Our People

Ibram X. Kendi, Founder

Dr. Ibram X. Kendi is a National Book Award-winning author of fifteen books for adults and children, including nine New York Times bestsellers—five of which were #1 New York Times bestsellers. Dr. Kendi is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University, and the director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research. He is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a CBS News racial justice contributor.

Dr. Kendi is the author of Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, making him the youngest author to win that award. He also authored the international bestseller, How to Be an Antiracist, which was described in the New York Times as “the most courageous book to date on the problem of race in the Western mind.” Dr. Kendi’s other bestsellers include How to Raise an Antiracist; Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019, co-edited with Keisha Blain; How to Be a (Young) Antiracist, co-authored with Nic Stone; Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, co-authored with Jason Reynolds; and Antiracist Baby, illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky. In 2020, Time magazine named Dr. Kendi one of the 100 Most Influential People in the world. He was awarded a 2021 MacArthur Fellowship, popularly known as the Genius Grant.

Michael Lebowitz, Head of Development and Production

Prior to joining the production shingle, Michael Lebowitz served as the Director of Original Series at 21 Laps under their exclusive TV deal with Netflix. During his time there, he sold the reimagining of Unsolved Mysteries while he was still an assistant, and quickly rose through the ranks. He sold over a dozen projects across scripted and unscripted; working on shows such as I Am Not Okay With This, Unsolved Mysteries, and The Future Of which received an Emmy nomination. Michael previously held positions at The Firm, APA, and CBS Studios. In addition to working on several productions such as The Critics Choice Awards and Beyond the Tank, Michael cut his teeth on the Emmy Award winning series Shark Tank where he got his start in entertainment. Now at Maroon Visions, he plans to free the narrative by focusing on supporting traditionally marginalized voices and giving them a mainstream platform.

Seheri Swint, Creative Executive Assistant

A Detroit native, Seheri Swint earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Creative Writing & Film Studies from Pepperdine University before continuing her studies at Johns Hopkins University. During film school, she was awarded a Saul Zaentz media innovation grant to produce an original web series. Next, she moved to Thailand as a Henry Luce Fellow to work on commercial and theatrical productions. A former story consultant, Seheri now focuses on writing and championing high impact narratives from diverse perspectives.