Tuesday, October 2 4:15 PM - 5:15 PM Session B: The African-American Diaspora - Music, Sports, Film and TV: The Global Superpower Entertainment Industry Drivers From the courts of Wimbledon to the hills of Augusta, from the studios and sound stages of music moguls to TV and film stars, Black entertainers and athletes have a fan base which covers all four corners of the world. This influence has developed into a new market rapidly being promoted as the “Urban Market.” Today's entertainment powers recognize that African American role model really resonates with all kids and is creating original, intelligent and entertaining broadcast programming that extends beyond African American and domestic urban communities. Join industry professionals from film, TV, music and newmedia who will share their perspective on challenges and opportunities of financing, producing and distribution this genre of entertainment for mass consumer markets. Marlon Jackson, Celebrity Entertainer, President/COO, MBC Network Rashid Lanie, Award-winning, Composer, Activist, South Africa Nichelle Prothos, VP, Programming & Production, Urban Entertainment Jaymes Hines, Co-Founder, CEO, BlackStage Communications Moderator: Garvey C. A. Ince, Director, Strategic Alliances and Business Development, Lucent Technologies Marlon Jackson, Celebrity Entertainer, President/COO, MBC Network: Marlon Jackson brings more to MBC Network than just celebrity status. As President and COO, Jackson offers a wealth of experience in the entertainment industry as well as sound management skills. Unknown to the fans of the famed member of the Jackson Family dynasty is his organization and involvement in currency transactions with foreign countries and various loan transactions and financial instruments. Jackson also served on the Board of Directors of U.S.A. for America, monitoring the disbursement of $100 million in funds raised for medicine, food and other emergency items delivered to Ethiopia's hungry. Not only did Jackson appropriate the routing of funds to various agencies, but he often participated in the distribution and delivery of goods and services. Continuing his philanthropic and humanitarian efforts, Jackson and his wife, Carol, established the Direct Community Assistance Program more than 20 years ago. Once a week his family prepares and distributes meals to the homeless in San Diego's downtown district. Jackson is also noted for his participation in Japan's NIPPON 24-Hour Telethon, raising funds for worldwide hunger and for playing an intricate part in Hands Across America, which raised over $40 million to feed, clothe and shelter America's homeless. Selling over I00 million records as a part of the famed Jackson Five, Marlon has created and produced numerous videos and television projects including the animated cartoon series, "Kid Koolin & the Crew". Rashid Lanie, Award-winning, Composer, Activist, South Africa: Rashid Lanie came to Los Angeles in 1994 with scholarships from The University of Southern California and the Musicians Institute in Hollywood. Since then, in addition to composing and producing, Rashid has pursued his career as a pianist playing and recording with such celebrities and bands as: MACY GRAY, BOBBY WOMACK, JACKSON BROWNE, BLOODSTONE and LEBO M. In 1995 he was invited to be the Musical Director for the launch of the Lion King album, "Pridelands", incorporating the musicians of STEVIE WONDER, MADONNA, ADAM AND THE ANTS and YANNI. In 1996 he received the Award for Best Arrangement from the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers for "Infant Eyes" - a composition by WAYNE SHORTER, Rashid was nominated with PRINCE EYANGO of Cameroon for Best World Music Artist by the Los Angeles Music Awards. In 1998 he performed for BILL WITHERS" Celebrity Fundraising Event. In 1999 he played at the SACRED MUSIC FESTIVAL in Los Angeles for the DALAI LAMA. Rashid is well known in South Africa not only for his musical accomplishments, but also for his political activism in the fight against Apartheid. In 1992 he was commissioned to write a song called "The People Want Mandela" to celebrate NELSON MANDELA'S release from prison. He was also honored personally by Mandela, at a press conference following Mandela's release. Rashid was appointed to the United Nations in New York and Hollywood to speak on behalf of South African Musicians. As the Vice President of the South African Musician's Alliance, Rashid performed and/or collaborated with numerous celebrities from South Africa and the rest of the world including PAUL SIMON, HUGH MASEKELA, JOHNNY CLEGG and AL JARREAU. His band, THE RASHID LANIE JAZZ TRIO was featured regularly at music festivals and on South African TV. Rashid was the musical director of numerous musical theater productions including "Daughter of Nebo", commissioned by THE BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC. As a composer and producer Rashid is recognized for his musical diversity. His influences range from Brazilian to New Age, from African to Jazz, from Pop to Rock. He wrote and produced a CD of contemporary American groove music for Sonoton Records in Germany. In South Africa he produced an album of Zulu folk music called "Thula Sizwe". He was commissioned to write a classical composition for the Hungarian Symphony Orchestra called "Cosmic Excursion". He was also commissioned to write classical contemporary music for the first High Definition TV movie in Japan called "Sunday's Child". His most recent recording is the classical/new age solo piano CD "See What I See", which he composed, performed and produced. Nichelle Prothos, VP, Programming & Production, Urban Entertainment: Nichelle Protho is currently Vice President of Programming and Production for Urban Entertainment. Protho's responsibilities include developing, producing and marketing UE's library of animated and live-action shorts and feature films. Sheís brought several impressive projects to Urban including the Virgin International Presentation 2001, the animated series "The Contract" based on Screen Gems film "Love and Bullet" being released this fall and has overseen 17 animated series producing over 110 episodes in less than a year and a half. Daily she has had the pleasure of working with Malcolm Lee ("The Best Man", Reggie Hudlin ("House Party,î""Ladies Man"), John Singleton ("Boyz 'n the Hood," Ben Ramsey ("The Big Hit") and Tina Andrews ("Salle Hemmings," "Why Do Fools Fall In Love") on some of the most innovative Internet content the world has ever seen. Formerly, Director of Development for Sander/Moses Productions (Executive Producers of the Mimi Leder directed, ABC drama The Beast, the FOX drama Brimstone and the popular NBC drama Profiler) Protho oversaw the development of features and movies for television, as well as oversaw the day-to-day production of their series and pilots. Protho's producing credits include the feature film "Love and a Bullet" starring hip hop icon Treach from Naughty by Nature, two dramatic shorts starring Lou Myers (The Wedding Planner, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, A Different World) and Roma Maffia (Double Jeopardy, Kiss The Girls, Profiler) domestic and international commercial spots as well as music videos. Protho also has a post production background stemming from her tour at the commercial and music video division of Bedford Falls founded by multi-media entertainment producers Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick. During her stint at Bedford Falls, she worked on dozens of spots for various national and international products including Sprint, AT&T, Airtouch Cellular and K-Mart; as well as music videos for various artists including Michael Jackson. On the narrative side she was also involved with the television shows like My So Called Life and Birdland and the feature Legends of the Fall with Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins. Protho was born in Gary, Indiana, and raised around the world including Georgia, Nevada, Japan and Germany before enrolling in the University of Southern California and earning her bachelorís of science degree in Computer Science. She had a short four year stint as a software engineer for Hughes Aircraft Company's Space and Communicationís Division before making her move to Hollywood. Jaymes Hines, Co-Founder, CEO, BlackStage Communications: Recognized as one of the "Top 100 Most Influential People of the Web" by WebSight, an Internet trade publication, Jaymes is a visionary and advocate of "Multi-cultural Multimedia". Co-founder and CEO of blackstage communications, Jaymes consults and develops ebusiness models and marketing strategies for entertainment content and media companies that focus on culturally diverse global communities emerging online. Jaymes has been involved in the Internet since 1994, and is a veteran Multimedia Producer and Publisher with over 25 interactive projects to his credit. He has overseen the construction of award-winning websites and newmedia projects for mass media and entertainment industry clients, including the website and online marketing events for critically acclaimed Director Spike Lee's Oscar nominated documentary "4 Little Girls". Jaymes' key accomplishments within entertainment, technology and media industries include speaking engagements, tours, honors, awards, citations, publications and lectures among the following: newmedia profile in BET.com; World Television Forum-Montreux, Switzerland; Public Policy & the Internet-Los Angeles, CA; MILIA, International Interactive Content Marketplace- Cannes, FR; UCLA, Westwood, CA; California Culture Net, Association of African American Museums, WebNoize'98, Hollywood Black Film Festival, (PRAME) Public Relation Advertising Marketing Excellence Awards; The Hook-Up Alliance Forum, Howard University-Washington D.C.; and (EPM) Entertainment Promotions Marketing Conference, Universal City, CA. Garvey C. A. Ince, Director, Strategic Alliances and Business Development, Lucent Technologies: Garvey Ince is a 20-year veteran of the communications industry, and is currently responsible for creating an environment that meets customers' expectations in an effort to foster dialogue and build long term relationships between each customer and Lucent. Prior to joining Lucent, Garvey worked at Bellcore, (now known as Telcordia) Bell Atlantic, and AT&T. He has worked with corporations in Canada, Japan, Sweden, England, Germany, and the Czech Republic. Garvey is a graduate of NJIT, Stevens Institute of Technology and Rutgers SELECTED CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:Offer Development: Led offer teams to develop and deploy Long Distance solutions for Service Providers which are viewed as adding value to their customers' bottom line. Rapid Rollout of New Venture: Directed the creation and implementation of Bellcore's Technical Auditing Program which provided technical analysis, testing, consulting and software support to manufacturers of telecommunications equipment; developed core processes, sales, promotions and marketing programs. Business grew from $200,000 in 1991 to over $91 million in 1996. Change Agent: Served as advisor and facilitator to Bellcore's management and employees to lead and implement cultural change throughout the corporation. Market Entry Acceleration: Assisted in the planning and deployment of the first fiber optic system and digital cross-connect system in New Jersey. These systems formed the foundation for the implementation of the digital network in the state.