Samara Finn Holland, FCLC ’03—moderator
Samara is a 2003 graduate of Fordham College at Lincoln Center where she majored in Communications & Media Studies and minored in Business. After graduation, she pursued a career in public relations that very quickly shifted to digital marketing and influencer relations. For the last 15+ years she has helped numerous household brands develop unique influencer marketing programs rooted in storytelling and consumer engagement. A PRNews Digital Communicator of the Year winner and PR Week 40 Under 40 recipient, Samara is currently a Senior Vice President at Kaplow Communications. Samara serves on the board of the Fordham University Alumni Association and is an active mentor in the Fordham Alumni Mentoring Program.
Zubaira Ahmed, FCRH ’12
Zubi Ahmed is a Bengali-American Muslim writer, comedian, and filmmaker. Born in Chicago and raised in Brooklyn, Zubi might be at odds about the best pizza but will fight for both cities no matter what. Short on all things including height, temper, and patience, she's convinced she is related to Joe Pesci aka dad. Zubi is one of the hosts of Kutti Gang, a live comedy show featuring South Asian performers. She is the writer and director of Polterheist, a comedy web-series about a guy and a gay ghost which has been featured in the South Asian Film Festival of America and NY Lift-Off Film Fest. You can also catch her talking to other brown talents and community organizers on her baby talk show, Late Afternoon with Zubaira, available to watch on Youtube.
Kurt Graver FCRH ’08
Kurt currently works at Netflix, where he leads all Marketing Creative for Comedy Series. This includes creating strategy, trailers, key art (billboards and print), digital, and social campaigns for hit shows like Dead to Me, Grace & Frankie, Cobra Kai, Emily in Paris, and Never Have I Ever. He recently won an Emmy Award for his work on the animated hit Big Mouth. Prior to Netflix, Kurt worked at FX Networks and spent his early career producing independent films. At Fordham, he studied Communications with a concentration in Film. Kurt is from Ambler, PA and currently lives in Highland Park, CA with his partner Brooks and dog Birdie.
Amen Igbinosun, GABELLI ’12
Amen Igbinosun is the middle of seven children. He was born in Benin City, Nigeria and immigrated to America as a child where he was raised in Rahway, New Jersey. He obtained a football scholarship to play for the Fordham University Rams. Originally considering a career in law, Amen was bitten by the acting bug and thrust himself into Fordham’s theatre department where he acted, directed, and produced a number of plays. Upon graduating, he toured the country with a children's theatre company during which time he was accepted to Harvard University/American Repertory Theatre’s MFA Acting program where he studied abroad at the Moscow Art Theatre. After graduating Harvard, Amen moved to New York City where he worked in the theatre producing plays. After a few months in New York, Amen was cast in TNT’s hit show The Last Ship. Between seasons, Amen was cast in a supporting role in the History Channel miniseries Texas Rising, opposite Bill Paxton and Ray Liotta. He was also cast in Tina Fey's multicamera comedy pilot The Kicker. Amen has acted in over a dozen national commercials, recorded voice-overs, and worked in virtual reality. He teaches Acting and Black Theatre History at California State University Los Angeles and Columbia College Hollywood.
Javier Morgado, GABELLI ’06
Javier Morgado is the executive producer of CNN’s morning show New Day with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman. Since 2014, Javier is responsible for overseeing the editorial production and strategic vision for 15 to 20 hours of live programming every week. Javier was part of CNN’s team recently honored with a News Emmy award for breaking news coverage of the Roger Stone raid and the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for continuing coverage of Hurricane Maria devastating Puerto Rico. Prior to joining CNN, Javier held several management positions at NBC News during his 11-year tenure, including supervising producer of NBC’s TODAY show. The three-time Emmy award-winning producer got his start in local news two decades ago in his hometown of Miami. He holds a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in communication and media management from Fordham University and a Master of Science in human resource management from New York University. Javier completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, where he received a Bachelor of Science in communication. Javier serves on the Board of Directors of the Stonewall Community Foundation, the Board of Trustees of the Martha Graham Dance Company, the advisory board for the Provincetown Film Festival, and the Dean’s Visiting Committee at the University of Miami School of Communication.