Raised in Atlanta, Jeffrey Stepakoff is an internationally recognized writer-producer with a thirty-five year career that includes senior leadership roles in content creation and production. He is credited on more than two hundred episodes of popular television shows, including the Emmy-winning The Wonder Years and break-out hit Dawson's Creek, where he was Co-Executive Producer. He has developed and written major motion pictures, created and developed pilots for major studios and networks, worked for numerous digital media companies, and is a bestselling novelist. He left Hollywood in 2015 to become the Founding Executive Director of the Georgia Film Academy. A first-of-its-kind film and entertainment education/workforce program, the GFA helped drive over a 100% increase in direct spending by productions in the state’s film industry. Widely recognized by the Motion Picture Association as “the gold standard” in film production workforce education, the GFA provides students with college-credit coursework, professional training, paid union-covered craft internships, and job placement support. Stepakoff has a BA from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and an MFA from Carnegie Mellon.
Josh Lee is an award-winning educator with over fifteen years of production and business experience, and over ten years of leading strategic initiatives. He holds a BA in Media Studies from Mercer University, a Master of Science in Instructional Design and Technology from Georgia State University, and an MBA from the University of Mississippi. Josh began his career working at CNN, CNBC, and running his own video production company which grew significantly in Washington D.C., where he created videos with high profile individuals such as Al Gore, John Kerry, and Hilary Clinton. He transitioned to high school teaching, where within 4 years, Josh had won teacher of the year, as well as led his students to a national championship in film production. He was promoted to a leadership role with Fulton County Schools, where he built programming for the third largest district in the state of Georgia. Following his award-winning stint at the district, Josh developed several new state-wide secondary programs for high school teachers through the Georgia Film Academy, growing the secondary programming within the organization, launching new high school courses and pathways for the entire state, as well as providing relevant industry exposure and experiences to high school students and teachers. Josh is recognized in the entertainment industry and educational fields as a leader with an expertise in strategy, planning, and partnership building, and is known for his ability to build new, successful education and entertainment-based programs from the ground up. Josh resigned from the GFA in July 2022 to become the Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder at Content Talent South.
Mitchell Kupstas spent the first 8 years of his career working for a corporate-backed technology incubator and the family office of a prominent Atlanta-based tech entrepreneur. Within his incubator role, Mitchell experienced and contributed to the inception, fundraising, operational growth, and eventual sale of multiple technology-based start-up companies. Specifically, he helped manage the process of strategy conceptualizing and storytelling in order to operationalize from early stage whiteboard drawings. As the business grew, he would fill the gaps between technology and operations until the roles were filled by full-time positions. At the family office, Mitchell was the lead analyst overseeing all alternatives investing. This included sourcing and evaluating start-up pitches, private equity pitches, as well as small business mergers and acquisitions. He directly sourced and oversaw the successful acquisition and continued operation of four local businesses. Mitchell is now the Chief Strategy Officer of Content Talent South and is in charge of operations strategy, planning, and presentation deliverables both internally and for external clients. Mitchell brings both a strategic financial background as well as ample experience in the flexible world of private enterprise ideation. Mitch has a BS in Applied Mathematics from Brown University and Masters in Management Studies from Duke University.
Beth Talbert is currently the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships & Outreach for Content Talent South. Prior to that she served as Vice President of Studios Operations for NBCUniversal at Assembly Studios in Doraville, GA, leading the opening efforts of it’s new state-of-the-art studio facility and production services warehouse. Beth Talbert served as the Vice President/General Manager of Operations for Eagle Rock Studios Atlanta from 2016 to 2022. Eagle Rock opened in April, 2015 and has been home to film and television productions including “Mother’s Day”, “Devious Maids”, “Dynasty”, “Ozark”, “Greenleaf”, “The Passage” “Underground Railroad”, “The Wonder Years” and “Will Trent”. In addition to the main studio campus in Norcross, Beth also oversaw the Beverage Drive facility in Stone Mountain and in 2021 successfully identified and oversaw the process of purchasing a 3 rd building in Norcross, procuring a multi-year production lease from a major studio before the closing was completed. Beth, a veteran of the television studio industry, has over twenty years of experience in Los Angeles with a background in studio production, operations, distribution, client services and marketing at NEP Studios, Sunset Bronson and Sunset Gower Studios, Tribune Studios & Entertainment and Twentieth Century Fox Television. A native North Carolinian and a graduate of Lenoir-Rhyne University there, Beth relocated to Atlanta in October, 2016 and loves being back in the south. She has served as a member of the DeKalb County Entertainment Commission, previously worked on the AJFF Steering Committee, a previous Board member of Women In Film & Television Atlanta, Past President of the Georgia Studio & Infrastructure Alliance, and Immediate Past Vice Chair of the Georgia Screen Entertainment Coalition. She is also a member of the Producer’s Guild of America and the Television Academy where she assisted in coordinating their first event in Atlanta in 2017, “An Evening with Tyler Perry” and now coordinates quarterly events for it’s membership in the southeast. Beth was honored and humbled to be nominated for a Gwinett Chamber Moxie Award in both 2020 and 2021. Beth continually represents the Georgia film and television production industry through media outreach and response, addressing issues from COVID-19 preparedness and response, legislative priorities, and the positive impact the industry has on Georgians.
Laura Beth Daws spent 17 years as a communication professor, teaching courses at the graduate and undergraduate level in public speaking, business communication, media studies and research methods, becoming nationally recognized for her work in innovative online and in-person classroom teaching strategies. She ultimately was promoted to the position of Interim Director for the Kennesaw State University School of Communication & Media, supervising 70 faculty and staff, and managing curriculum for 4 undergraduate BS programs, one MA program, and multiple certificates and minors serving 1,600 students. While in academic leadership, she developed and facilitated numerous faculty training programs related to online education and pedagogical skills, created university-wide curriculum, developed policies and procedures for various academic units, and implemented new, more efficient workflow processes. Laura Beth was routinely sought after for committees and leadership positions due to her reputation for forming and maintaining positive working relationships with a variety of constituents and her diplomacy skills in dealing with difficult student, faculty, and other situations. She left academia in June 2022 transitioning to work in the areas of higher education consulting, corporate training, business strategy, and workforce development. She has a BA in Public Communication from the University of North Alabama, an MA in Communication from Auburn University, and a PhD in Communication from the University of Kentucky.
Mandy McCowan is a Writer, Producer, and Production Manager with 16 years of experience in the dynamic and high-pressure Television and Film production industry. I have created and delivered high-quality content and been lucky enough to work with and learn from some of the best in the business. I am passionate about being an integral part of the process and a resource to help those around me succeed. My commitment to the greater-good of the project as well as my strong work ethic and positive attitude make me an asset to collaborative and individual projects.
Peter Stathopoulos is a Partner in Bennett Thrasher’s State & Local Tax practice and leader of the firm’s Entertainment practice. In his Entertainment practice, Peter helps clients maximize entertainment incentives for film, television and digital interactive entertainment. This includes performing audits, agreed-upon procedures and due diligence reviews of qualified entertainment expenditures to help clients claim and monetize their credits in states across the country, including but not limited to Georgia, New York, New Mexico, California, Virginia, Illinois, Utah, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.In his State & Local Tax practice, Peter helps clients resolve state tax controversies, determine nexus/filing obligations, perform apportionment studies, mitigate prior period liabilities through voluntary disclosure agreements and perform tax planning to help clients optimize their state and local tax posture. Peter also helps clients maximize both statutory and negotiable economic development incentives.Peter has worked with his clients in helping shape state tax policy, including helping draft portions of Georgia’s entertainment incentives statute and regulations.Prior to Bennett Thrasher, Peter was a Partner at a national law firm practicing in the areas of state and local tax controversy and litigation. Before that, Peter was a Principal Consultant in the state tax consulting practice of a Big 4 accounting firm. Peter also has prior experience serving as an attorney working in tax policy with the Georgia Department of Revenue.Peter is a frequent speaker and has published numerous articles or been quoted regarding entertainment incentives and state tax issues, including in Variety, Total Retail, Oz, Atlanta Business Chronicle, The Journal of Multistate Taxation and State Tax Notes.
Jennifer Louten has over 15 years of experience in higher education, having taught courses such as virology, immunology, and biotechnology at the undergraduate, graduate, and honors levels. As a professor at Kennesaw State University, she was Director of two enrichment programs hosting over 900 undergraduates. One program more than doubled the number of students graduating in their original major, while the other program increased graduation rates by 45%. Jennifer was recognized with the Faculty of the Year Award, Outstanding Teaching Award, Outstanding Early Career Faculty Award, and Master Advisor designation. She is known nationally and internationally for her work in program development and pedagogical innovation, and her publications have been cited over 3000 times. She is the author of the textbook Essential Human Virology, which received the Textbook and Academic Authors Association Textbook Excellence Award (“Texty”) in 2024. She left higher education in 2022 to pursue consulting opportunities in educational strategy, instructional design, program assessment, and grant/medical writing. She received a BS in Biotechnology from the Rochester Institute of Technology and a PhD in Medical Sciences from Brown University.
Ami McBay is the accountant at Content Talent South where she oversees all the accounting duties for the company. She has a degree in accounting and has over 30 years of experience in the field of accounting. Ami started her career with an Electrical Contractor and worked her way up to Vice President of Finance and served on the Executive Board. Ami is a dedicated employee and stayed with this company for 30 years and retired in 2023. Ami is a very driven and detailed oriented professional who likes to stay organized. She prides herself on her work ethic, integrity, and accuracy. She leads by example, can build high performing teams, and is well respected by all managers and peers.
