Markus Sherman
Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director
Hi, my name is Markus and I am an educator, writer, activist, dancer, photographer and film production enthusiast. I am extremely passionate about solving the most complex equity challenges we face around the globe, and believe that Honesty Hour’s approach to engagement and empathy building is the path to a brighter future.
I have had the fortune of living and working around the world, and want to utilize my global perspective to best curate Honesty Hour conversations, panels, live events media. With 5 years of formal education experience including my current stint at a New York-based charter network, I bring to the table expertise in crafting meaningful curriculum and leading discussions that inspire change in people from all walks of life.
Whatever the challenge, we’ll face it together. All we have to do now is talk about it.
Sharadram Sundaresan
Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director
Hello, my name is Sharad and I am a public health researcher, activist, musician, community organizer and aspiring physician. I have had extensive experience in health-science research with a focus in healthcare-delivery and healthcare-equity issues in the US and globally. I’m exceedingly passionate about working to help create solutions to the global issues of equity we face. I believe that through the platform and community of Honesty Hour we will help propagate an environment of empathy and compassion building to promote a more prosperous future for all individuals.
I have been given the opportunity to work with a wide array of people from various healthcare populations. I hope to take advantage of my experience to better cultivate content for Honesty Hour from conversations and live media events to novel digital content. Throughout my years of formal research and education experience in Chicago and Los Angeles, I bring expertise in community engagement as well as discrete technical knowledge to the Honesty Hour platform.
There are challenges all around us, but the solutions are just a conversation away. So… let’s talk about it!
Mona Kubota-Johnson
Director: Media and Communications
Hi! My name is Mona and I am a creative director, producer, production assistant and lover of all things arts, culture, and fashion. Most recently, I co-creative directed a multi-media project exploring the evolution and impact of the womens' Power Suit.
Being raised in New York City’s Chinatown by two architects, I was constantly exposed to the arts and a variety of individuals and cultures. As a child, I was always creatively motivated, which ultimately landed me at LaGuardia High School where I studied costume design and stage management among fellow young artists.
Stage management and my work at LaGuardia gave me a creative backbone and skills in the logistical aspects of artistic productions and the passion to be a part of the creative process, and realize one’s artistic vision. Early on in my college career at USC, I made the switch over to film and interned at the New York-based documentary production companies, Hard Working Movies, and Isotope Films, and in my senior year, worked as a production assistant at the London/Los Angeles based Gen-Z online media company, Kyra TV.
Between internships and school, I also took gigs as a production assistant on set, continued my skating career with USC’s Figure Skating Club, and Since graduating, I have been working on a variety of productions spanning from commercials to live TV productions.
With the Honesty Hour team, I co-create and ideate content for online platforms, with a focus that remains curious and conscious of the place we are in as a society, while also uplifting the stories and voices of those who typically do not make it onto the world’s social media feeds.
Christina Craig
Contributing Writer, Copy Editor
Hi, my name is Christina Craig and I am a writer, avid reader, amateur film maker, photographer, alliteration enthusiast, and advocate for life-long learning. After four years at film school and two years in the industry, I have now arrived, fully fledged, at my quarter life crisis. I hope to one day combine my passion for writing and my desire to do meaningful work at a community level through teaching, specifically through hosting creative writing workshops to foster an environment where I can encourage more people to pursue and perfect their storytelling.
As a reformed shy kid, I can speak first-hand to how listening is crucial in cultivating compassion. I’m therefore extremely excited to be working with Honesty Hour to create spaces for open and respectful conversations.
With Honesty Hour I will be creating succinct and informative written content to accompany our programming. So if you want to stay involved but don’t have time to watch hours of videos, good news! You can (and should) read my pieces in the writings tab!
I promise, gaining an enriched and informed perspective is an ongoing process that anyone can start. You just have to be willing to engage!
Connor Ling
Video Producer
Howdy! My name is Connor and I am a video producer, journalist, voracious news consumer, burrito enthusiast, and diehard Cleveland sports fan. I believe that film has the power to change hearts and minds more than any other artistic medium and know that the content we are creating at Honesty Hour will lead to important, meaningful dialogue.
Born and raised in suburban Ohio, I had a lot to learn about the world after graduating high school. The influx of people with different perspectives and from different walks of life has changed me in more ways than I can articulate, but the willingness of others to have illuminating, oftentimes hard conversations is the reason why I have become the person I am today.
My love for film production coupled with my desire to tell stories based around real-people led me to study journalism at USC. While in college, I created content for the Shoah Foundation around genocide and global conflicts and assisted in post-production for Impact, USC Annenberg’s documentary television series. I also interned at CNN the summer before my senior year, where I produced dozens of digital news videos.
As a member of the Honesty Hour team, I direct and edit short documentaries meant to live natively on digital platforms. Their goal is to encourage a broader understanding of the world around us and to spawn conversations regarding some of the most pressing issues of our current moment.