Meet our newest addition: OTV Integrity Board Members
As OTV builds new ecosystems and pipelines we want to hold space for evolutionary governance to play a role in shaping our future. The establishment of an Integrity Board is to imagine how our organization can work in tandem with our key-stakeholders to create uninhibited possibilities that reflect OTV’s vision and mission.
Members of the Integrity Board will support the organization in taking strong courageous public stances against white supremacy, evolving injustices and other harmful systems of oppressions commonly found in the entertainment industry while remaining fully and autonomously engaged in manifesting systemic change through the amplification of their personal careers.
The integrity board will advise OTV through term-based commitments to ensure that we are creating accessible and transparent ways for intersectional communities to engage with the organization’s resources.
Levels of engagement are modeled after the following elements: earth, water, air, fire and nature. Each element grounding OTV deeper into its mission as the organization expands locally, nationally and internationally over the next several years.
It brings us great excitement to announce that Karan Sunil and Kyra Jones have accepted the invitation to join OTV's Integrity Board as our inaugural air squad! . With their combined passion for intersectional representation (on/off screen), diverse storytelling and innovative approach to filmmaking we are so incredibly thrilled to see what they will accomplish over the next year and beyond as we expand OTV's footprint nationally and internationally. Please join us in welcoming Karan and Kyra deeper into the #OTVMultiverse.
Karan Sunil (hey/him) is an Indian-American writer and director based in LA. He is currently developing two original comedy projects for TV, one with Hulu and Lionsgate and the other with Sony Television. He also wrote and directed his hit online web series, Code-Switched, and was a 2020 Film Independent Project Involve Writing Fellow where the short he wrote, Omolara, debuted at the 2021 Urbanworld Film Festival. He was previously a 2019 OTV Fellow as well as the writers’ assistant on NBC's Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist and an unannounced Ilana Glazer project. Having immigrated from India as a child, Karan has been on a journey to use storytelling to reflect the humor and pain that comes from immigration and the constant state of feeling “in-between.” He is a graduate of DePaul University with a BA in Digital Cinema & Television Writing. He is represented by CAA and Alldayeveryday.
I'm thrilled and honored to be on OTV's Integrity Board and help pay forward the gifts that it has bestowed upon me. Through OTV, I grew so much as a creator and learned first-hand how communities can be fostered in the process of bringing into fruition the art that reflects it.
Kyra Jones (she/her) is a Black feminist screenwriter, filmmaker, and actor whose work centers Black women's experiences with intimate relationships, sexuality, and liberation. She received her degree in Theatre and Gender Studies from Northwestern University. She's currently a writer on the Hulu series WOKE and the ABC series QUEENS. Her award-winning web series, THE RIGHT SWIPE (OTV), was an official selection at Austin Film Festival, Urbanworld Film Festival, and many others. Her comedy script, GOOD VIBES ONLY won Best Half-Hour Pilot at the 2020 Nashville Film Festival. Her upcoming feature film, GO TO THE BODY, won 'The Pitch' at the 2020 Chicago International Film Festival and Screencraft's virtual pitch competition. As an actor, she’s appeared on the series finale of EMPIRE (Fox), THE CHI (Showtime), and CHICAGO JUSTICE (NBC). In addition to being an artist, Kyra is a sexual violence prevention educator and survivor advocate, formerly serving as the assistant director of Northwestern University's Center for Awareness, Response, and Education (CARE). She is managed by Echo Lake Entertainment.
I'm so excited and deeply honored to be joining the OTV Integrity Board. OTV is where I honed my voice as an artist and where I found the skills, allies, and confidence to pursue a career in Hollywood. I'm looking forward to bringing the elevator back down for other dope intersectional creators!