TEAM
Juleyka Lantigua
Founder, CEO
Juleyka Lantigua is the Founder and CEO of LWC Studios, an award-winning digital media studio whose original work reaches rising audiences with programming that has a social-justice vein. She created and executive produces 70 Million, the first open-source solutions journalism podcast chronicling how locals are tackling jail reform around the country. In 2020, LWC Studios received a Peabody Award nomination, earned silver in the audio documentary category at the New York International Radio Festival, and won “The Director’s Prize,” their first Third Coast award, also known as “The Oscars of Audio.” In 2021, “Driving the Green Book,” which she edited and the company produced for Macmillan Podcasts, earned the inaugural Ambie for Best History Podcast. A Fulbright Scholar, Tory Burch Fellow, and Latino Business Action Network alumna (Stanford University), Juleyka holds a BA from Skidmore College, a Master’s in Journalism from Boston University, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College. She also serves on the board of governors of The Podcast Academy and the directors of Latino Media Network.
Kojin Tashiro
Lead Producer
Kojin Tashiro (he/him) is the lead producer and sound designer at LWC Studios, where he is responsible for the music, scores, and overall quality of over a dozen client and original shows. Trained as a musician, sound engineer, and composer, for inspiration Kojin draws on historical references, contemporary artists, and a variety of hand-crafted sounds to enrich the listening experience for shows that range in genre from expansive documentaries (Still Paying the Price, 70 Million) to interview shows (Latina to Latina, Trials to Triumphs) to investigative series (Left Over). Kojin has also produced music for Grammy-winning recording artists, created the original score for a Peabody-nominated podcast (The Dig from Louisville Public Radio), and contributed to the score of an Ambie-winning documentary series (Driving the Green Book). A self-proclaimed foodie, with ever-expanding expertise in culinary history and cuisines from around the world, he is producing an original series for LWC Studios that explores food trends around the globe.
Michelle Baker
Producer
Michelle Baker is a producer at LWC Studios, where she contributes across several key areas, including audio and video production, marketing, ad operations, platform management, and by administering Podcasting, Seriously education and community-building efforts, which include a newsletter, video-on-demand series and an awards fund benefiting independent audio producers in four countries. As an associate producer, Michelle produces virtual-studio sessions with hosts and guests, and aids in production across subject areas like politics (Democracy Decoded) and pop culture (Trials to Triumphs), history (Still Paying the Price), and equity (70 Million). As the ad ops lead, Michelle coordinates ad placements across all original LWC Studios shows, working with multiple ad agencies. She is also the team lead in all video-related matters, including developing strategies for shows, conceptualizing video content, directing and editing, script writing, and publishing.
Virginia Lora
Producer
Virginia Lora (she/her) is a Transom-trained bilingual audio producer. A skilled interviewer, writer, and listener at heart, she works in English, Spanish, and everything in between. When she can get away with it, she dabbles in French.
In her audio work, she enjoys wearing multiple hats as producer, reporter, writer, editor and guest whisperer, and is most interested in projects and stories that engage with people and ideas across multiple spectrums.
In another lifetime, Virginia conducted interviews and outreach efforts within Latino communities throughout the U.S. for StoryCorps’ oral history project, she helped document and share stories of unhoused women and families as part of community engagement efforts for a South Florida shelter, and conducted intake interviews with unaccompanied minors in immigration detention. Through these seemingly unrelated experiences she learned to ask questions; developed a knack for intense, engaged listening; and discovered a deep-seated interest in the challenges––and triumphs––of historically minoritized communities, all of which eventually led her to the world of audio.
Virginia has a B.A. in History, French and Certificate of U.S. Latinos & Latin American Studies from Amherst College. She lives and works in Miami, FL.
Shaneez Tyndall
Producer
Shaneez Tyndall is a multimedia storyteller, deep thinker, and big feeler. As the daughter of Guyanese immigrants, her parents’ sacrifices stoked her passion for underrepresented stories of hope and resilience. As one of the early members of PRX’s podcast training team, she supported the Google Podcasts creator program and the development of PRX's Podcasting 101 video series. With LWC Studios, Shaneez has produced Trials to Triumphs for OWN Podcasts as well as a celebrity couple’s upcoming podcast about personal growth. Shaneez has also produced shows for Spotify and Teach for America. Her screenplays have received recognition from Final Draft, Screencraft, BET and Issa Rae’s ColorCreative. Developing stories and curating platforms for creatives to expand beyond society’s “margins” is her life’s work.
Amanda DeJesus
Marketing Assistant
Amanda DeJesus (she/her) is the marketing assistant for 100 Latina Birthdays. As the marketing assistant for LWC Studios, she operates every aspect of our social media and writes the bi-weekly Podcasting, Seriously newsletter. She is also a freelance journalist based in Philadelphia.
Trendel Lightburn
Audio Producer
Trendel Lightburn (he/him) is a creative with technical experience in multimedia production. For seven years, he has worked across the spectrum of digital media, including podcast production, audio/video editing, mixing, engineering and sound designing. His wide-ranging expertise comes from working as an editor on All Ears with Abigail Disney, Heinz Signal Award winning Black Kitchen Series in collaboration with the Mayda Creative Co., OWN’s Trials to Triumphs produced by LWC Studios, and PRX’s Know What You See with Brian Lowery, among other notable entries. He’s also an avid gamer who looks forward to upcoming titles from AAA to indie, and likes to keep up with gaming news, expos, and developers.
Advisory Board Emeriti
Martina Castro
Martina Castro (she/her) is the founder and CEO of Adonde Media, a bilingual podcast production company currently based in Santiago, Chile. She also co-founded Radio Ambulante, NPR's first Spanish-language narrative journalism podcast. A Fulbright Scholar, she received the 2014 Edward R. Murrow Award for best audio documentary. She currently hosts and produces the Duolingo Spanish Podcast, which rose to #1 on iTunes within two weeks of its launch.
Chris Colbert
Chris Colbert (he/him) is the CEO and Founder of DCP Entertainment, a media platform for underrepresented voices, including people of color, women, the LGBTQ+ community, and other overlooked communities. Having worked with names like Jamie Foxx, Touré, Joy-Ann Reid, Zak Levitt, Andrew Jenks, Joe Madison, ESSENCE, PEOPLE, Crooked Media, Sports Illustrated, and the United Negro College Fund, Chris specializes in media partnerships and content development.
Pablo Fuentes
Pablo Fuentes (he/him) is Founder and Principal of makepath, a spatial data science firm in Austin, Texas. Previously, he was Founder and CEO of Proven, a small business hiring platform, where he designed and built products that are used by millions of people to find jobs and to hire talent. Additionally, he was honored as a Champion of Change by the Obama White House for his work mentoring minorities and women entrepreneurs. Pablo is currently a mentor for the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative.
Lesley Lopez
Lesley Lopez (she/ her) is the COO and Partner of ReKon Productions, an independent production company currently based in Culver City, California. She also produces, consults, and provides production support to a variety of projects from branded content to feature films every year. As a member of the Producers Guild of America, she strives to empower productions and producers to adopt sustainable practices. Lesley uses over a decade of experience to empower filmmakers, elevate voices and create collaborative communities.
Mitzi Miller
Mitzi Miller (she/her), the current Head of Development at Rainforest Entertainment, is a veteran writer and editor with over 15 years of media experience. Miller served as the editor-in-chief of EBONY and JET magazines, making her the third individual and the only woman in history to have played both roles. Lifetime Network debuted the TV movie With This Ring, which was based on Mitzi’s novel The Vow. Since Miller’s hire at Rainforest Entertainment, the company sold the drama series The Quad to BET. Follow her on Twitter @MitziMoments.
Doug Mitchell
A radio and multimedia producer with over 30 years of experience, Doug (he/him) has had a transformative impact on the public radio and media industries through his training, mentoring, and connecting of scores of professionals across television, print, radio, and internet platforms. Follow him on Twitter @NextGenRadio.
REKHA MURTHY
Rekha Murthy (she/her) is a podcast strategist who believes that podcasting is at its best when it includes a wide range of voices and lived experiences. She works with clients of all sizes - from Spotify, Crooked Media, KEXP, and BirdNote to independent creators, influencers, and journalists. Rekha is a founding team member and lead curriculum designer of Spotify's Sound Up program for new creators, and served as Founding Governor of The Podcast Academy, home of The Ambies. She spent years at PRX + Radiotopia, NPR's All Things Considered + NPR Online, and web and mobile startups.
STEVE PRATT
Steve Pratt (he/him) is the founder of The Creativity Business, a strategy firm helping companies find success with the right balance of creativity and business. He is the former co-founder of the world’s first and leading branded podcast agency, Pacific Content, which was named one of Entrepreneur’s 100 Brilliant Companies. Steve says, “LWC Studios is a values-driven company that has storytelling, experimentation, and community deep in its DNA, and I couldn't be more excited joining their Advisory Board."
A.C. Valdez
A.C. Valdez (he/him) is a Peabody Award-winning audio producer and editor. At the Panoply podcast network, he worked as the founding producer of Vox.com's The Weeds and The Ezra Klein Show, recruited the team behind Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History, and played a role in about a dozen other shows. His work with public radio includes re-launching NPR's Latino USA from a half-hour to one-hour format and expanding its digital and podcast footprint. Currently, he lives in Washington, D.C., where he's editing audio pieces for Guns & America, a reporting project based at WAMU.