About Us
It all started when…
Tiana and her husband, Royal, were having conversations in their home about what they could do to bring better representation and diversity to media for young girls. They also wanted to see more positive stories for young girls in media and believe there is a direct correlation between what girls see in the media and their behavior. They birthed the idea of Soci Circle! Tiana assembled an all-star team of multiple writers, actresses, and a film crew to bring Soci Circle to life. Our film crew consisted of 60% women and 44% minorities, with women in all key roles. In just two months after the idea came, Soci Circle was already filming in Los Angeles. Six months later, Soci Circle won a Hollywood film festival and received critical acclaim — and the rest is history!
Tiana S. Clark
Creator and Executive Producer Tiana S. Clark has been a culture change agent for the past 20 years: as a US Air Force Airman of the Year leading troops in war target strategy; as a former at-risk middle school teacher, bringing exceptionality out of her students; as a nonprofit founder in the city of San Antonio, where her organization won an award from Big Brothers Big Sisters for recruiting mentors for the agency; and in two Fortune Top 10 companies -- Valero Energy and Microsoft, where she she has been a leader for 10 years, also leads Diversity and Inclusion initiatives, and serves on the Blacks at Microsoft leadership team, focused on Career Development. Tiana has been a guest speaker and panelist for many organizations committed to empowering women and youth, and fostering diversity and inclusion, including: The Tory Burch Foundation. Tiana holds a Master of Science in Educational Leadership and is a wife, a mother of four (3 girls!), a foodie, and a world traveler. Learn more about her here: https://tianasclark.com.
Cindy Baer
Director Cindy Baer is an award-winning director, producer and writer. Growing up the only child of a single mother, Cindy turned to acting as a positive creative outlet. She began her career as an actress at the Boston Children’s Theater at the age of 14, and appeared in over two dozen stage plays before she discovered her passion for filmmaking. Cindy's directorial debut PURGATORY HOUSE was a ground-breaking feature film entirely written by an at-risk 14-year-old girl Cindy mentored in the Big Sisters of Los Angeles Program. The movie dealt with the issues of teen suicide, drug addiction, and spirituality from the authentic perspective of today’s teen. A critical darling, it screened at 25 festivals, won 12 awards, received 2 Prism Award nominations, and was included on several critics' lists for "Best Films of the Year". Since then, Cindy has directed a second acclaimed feature called ODD BRODSKY (a quirky comedy about taking responsibility for your life) which is available on VOD, as well as several short films, music videos, and her personal favorite: Season 1 of the 12-part web series Soci Circle!
Kendra Williford
Illustrator Kendra Williford is an animator/illustrator residing in her home state of North Carolina. She received her BA in Studio Art from Lenoir-Rhyne University (Hickory, NC) as well as a BA in General Music. She went on to receive an MFA in 2D/Traditional Animation from Academy of Art University in San Francisco, where she lived for 3 years. Kendra provided courtroom sketches for the documentary “Texas Justice: Brandon Woodruff” and won numerous awards for her short film "Leonid in Space" that premiered in 2015 both nationally and internationally. Kendra is very passionate about her work and has been providing illustrations and animations to various clientele since her graduation in 2015.
Candice Smalls
Managing Writer, Candice Smalls. Wife. Mommy. Writer. Nonprofit Founder. Legend.
Pamela Lashall
Producer
Meet the Writers of Soci Circle! Our amazing writers teamed up to write each scene. We also carefully ensured we had a range of ethnicities represented in our writers, which is then reflected in the cast of characters.
