Editorial Advisory Committee

Sue Dando is a consultant to The Nature of Things, CBC’s ​internationally renowned science and nature strand, now in its 65th season.  S​he ​enjoyed running this​ landmark series for 13 years. Sue has produced, directed and written for Canadian media, both public and private, for more than three decades, ​including news and current affairs​ as well as long-form storytelling.   She has overseen many award-winning documentaries and international ​co-productions.  Sue has been an enthusiastic participant at many WCSFP Congresses. 

Virginia Schutte is an award-winning storyteller and scientist who is unstoppably and loudly enthusiastic about how science makes life better. Since earning her ecology Ph.D. in 2014, she has worked to diversify how people interact with science. She produces digital outputs that span platforms and include live, short form, and stylized video; appears frequently as on-screen talent for social media products; and acts as a creative director for projects and companies, designing communications strategies that build meaningful relationships and cultivate digital communities. Her most recent experiment got 1,000+ people to interact daily with scientists aboard an Antarctic icebreaker, and got Snoop Dogg to stop in and say hi. More at VirginiaSchutte.com.

Tom’s creative vision and leadership have played an integral role in helping to establish Arrow as one of the most admired factual producers in the UK. His credits include returning series America In Color, which delivered one of the highest ratings of the year for Smithsonian Channel; and highly acclaimed high-end feature documentary Under the Wire for History Films, BFI and BBC4. Tom has also spearheaded Arrow’s successful foray into the True Crime genre, which includes a slate of successful returning series for Investigation Discovery including Body Cam, See No Evil and American Monster. Tom’s UK credits include Inside Balmoral for Channel 5; Pearl Harbor: The Truth for Channel 4; and the landmark BAFTA- and RTS-winning Live From Space (a National Geographic Channel/Channel 4 co-production). Tom’s storytelling skills see him continue to produce hit returning series for broadcasters in both the UK and US.

Ally Christos is the VP of Global Development at multi-Emmy-winning Red Rock Films in the US. During her time at Red Rock International in South Africa, Ally developed shows for National Geographic, Netflix, Smithsonian, Terra Mater, ZDF/ARTE, NHK & NRK . Ally was the development executive on Red Rock’s first Netflix series, PENGUIN TOWN. The series went on to win 3 Daytime Emmys & the Wildscreen Panda Award for Best Scripted Narrative. Ally was the first winner of the Emerging Producer of the Year Award at World Congress of Science and Factual Producers (WCSFP), where she has served on the editorial committee for the past 3 years. She is an International Excellence Scholar & has a first class Master’s Degree (MA) from Royal Holloway, University of London.

Lee Constable is a presenter and producer with a focus on science, technology and society. As the host of Australian science TV show, Scope, she researches, writes, presents and produces segments on diverse STEM topics. Lee’s background is in both science and humanities with a Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Science Communication. She has toured remote and regional Australia as a Questacon Science Circus presenter; founded, produced and hosted social justice and sustainability radio show SoapBox; and is the founder of Co-Lab: Science Meets Street Art, where collaborations between scientists and street artists result in science-inspired murals that evolve live for the public. This year Lee was on board the largest ever all-female expedition to Antarctica with 80 international women in STEMM. Lee filmed this adventure and is currently developing a YouTube series about the experience and the role of women in the planet’s future.

Fernando Dias is an Executive Producer, founder of Grifa Filmes and B2Win Films (Canada), and the President of Latam Content Meeting, a new international audiovisual market held in Brazil. Created by Fernando, the event focuses on business development and co-production opportunities for non-fiction content, aiming to position Latin America as a strategic hub for the global industry. With over two decades of international experience, Fernando served as President of BRAVI (Brazilian Association of Independent TV Producers) from 2006 to 2009. During this period, he conceived and implemented Brazilian Content, the country's first audiovisual export program, internationally awarded and developed in partnership with ApexBrasil, the Ministry of Culture, and Sebrae. 

Since 1997, Fernando has been an active presence at major international documentary markets and festivals, participating as a speaker or moderator at events such as Hot Docs (Canada), Sunny Side of the Doc (France), MIPTV, MIPDoc, and MIPCOM (France), Realscreen (USA), Rio2C, the World Congress of Science and Factual Producers, as well as festivals in Colombia and South Africa. Throughout his career, he has produced over 100 documentary titles broadcast worldwide, earning dozens of national and international awards.

Trace Dominguez is a science communicator, producer, television presenter, podcaster, and digital creator. He crafts stories to educate and inspire audiences across all platforms. He is the host and producer of PBS's Star Gazers, the world's only weekly television series on naked-eye astronomy. Trace also creates the Trace Elements and Uno Dos of Trace video series on YouTube, exploring diverse scientific topics. He co-founded and produced Seeker, one of the first daily science shows online. Trace has appeared across Discovery and Science Channels, PBS television and PBS Digital Studios, NowThis, and more. He is an Emmy-nominated host and producer, a Telly Award winner, and earned a People’s Choice Webby Award. Trace holds a B.S. in Psychology and an M.A. in Strategic Communication.

Fabrice Esteve is an experienced French independent producer with a strong track record in international co-productions. Since 2012, he heads YUZU Productions together with Christian Popp. Recent science productions include Listening to orcas, Microbiota: the amazing powers of the gut, Brains in danger, Cyborgs among us, The Bloody Truth. He is the current president of the French Association Science & Television gathering 54 production companies, and of the Pariscience international film festival.

Hiro is an experienced producer with NHK’s esteemed science unit. He has produced the Deep Ocean series with Sir David Attenborough and also delivered the first live 4K broadcast from Antarctica. Hiro has produced several international co-productions with broadcasters and streamers. He also works as a digital producer at NHK science unit and has produced more than 100 science shows involving virtual sets over the past five years.

Maia is the Associate Director of Strategic Partnerships at Creative UK, leading on industry engagement and strategic commercial partnerships as well as directing the annual Creative UK Festival. Prior to this role, she was Head of Creative Partnerships at the Wellcome Trust, responsible for uniting creative thinkers and commissioning cross-sector collaborations. With a former career producing and directing specialist factual, Maia is always open to hearing your project ideas.

Sonya Lee is a Korean-Canadian producer/director and National Geographic Explorer dedicated to stories that intersect science, nature, people and culture.  Her most recent project combines her love of food, her Korean culture and ocean conservation with a 3 x 22 documentary series called Our Ocean Table for TELUS Originals. Her film Jawsome: Canada’s Great White Sharks on CBC’s The Nature of Thingsand has been nominated for the Rob Stewart Award for Best Science and Nature Documentary or Series for the Canadian Screen Awards 2025.  With over a decade of experience in science communication, Sonya was previously the Science Producer for the National Film Board of Canada’s Ocean School project, producing over 100 media pieces including documentaries, VR/AR experiences, and multimedia interactives.

Jim Louderback is among the most respected figures in digital media with a 30-year history of leadership at the intersection of traditional media, digital media, experiential and technology.  

He recently ended an 8-year run with VidCon, starting in 2014 as editorial director of the industry track, taking over as CEO in 2017.  In early 2018 he led the sale of VidCon to Viacom (now Paramount).  He previously led investments in numerous startups as a Venture Partner at Social Starts, built and sold online video network Revision3 to Discovery, was editor-in-chief of PC Magazine and founding content lead for cable network TechTV.

Jim writes the popular weekly newsletter "Inside the Creator Economy" on LinkedIn, advises startups, and develops, curates and moderates events and experiences globally.

Joseph has developed, directed and produced high end, prime time documentaries for most of the major broadcasters in Britain and America, working for many of Britain's leading production companies. He started as commissioning editor for SBS in January 2012 and became head of Documentaries in June 2016.

Born in Bad Belzig in East Germany studied political sciences at the University of Potsdam, graduating with a Diplom. Parallel to his career in television, he has been involved since the late nineties in conceiving and implementing numerous award-winning online projects and building platforms. Following the success of Polar Sea 360°, he continued exploring content from a 360° video and virtual reality perspective. Kay is since 2018 Head of Mission Innovation and works on the TV of after tomorrow.

Wangeci Mūrage is a distinguished Broadcast Media Executive and Content Distribution Specialist with over 25 years of experience advancing Africa’s media and entertainment industry. She is the Founder and CEO of Media Pros Africa, a leading consultancy offering content distribution, marketing, media strategy, training, and event management, serving broadcasters, telecom operators, producers, and film festivals across the continent.She has played a key role in bringing African stories to global audiences, curating and delivering content to platforms including Netflix, Safaricom’s Baze, and various FTA, Pay TV, and VOD services. She was pivotal in launching Africa Magic Swahili on DStv and Swahili Movies on ZUKU TV, and oversaw flagship productions such as Big Brother Africa, Idols East Africa, Changes, Tales from the Bush Larder, and Groove Theory at M-Net Africa and Wananchi Programming.

 She has been a juror for the International Emmy Awards, Africa Movie Academy Awards, Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, Zanzibar International Film Festival, and the Maine International Film Festival, among others. She has spoken at key forums including DISCOP Africa, Kalasha International Film and TV Market, Nature Environment Wildlife Filmmakers (NEWF), Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum, and the US-Kenya Creative Economy Partnership.

Anne has always loved documentary films and has a soft spot for Wildlife & Science programs. Following her degree in Languages and Business Administration, she worked for the German nature and science film production company Marco Polo Film in Heidelberg and Paris-based distributor Upside Television. In 2010 Anne was a founding member of the factual distribution outlet Albatross World Sales and assumed sole ownership in 2022. Albatross works with over 50 production companies and currently represents a catalog of about 400 hours of documentaries.  She speaks German, English and French.

Over ten years in the international TV business, Mikael has been involved in commissioning, co-producing and buying for the biggest public service channel in Scandinavia. He started in program development before working as a non-scripted producer in Sweden.

Charlie Parsons is Senior Vice President of Global Development for the National Geographic Channel, responsible for developing new projects, discovering new talent, and serving as the network’s main point of contact for the global production community and agents around the world. His focus is on strategically engaging with the world’s top unscripted and natural history creatives to commission premium specials, series and franchises that elevate the brand, attract a broad audience and garner major awards consideration. He leads a talented development team with offices in London, New York, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles.

Sonya Pemberton is one of Australia’s leading documentary filmmakers, an Emmy Award recipient and record-breaking five-time winner of the prestigious Eureka Prize for Science Journalism. Her passion is creating quality science documentaries for global audiences. 

She has written, directed and produced over seventy hours of broadcast documentary, her films winning over eighty international awards.  Previously Head of Specialist Factual at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Sonya created Genepool Productions to explore complex and polarised areas of science. 

Genepool’s recent titles include Carbon - the unauthorised biography (ABC, ARTE, CBC, with Handful of Films), Last Chance to Save a Life (SBS), Cracking Covid (ABC),  Vitamania ( SBS, Arte, CuriosityStream), Uranium - Twisting the Dragon’s Tail (SBS, PBS, ZDF Arte), Jabbed - love, fear and vaccines (SBS, Arte), and Vaccines Calling the Shots (PBS NOVA, with Tangled Bank Studios). 

Justin “Mr. Fascinate” Shaifer is an award-winning TV Host and Producer who is at the forefront of transforming science and tech education. Justin is a visionary leader in media, science and technology education. He has produced and starred in creative concepts with major networks and companies like ABC, PBS Digital Studios, Chevy Bolt, NVIDIA, and more. As the founder of Fascinate Media, Justin is revolutionizing the way students learn by creating immersive educational experiences and content using 3D VFX, Virtual Production, and Generative AI. His goal is to become the ESPN of STEM.

Miguel is a producer, director and scriptwriter of factual content based in Santiago, Chile. Founder and CEO of We Are South, a production company committed to decolonise TV and film narratives. Works on a regular basis with international broadcasters and streaming services as  Al Jazeera, Netflix, Channel 4, TV5, Discovery, BBC, ABC, PBS and more. He has produced award-winning stories in most of Latin and North America, Europe, the Middle East, Oceania and Antarctica. Board president of API Chile, the independent producers association of Chile. A member of the World Congress of Science and Factual Producers since 2016, he specializes in the production, development and direction of content in Latin America. 

Simon Young is currently the Head of History at the BBC, overseeing everything from the critically acclaimed 9/11: Inside the President's War Room and the Sundance-premiering Untouchable: The Rise and Fall of Harvey Weinstein, to box-set hits such as Rise of the Nazis and D-Day: The Unheard Tapes, and returning series such as A House Through Time and Who Do You Think You Are?

Prior to this, Simon worked at National Geographic Channel, where his commissions included the series Dian Fossey: Secrets in the Mist. He has also worked extensively in independent TV production in the UK, producing the headline-grabbing Channel 4 documentaries about the discovery of King Richard III, including the award-winning Richard III: The King in the Car Park. He has worked as a writer, producer and director for US, UK and International broadcasters.

Mr. Yuan Cura Zhang heads bilibili’s non-fiction business. Before joining bilibili, he served as the Deputy Head of Content and Products for Warner Bros. Discovery Greater China and Southeast Asia. His early career started with Shanghai Media Group as a TV reporter, producer, and team manager. He is equipped with a strong career background in the media industry and has international background with multi-cultural insights. Mr. Zhang and his team have been responsible for a number of leading shows, including Emergency, The National Parks of China, Hot-Pot 2, Walk Along, A Kiss of Sweets, China On The Move, etc. He and his team have also produced award-winning documentary Survival in Shanghai, TV editorial Innovative City, short video brand 3D2K, TV commentary One-Seventh, and more. Mr. Zhang is the winner of the Gold Award at The Houston International Film Festival, Contribution Award at Davis International Film Festival, The Telly Awards, Asia Television Awards, Asian Academy Creative Awards, Top Award of China News Awards, China Broadcasting Awards, China Documentary Top 10 Award, Magnolia Awards Nomination, to name a few. Mr. Zhang is an Executive Committee member of China Television Artists Association’s TV Documentary Society, a Master Degree Mentor at Shanghai Jiaotong University and East China Normal University, a Standing Committee member of Beijing Documentary Development Association, a jury of the “Golden Panda Award” and China Documentary Top 10 Award, as well as a decision maker for China Guangzhou International Documentary Festival, China Documentary Festival and CNEX Chinese Doc Forum. Mr. Zhang holds a Bachelor’s degree of Economics in China and a Master’s degree of International Relations in US. His hobbies include basketball, classical music, travel, and white wine.