Ketch Secor is the consummate entertainer: the merry ringmaster, mischievous busker, passionate professor, modern Beat, and unassuming virtuoso, all rolled into one. Ketch is best known as the founder and frontman of Old Crow Medicine Show, a two-time Grammy Award-winning juggernaut whose triumphs include induction into the Grand Ole Opry. Their double-platinum hit single “Wagon Wheel,” which Ketch co-wrote with Bob Dylan, also became a hit for Darius Rucker and has been certified diamond with over 13 million total units sold. The scope and potency of Ketch’s work has long-since spilled over to include documentaries, writing and starring in variety shows, publishing a children’s book and composing a musical. His myriad projects also include serving as an advisor, historical consultant, and featured speaker in Ken Burns’ acclaimed 2019 documentary “Country Music.” Ketch is the parent of two grade schoolers and the co-founder of the Episcopal School of Nashville, which opened in 2016. His opinion piece in The New York Times: Country Music Can Lead America Out of Its Obsession with Guns was written following the Covenant School shooting and helped inspire this film.
David Greene has spent 25 years as a print then radio journalist, including stints covering the White House, serving as Moscow Bureau Chief for NPR, then hosting NPR’s Morning Edition, the most widely-heard radio news program in the US. He won numerous journalism awards including for his coverage of President Obama’s speech on race in America, his stories about state-sponsored violence against gay men in Russia and his reporting from Libya during the Arab Spring. David loves interviewing celebrities and presidents—but not as much as he loves telling the stories of real people who don’t get as much attention as they should. That’s why to truly understand Russia, he wrote a New York Times bestselling book about the Russian people, doing what he does best: Sitting in bars and living rooms, listening without judgment, seeking connection and learning lessons about how we can overcome what divides us.
Director Doug Pray’s candid portraits of American subcultures and maverick individuals have led him to numerous festivals, critical raves, and awards. His feature documentary films include “Love, Lizzo” (HBO Max), “Big Rig” (a 21,000-mile road film about independent truck drivers), and the Emmy Award-winning “Art & Copy.” His first two films, “Hype!” the definitive story of the Seattle music scene, and “Scratch,” about DJs and the birth of hip-hop, are ranked among the best music docs of all time. In television, Doug executive produced Netflix’s 3-part series, “Arnold,” about Arnold Schwarzenegger; he won a Grammy for Best Music Film (plus 5 Emmy nominations) for his work as executive producer, writer and editor of HBO’s “The Defiant Ones.” He also executive produced “From Cradle to Stage” with Dave Grohl and the popular AppleTV+ series “Home.” Doug was born in Denver, raised in Wisconsin, and lives in Los Angeles.
Ashley York is a journalist and documentary filmmaker whose work has taken her from America’s prisons to its Native American reservations. She has worked on Academy Award®-winning teams and on projects that have won top honors at the Sundance, Los Angeles, Berlin, and SXSW film festivals, and on Apple, Netflix, National Geographic, and HBO. Her film, Appalachian Futures, was commissioned and on display at The Smithsonian. Her film, Hillbilly, won the Grand Jury prize for Best Documentary at the Los Angeles Film Festival, a London Foreign Press Association Award, and a Michael Moore Founders Award for Best Documentary at the Traverse City Film Festival. She directed the Netflix Original Documentary Tig, an Official Selection of the Sundance Film Festival, Hot Docs, the Istanbul Documentary Festival, and Outfest. Ashley's work has been recognized for its commitment to highlighting women and girls and she has collaborated with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and the International Crisis Group. She was featured in Variety as a “filmmaker to watch.” She is an adjunct associate professor in the USC School of Cinematic Arts. She lives in Los Angeles where she runs Hazeltime, a production company she co-founded and named after her daughter, Hazel.
Courtney Spence is a social entrepreneur and global storyteller. She is the founder and CEO of Spence, a creative agency sought out for its expertise in purposeful, inclusive purpose, culture and brand strategies, with a particular focus on building community among Gen Z, millennials, women and diverse audiences. Courtney is also the founder of Students of the World, a non-profit she launched in 1999 as a Duke University undergraduate. Students of the World empowers diverse, emerging creatives, providing them with the skill-set and opportunities to tell stories of social good. She is the executive producer of a UN-endorsed documentary, The Children’s War. Through experiences that have taken her across the globe—including Cuba, Uganda, Myanmar, Haiti, Cambodia, Kosovo, Israel and the West Bank—Courtney has deepened her understanding of and expertise in inclusive storytelling and partnerships that enable companies and organizations to build community, expand their social impact and create lasting change. Her commitment to cultivating, amplifying and understanding diverse perspectives and to building community around solution-based storytelling has truly been the work of her life—and is something she seeks out in her personal, as well as professional, endeavors.
