proud of his family and his energetic and joyous one-year-old daughter. His submission to the Fellowship program was a spec WITHOUT A TRACE entitled “Hell....” Staffed as a Fellow on LINCOLN HEIGHTS (ABC FAMILY) • Hired as Staff Writer on LINCOLN HEIGHTS (ABC FAMILY) 2007
Born and raised in Toledo, Cassandra enlisted in the U.S. Army after high school, was stationed in West Germany, and served in a unit that participated in the first Gulf War. After the military, she received her BA in English from Cleveland State University and her MA in American Culture Studies from Bowling Green State University. She then moved to L.A. to pursue a career as a television writer. Her submission to the Fellowship program was a spec of THE WIRE titled “Dangerous Liaisons.” Staffed as a Fellow on KYLE XY (ABC FAMILY)
Thomas is a member of the Kiowa tribe and a graduate of the Riverside Indian School in Anadarko, OK, where he grew up. Thomas also graduated from Haskell Indian Nations University, where he established himself as an emerging writer/filmmaker. Along with short films, Thomas also produces music through his production company, Hosstyle Productions. He has written dozens of shorts and five feature-length screenplays, and his first book, The X-Indian Chronicles, is set for publication in August 2006 by Candlewick Press. Yeaupau is happily married to his wife, Billie, and they have two beautiful children, Jordan and Angel. Thomas participated in the 2005 Institute of American Indian Arts Summer Film and Television Workshop, sponsored by ABC/Disney, where he wrote and directed his Fellowship submission, the short My Favorite Runner.
Moorel earned her BA in Psychology with Criminal Justice minor from Temple University after growing up in Philadelphia. Though some of her most rewarding employment after graduation involved providing services to at-risk families and teen mothers in independent living situations, Moorel also enjoyed interning with the Greater Philadelphia Film Office and working on various productions. She is excited to be able to focus on her passion for writing in joining the Fellowship program. Moorel’s Fellowship submission was the spec screenplay Escaping the Past.
Taniya received her MFA at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she later served as an instructor for the Expository Writing program. Taniya was awarded the Sloan Foundation Grant for her screenplays Chemistry Set (2004)and The Speed of Light (2003); the latter also placed second in the Fusion Film Festival Screenwriting Contest. Her teleplay Sip Off the Old Block won the 2003 Prism GenerationNext Fellowship. In the theater world, she is a member of the Dramatists Guild whose work has been seen at a dozen theaters around the country and in Canada. Her play “Mother in Another Language” was featured as part of the Lark Play Development Center’s Playwright’s Week in New York, and another, “Haunted,” received Honorable Mention in the Pittsburgh New Works Festival. Taniya’s submission to the Fellowship program was the spec screenplay Chemistry Set. Hired as Apprentice Animation Writer on THE REPLACEMENTS (DISNEY CHANNEL) episodic credit, “Private Todd,” “Heartbreak And The City,” “Snide And Prejudice,” and co-wrote, “Extra Credit”
Adam Trunell arrived in Los Angeles via Philadelphia after graduating from Temple University's film program in 2001. His life since has been shaped by four years in motion picture development, including three years at the Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group as a development assistant, an experience he credits with providing some of the most valuable lessons he's learned. Adam's submission to the Fellowship was the spec screenplay American Idle.
A graduate of NYU Film School, Helen Truong has a long list of awards and honors to her credit, including a student filmmaking award from the DGA, a Warner Bros. Production Grant and several finalist placings in the Nicholl, Sundance, and Chesterfield Fellowships. Helen was a 2004 ABC Scholarship-Grant recipient; through the program, she developed her screenplay The Untitled Mythistory Project, which was subsequently a finalist for the 2006 Sundance Filmmakers Lab. Helen is also the recipient of the 2003 Richard Vague Production Award for the development and production of her feature script The Rapture of the Deep. Most recently, Helen has been writing on the WB’s YU-GI-OH GX children’s television series. Her submission to the Fellowship was the spec screenplay Ciphers.