Shicong Zhu, AVP, Head of Content, Pocket FM: Shicong is an award-winning director and hit-making producer who helped define the early creative grammar of vertical short drama in North America. Currently serving AVP, Head of Content, Pocket FM and prior to hat she was Head of Studio (LA) at DramaBox, leading its U.S. West Coast and LATAM hub across in-house, co-produced, and vendor-based originals. At DramaBox, she built the LA production hub with a dedicated in-house team that now operates at scale — having produced 80+ titles in 2025 with a 20% hit rate. We’ve also developed our own methodology for vertical storytelling and production, enabling us to move fast while maintaining consistent creative and commercial results. Previously, as an Executive Producer at ReelShort, I produced viral titles with over 500M total views — including The Double Life of My Billionaire Husband and We Will Love Again. As a director, my work includes We’re Never Ever Getting Back Together, which was featured in The Guardian’s cover story on the rise of vertical drama. Beyond shows, I’ve invested in building the ecosystem — training directors and producers on their first vertical projects and establishing the workflows that support sustainable growth. Seeing new talent thrive has been as rewarding as producing viral hits.

Meiko S. Patton writes 916VerticalNews.com, home of 9:16 Vertical Intelligence, a newsletter tracking vertical microdramas, AI-driven media, mobile-first storytelling, and the new creator economy. Her love of verticals comes from seeing how phone-first stories are changing who gets to create, distribute, and build an audience by greenlighting themselves. Through her trademarked brand WUTOMINOMB™ — “What U Think Of Me Is None Of My Business” — Meiko champions black sheep, underdogs, and creators building outside the traditional gatekeeping system. Her work blends storytelling, AI, resilience, and media intelligence for a new vertical-first era.

Debby Gerber is a Swiss Native multi award-winning actress and producer based in Los Angeles. Having moved from Switzerland in 2009 to pursue her dream of acting, she has built an international career spanning feature films, television, commercials, and more than 30 vertical drama series, earning recognition for her emotional depth, versatility, and ability to seamlessly portray both heartfelt protagonists and complex villains. Debby stars as the female lead, Sarah Ellis, in the upcoming theatrical feature Beyond Belief, an '80s faith-based coming-of-age drama produced by Intrigue Films (releases Aug 28th nationwide). She also recently wrapped the feature film Forgive Me April alongside Jesse Hutch and Brett Varvel and completed filming a Lifetime movie in Tampa, where she plays the story's unexpected villain. A recognized face in the rapidly growing vertical drama market, Debby has portrayed lead and major supporting roles in over 30 vertical series, including two productions filmed in Xian, China, where she worked on international productions for global streaming audiences. Her feature film credits include Loved, in which she played the lead role of Hannah, Fool's Paradise, directed by Charlie Day and starring Adrien Brody, The End of the World, Hope for the Holidays, where she portrays the younger version of Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner Sally Kirkland's character, and Somewhere Else, opposite Cameron Arnett and Karen Abercrombie. Debby's work has earned her multiple awards and nominations, including the New Jersey Film Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Rome International Movie Award for Best Actress, recognizing both her dramatic range and compelling screen presence. Beyond acting, Debby is also an accomplished producer and the founder of Dove Productions, where she develops and produces original films. She is currently developing the ambitious historical drama series Commonwealth, centered on the Salem Witch Trials and a modern Western. Originally from Switzerland and fluent in four languages, Debby brings an international perspective to every project she undertakes. Whether portraying inspiring heroines, emotionally complex women, or unforgettable antagonists, she is passionate about telling meaningful stories that resonate with audiences worldwide.

Catherine Clinch, Veteran TV Writer, Hunter, Jake & the Fat Man, Love Boat, Hart to Hart: iOnce a stand-up regular at The Improv, The Comedy Store and The Playboy Club (where she was conspicuously overdressed) Catherine has written for some of television’s most popular network series including THE LOVE BOAT, HART TO HART, HUNTER, JAKE & THE FATMAN, KNIGHT RIDER, TRUE CONFESSIONS and TRANSFORMERS: RESCUE BOTS. In 2018, she created Stan Lee’s S.T.E.A.M. SQUAD for POW! Entertainment. Catherine has worked directly for a veritable who’s who of iconic television producers and executives, including Aaron Spelling, Fred Silverman, Alan Landsburg, Peter Roth, Kevin Reilly and Stephen J. Cannell, earning 26 produced credits in network television. She’s the former Associate Publisher of the print version of Creative Screenwriting Magazine and co-coordinator of the first five years of Screenwriting Expo. Looking for a new challenge, she expanded her scope into other forms of media such as marketing, technology, and mobile entertainment for which she has been awarded three technology patents. She’s also won five hackathons, including the AT&T Regionals two years in a row. Catherine wrote the story and created the art for a new graphic novel, A MILLENNIAL’S GUIDE TO THE APOCALYPSE, which she plans to release later this year. She dabbles in graphic design, teaches classes in Social Media Strategy and the Theory of Storytelling at local university campuses and has road-tripped through half the country. Currently, Catherine Chairs the WGAw Career Longevity Committee where she advocates for older writers to obtain equal access to the job market and equal opportunity for sustained professional growth. She is a frequent speaker at conferences in Nashville, Dallas, Orlando and Portland. Catherine is happily married with three sons.

Lynn Rogoff is an Emmy Award-winning producer, writer, director, and CEO of Amerikids Productions whose career spans television, film, theatre, interactive media, and emerging forms of AI-powered storytelling. She is the creator of the award-winning AI-driven magical realism series Bird Woman: Sacajawea, inspired by true events and currently streaming on Herflix, Red Nation Channel, and international Amazon Prime Video territories. The series has received multiple international film festival awards and explores new models for independent production, serialized storytelling, audience engagement, and franchise development in the AI era. Throughout her career, Rogoff has focused on creating culturally meaningful stories centered on resilience, identity, and overlooked historical voices. Her Emmy Award-winning performance documentary No Maps on My Taps helped bring national recognition to the Black tap dance community, preserve an important chapter of American cultural history, and was later selected for preservation in the Library of Congress National Film Registry. A pioneer in interactive storytelling, Rogoff also created the McGraw-Hill Home Interactive title Pony Express Rider, an early example of educational entertainment that combined historical narrative with audience participation. Today, Rogoff leads interdisciplinary teams of artists, technologists, graduate students, and emerging creators exploring how AI tools are transforming storytelling, production workflows, intellectual property development, audience engagement, and the future of independent entertainment.

Catherine Warren is the founder and president of FanTrust, a pioneer in fan-building and digital innovation. Celebrating 25 years, FanTrust has led in digital engagement, rights, and revenues for international entertainment clients in TV, film, streaming, the creator economy, video games and eSports. Prior to founding FanTrust, Catherine was COO of a broadcast tech company that she and co-founders took public on the Nasdaq, growing it to a $300M market cap. A media-tech innovator, economic development CEO, and Board Director, Catherine’s leadership has resulted in $8B+ in high-impact investment to Canada since 2018. As Chief Executive Officer of Vancouver Economic Commission, she led a portfolio including the Vancouver Film Commission, the world’s largest animation and visual effects sector contributing $3.8B in annual production; smart cities technologies such as AI, quantum computing and the green and impact economies. A leader in AI for Media, Catherine’s portfolio includes building North America’s fastest-growing tech sector and establishing an accelerator fund for Edmonton, known as a global AI capital. She builds ethical AI strategies for broadcasters, prodcos, media funds, telcos and municipalities. Catherine also serves as Canada’s representative on the International Emmy nominating committee