Panelists

Trinitee Stokes is an actress, producer, speaker, host, author, singer, author, and comedian. Entertaining since the young age of 3, she is one of young Hollywood’s most heralded stars as she is constantly sought after for international commercials and guest star opportunities. Trinitee is best known for her starring role opposite Zendaya in Disney Channel’s hit series K.C. Undercover. She is also known for her work on ABC comedy series Mixed-Ish as well as other notable hit shows including Dear White People, All About the Washingtons, and Snowfall. As an author, Trinitee published her first book Bold & Blessed: How to Stay True to Yourself and Stand Out from the Crowd with much positive reception. With the foreword by Angela Bassett, Bold & Blessed encourages readers to know their worth and use Trinitee’s ups and downs as encouragement in their own lives that their big dreams are within reach. Trinitee made history at age 14 when she became the youngest student accepted to acclaimed university Emerson College in Boston, MA. During her tenure, Trinitee has also engaged in numerous academic trips abroad to proudly represent the School of Communications and share her academic research. Stokes also earned the 2023 Intern of the Year Award for her stellar work in the U.S. State Department, and Essence GU 2022 Education Award. Trinitee also serves as a Global Ambassador for “Read Across Africa” where she promotes literacy and raises funds to ensure that Kenyan kids have access to books. Other causes close to her heart include women’s empowerment, sustainability efforts, climate change, and voting equality.

Owen Eagan, Moderator
Owen Eagan serves as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Communication Studies at Emerson College and as a Senior Vice President for Consensus Strategies. He specializes in measuring and assessing strategic communications in business and political environments. His book, Oscar Buzz and the Influence of Word of Mouth on Movie Success, was published by Palgrave Macmillan in April 2020.

Tim Gray, Panelist
Tim Gray is an Executive Vice President of the Golden Globes, with oversight of the Membership Board of Directors. He formerly served as the Awards Editor and Senior Vice President for Variety. In 2021, he was named Print Journalist of the Year by the National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards. In his 40-plus years at Variety, he held a number of positions including Editor in Chief and oversaw special reports on important issues such as an 80-page study of Hollywood and violence, marriage equality, and criminal justice reform. He also is the author of the Rizzoli book, “Variety: An Illustrated History of the World,” about world events and their connection, or disconnect, to entertainment, and he wrote “75 Years of the Golden Globe Awards,” to honor their diamond anniversary. In addition, he was co-producer of the HBO documentary Boffo.

K.J. Matthews, Panelist
K.J. Matthews is a veteran entertainment journalist who has covered Hollywood for more than a decade. She started her career working as a news producer for the CBS-TV affiliate in San Diego. During her two-year stint at the Emmy award-winning station in San Diego, she wrote and produced breaking news stories and general news. After producing, she spent five years reporting and anchoring for ABC-TV and FOX-TV affiliates across the country. After several years, the Los Angeles native returned to LA and became an entertainment journalist for CNN for a decade. While at the network, she reported on the TV, music and film industry. Her work regularly appeared on AC360, The Situation Room, CNN Newsroom, and Outfront with Erin Burnett among others. Her work was not only a staple on CNN, but also on sister networks CNN International and CNN digital. She also created the TV and film digital segment, The Red Carpet Report. During her tenure, she was part of a team that won a Peabody Award and contributed to the Emmy-award winning primetime special CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute. Her career as an entertainment journalist eventually led her to work for the Emmy Award-winning show, Extra, for nearly two years. Currently, you can see and hear her entertainment reporting on BBC World TV, BBC World Service Radio, Sky News UK TV, and Germany’s DW News English TV. K.J. is also a member of the Golden Globes Awards (AKA the Hollywood Foreign Press Association). She also holds a bachelor’s degree from UCLA, and a master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from New York University.

Ryan Mazie, Panelist

Ryan Mazie is a dynamically-rounded publicist who has experience on the personal, studio, and agency side of PR to have a deep understanding on running a successful campaign that fires across all cylinders. Over the past decade he has been a part of dozens of Best Song and Score campaigns that have resulted in dozens of nominations and wins. In addition to his awards consulting, Ryan currently serves as Head of Communications at Story Syndicate, the production company created by Oscar and Emmy-winning filmmakers Dan Cogan and Liz Garbus. Previously he worked at Focus Features, Chasen & Company, and Jane Doe Films (the award-winning production company from Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering).

Carla Renata, Panelist

Carla Renata, aka “The Curvy Film Critic,” is a graduate of Howard University and has served as a moderator/host for Film Independent, SAG-AFTRA Foundation, American Cinematheque, The Bentonville Film Festival and more. As an entertainment host, she hosted The Black Experience on Film for Turner Classic Movies sponsored by AAFCA and various segments as a contributor for ITV, BBC, The LISTTV, The Stream Team, Fox-11 LA, Fox Soul and Good Day LA. Her reviews can be seen LIVE every week via YouTube and Facebook Live as part of her award-winning podcast The Curvy Critic with Carla Renata.