With a Hollywood production track record including “American Gangster”, “8 Mile”, “Cinderella Man”, and other critically acclaimed, commercially successful films, Jim Whitaker, President of Imagine Entertainment, is the Director and Founder of Project Rebirth. Jim began his career as a documentary filmmaker creating socially conscious films to raise money for non-profit organizations, including BEST BUDDIES, REBUILDING TOGETHER, and SHOOTING BACK, an organization that teaches photography to homeless inner-city youth. He also wrote and directed LOADED, an award-winning public service announcement against drinking and driving in memory of a Georgetown University classmate.

Director of Photography Tom Lappin has worked alongside Jim since Project Rebirth’s inception.  His work includes Martin Scorcese’s “The Departed,” “The Devil Wears Prada,” and “Gangs of New York.” 

---

Kevin Filipini Inspired by award-winning community service programs in Chicago, Kevin Filipini moved to California to pursue a filmmaking career. He soon landed a niche in editing social issue documentaries including "The Dance", Executive Produced by Nicholas Cage. Other projects include additional editing on "Most", an Academy Award-nominated short, and "Death of a Shaman", which will air on PBS. Most recently, he served as Editor on "Jimi Hendrix: The Last Experience".

---

David Solomon started his film career working as a production coordinator for several low-budget films shot in New York. Solomon then spent a year working with director Jonathan Demme in his New York production office, where he helped produce several music videos and a documentary directed by Mr. Demme. After graduating from Yale Law School in 1992, Solomon spent 3 years practicing entertainment law at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. In 1995, Solomon moved to Los Angeles to work as Director of Creative Affairs at Paramount Pictures, overseeing development and production of feature films for the studio. He left Paramount in 1997 to work as an independent producer with Davis Entertainment, based at 20th Century Fox. Solomon returned to New York in 2001 to work in the corporate development group at the pharmaceutical company Forest Laboratories. He is continuing to produce his film projects at various studios in Los Angeles, and most recently produced PAYCHECK, directed by John Woo, and starring Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Lincoln Center Theater.

---

Danielle Beverly has nine years in documentary filmmaking, beginning her career at Chicago's PBS affiliate. She co-produced "Dance From the Heart", an Emmy-winning PBS documentary about The Joffrey Ballet and disability, and was Segment Producer for the Emmy-winning PBS series "Independent View". Other projects include producing ITVS' "True Stories: Life in the USA" international documentary series, and the PBS series "Keeping Kids Healthy", which earned her a 2007 Emmy nomination.

Ms. Beverly holds a B.A. in Public Health and an M.F.A. in Film/Video. In 2006, she was selected as one of twenty Producers to attend the CPB/PBS Producers Academy at WGBH in Boston, where she learned about documentary making from Ric Burns and the creators of PBS' "Frontline" series.

With a BA in from Georgetown University (CAS ’79), in 1982, Mr. Rafferty co-founded Taylor Rafferty, the leading global investor relations firm that for over 25 years has specialized in assisting international companies to build cross-border shareholdings and international capital markets capabilities.  As Chairman of the Board of Project Rebirth, Mr. Rafferty assists with development and implementation of Rebirth’s long-term strategy.

Mr. Rafferty is a long time member of several financial service and financial communications professional organizations, serves on the Board of Tulchan Communications, a leading UK financial PR firm, the Board of Regents of Georgetown University, is a private pilot and the 2007 50+ North American Road Masters Champion, riding for Brooklyn’s own “Deno’s Wonder Wheel” Cycling Team.

---

Nick Wood works at Susquehanna International Group where he sells equity derivative products. Prior to Susquehanna, Mr. Wood was a Managing Director and co-head of US Equity Derivatives sales at Citigroup. He received his BA from Georgetown University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. While at Georgetown, he helped start Best Buddies with Anthony Schriver, and later worked as Program Director for the Inner-City Teaching Corps in Chicago.

---

John Wood started his career at Dean Witter and UBS Securities, then founded his own boutique investment bank. He was named CEO of Telos in 1994 and quickly began leading the company’s transformation from a hardware integrator to a provider of network-centric, government-validated enterprise security solutions. Mr. Wood graduated from Georgetown University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Finance and Computer Science. He currently serves on several private company boards.

After graduating from Yale Law School in 1992, David Solomon spent 3 years practicing entertainment law at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. In 1995, David moved to Los Angeles to work as Director of Creative Affairs at Paramount Pictures, overseeing development and production of feature films for the studio. He left Paramount in 1997 to work as an independent producer with Davis Entertainment, based at 20th Century Fox. Solomon returned to New York in 2001 to work in the corporate development group at the pharmaceutical company Forest Laboratories.

---

As the Associate Director of Project Rebirth, Sara Isaacs manages the organization's office and operations in New York City. Originally from the Bay Area in California, Sara decided to pursue her career development in New York City. Prior to moving to the non-for-profit sector, Sara was the Financial Controller at Nurun, a leading interactive agency situated just a few blocks from the World Trade Center site. Following the 9/11 terror attacks at the World Trade Center, Sara was deeply affected by the events and was compelled to dedicate herself to be part of this meaningful documentary film which would tell the story of survivorship that will become a significant and enduring educational tool for many generations to come. Sara's invaluable contributions throughout her career both in corporate and non-for-profit environments have lead to a successful path of promotions, recognitions, and achievements. Sara has received her education in Visual Studies at The New School in New York City, where she is currently pursuing a combination of undergraduate and graduate degrees.

---