More advisors will be added in the coming months
Monique Wijngaarde-Bekema
Monique is Founder of the nonprofit Growing Seeds Worldwide Foundation in the Netherlands. Her foundation is based on her promise as a 16-year-old to her late Surinamese Indigenous (Lokono – Arawak) maternal grandmother, Petronella Amelie MacDonald, to the life lessons she taught her, to the stories she shared with her, and to her own life experiences – each brought together into one concept. The foundation is committed to preserving nature and cultures, especially traditional Indigenous ones, to bringing unique backgrounds together to create unity and respect, for love and peace, to stimulate self-reliance and create a youth leadership program that also includes all the above. Monique comes from a very colorful family representing all so-called four colors of the world – Black, White, Indigenous and Asian, given by the blood of her late grandparents, and due to mixed marriages in the family. Growing up and being a part of this diversity from birth taught her to live with an open mind when it comes to others, and to respect each and every one of us, no matter what background, skin color, culture, ethnicity, gender or religion. She believes that no matter what traditions, background or skin color one has, or what kind of situation they’re in – we have to open our hearts and open our arms to those who embrace us and accept us for who you are. And we must also be able to give that shared love to others. Because, in the end, we are all one… One Race ~ the human one.
martin M. Nuza
Martin owns Martin Nuza Productions. He is an award-winning producer who brings a strong leadership background to this project, having worked in the film industry since 2005. He is an International, award-winning screenwriter, producer and director of documentary and feature film productions. In addition, Martin is also a published author having two novels published in the United Kingdom. In February 2020, Martin won Best Original Story & Best Screenplay awards at the Vegas Movie Awards film festival for his screenplay A Cannibal Mind. Many of Martin’s films are based on historical events, including Historical WWII documentaries such as Operation Felix in 2007 and Operation Tracer in 2012, which he produced and directed. In 2019, he wrote and produced The Woods Encounters, directed by Pedro Sanchez Roman. The film won many International top awards, and on two occasions, Martin won the top Best Producer award from the Oniros Film Awards in Italy, and again at the Vegas Movie Awards in the States in July 2020. In 2019, Martin was Executive Producer for the award-winning feature film The Shepherd, by Laszlo Illes, which won many top international awards. He was also Executive Producer for the award-winning feature film Scotland by Manish Vatssalaya, which also won many top international awards, and it was selected for the first round of the 92nd Academy Awards in 2020 for best picture along with 331 other feature films. He is currently senior producer for the feature film Sacajawea, The Windcatcher, the “Harmony” series and many other film projects.
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Rick Balentine
Rick is co-owner, producer, and composer at Temple Gate Films. He is an award-winning composer and instrumentalist devoting his career to creating heart-pounding, warm and inspiring scores for a variety of genres with a very successful music career spanning over 30 years. Rick’s passion for detail is felt in every note, moving the narrative in compelling ways. He knew his calling was in the musical arts at an early age. By the age of 19, he produced his first album, and by 23, his success and growing reputation as a studio musician and producer allowed him to open his first recording studio – a haven for local artists for songwriting, composing and record production. Rick also landed album production credits with R&B artists The Dramatics, Lenny Williams and The Temptations. He has written, composed and arranged scores, openers, bumpers, and music libraries for a host of shows including America’s Next Top Model, NCIS LA, Dancing With The Stars, The Real Housewives of Dallas, The Bachelorette, and Black Ink Crew: Chicago, as well as feature films True Justice, Dragon Eyes, Never Back Down 2, Red Clover and the Indie film In The Lines of My Hands with Dennis Hopper. Currently, along with the Moon Drake series, Temple Gate Films is also producing Wilkes County Line, Twilight Time Drive-In, Abby’s Gift, The Saga of Bowie Longwood and The Song of the Guns.
Mark Rickerby
Mark is co-owner, producer, and head writer at Temple Gate Films, for which he was written several feature film scripts. He is the co-creator and head writer of a western TV series titled Harmony, for which he has written or co-written eleven one-hour episodes. His nonfiction stories have been published in over 30 Chicken Soup for the Soul books. One of these books features the 101 best stories from Chicken Soup for the Soul’s first 15 years. His fiction stories have been published in magazines such as Black Belt, Inside Kung Fu, Nostalgia and Whole Life Times. Black Belt magazine ended a ban on nonfiction of over twenty years to print his story, The Master’s Short-Lived MMA Career, which was called “a masterpiece” by one reviewer. Mark wrote and sang 15 original songs for his daughters on his 2014 CD release, Great Big World. A screenplay based on one of his stories won the annual Bravo Channel Short Film Screenplay Award. He co-authored The Other Belfast, his father’s memoir about growing up in Belfast, Northern Ireland between 1935 and 1957.
Humanity Shines Organization 