Andrew Emma is the Manager of Love Park for the Philadelphia Parks & Recreation department, a position he's held since September 2018. During this time, he's developed and supported diverse programming that has brought nearly 1000 weddings, 7 seasons of Friday evening salsa, multiple installations in partnership with Mural Arts, and numerous other activations featuring a wide array of local creatives. Prior to this role, his work at PPR included creating TreeKeepers, a workforce development program which combined reentry and sustainable land care, and expanding a Standards & Inspections program for all citywide park assets.

An Urban Studies graduate from Temple University, his previous jobs in community organizing, working with at-risk and in-crisis youth, plus 10 years on the board of the Passyunk Square Civic Association, have given him 20+ years of varied experience working in community development and with issues facing disenfranchised individuals of all ages.

In his free time he loves wandering Philly, checking places off the intense Google map he's created, and is currently tinkering with combining music and video projections, cause it's just cool.

In November 2015, Rob Lawless set out on a mission to spend 1 hour, 1:1, with 10,000 people. Since then, he's met over 7,400 people ranging from CEOs to students to celebrities to everyday people with the most wholesome and inspiring stories. Rob started his project here in Philly, but also lived in LA for 1.5 years, Hoboken for 9 months and during Covid took his journey online, leading him to meet folks from over 90 different countries. Along the way, he's reinforced what he already believed - that every human interaction, no matter how brief, holds the potential to change your life. Rob believes in the inherent value of connection to widen your perspective and the opportunities available to you, if only you're willing to create it.

Ted Passon is a co-founder of All Ages Productions and an award-winning director whose films and series have played at the Sundance Festival, The Berlin Film Festival, The Toronto Film Festival, The Venice Biennale, Hot Docs, and many others. Awards for his work include the primetime Emmy Award for “Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking”, a Peabody Award, the Gotham Award for “Best Nonfiction Series”, a dupont-Columbia Award, the Sundance Producing Award for Nonfiction, the Humanitas Prize for “Best Feature Documentary”, the “Unforgettable” Award at the Cinema Eye Honors, a Webby Award for “Best Feature Length Documentary”, The Audience Award at both the Camden International Film Festival and Hot Docs. His work has been twice nominated for an Independent Spirit Award including “Best Documentary” and “Best Nonfiction Series”.

His feature film PATRICE THE MOVIE (HULU) was named “One of the best documentaries of the year” by Vogue and became one of the “Most Liked Documentaries” on Hulu. PHILLY D.A. (PBS) an 8-part series co-directed with Yoni Brook was hailed as “one of the best TV shows of the year” by TIME, The New York Times, Variety, The Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter , The Washington Post, Vulture, Vogue, Slate, Indiewire, and The New Yorker. Ted also developed and directed episodes of the 8-part series, WORN STORIES (Netflix) which has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and was the 5th most watched show in the US on Netflix when it premiered.

He has written and directed over eight original children’s television series for Disney and Comcast. As a commercial director he has worked with clients such as: NIKE, Google, NBC, Guinness, GAP, Urban Outfitters, Ford, Hendrick’s Gin, Sailor Jerry Rum, Pilsner Urquell Beer, and others. His commercials have won both gold and silver Addy Awards.

He has directed or produced projects for musical artists such as: St. Vincent, Kim Deal, Tierra Whack, Blood Orange, Kurt Vile, The National, Dr. Dog, Dan Deacon, Spank Rock, The Darkness, Kimya Dawson, Plastic Little, and others.

Val Gay is Philadelphia’s Chief Cultural Officer and the Executive Director of Creative Philadelphia, where she helps shape the city’s artistic life and supports the people who power it. She’s a nonprofit leader, performing and recording artist, and creative collaborator who moves comfortably between boardrooms, classrooms, and rehearsal studios.

Before stepping into city leadership, Val built a career that blended finance, higher education, and the arts. She held key roles at PNC Advisors, Art Sanctuary, Temple University, and the Barnes Foundation. Her projects have earned support from the Leeway Foundation, Black Music City, and Philadelphia Cultural Treasures.

What drives her is simple: a belief that creativity and community make each other stronger. Val continues to build spaces where both can grow. She holds music degrees from Temple University and the University of the Arts.

Rahmi Halaby is a designer and creative entrepreneur building smarter systems for creative work. With experience executing projects for companies like Google, Nike, Oracle, and Formula 1, he’s dedicated to helping designers focus on what matters, designing. Rahmi has hosted and spoken at creative events connecting thousands of designers worldwide.

Darin Rowland is a Philadelphia based Sign Painter and Lettering Artist, operating as Rowland Signs. A graduate of Temple University, he studied advertising in the school of Communication and Theater. Since, he’s worked in various art related services including graphic design, mural painting, artist assistant, and sign making. In 2006 Darin co-authored the book Freight Train Graffiti, widely respected as the definitive history of the underground freight train graffiti movement. While working as an artist assistant on the Love Letters Project along the El in West Philadelphia in 2009 he began to see the potential and focused his attention on the craft of sign making, specifically traditional hand painted signs. Since 2012, Darin has worked as a Sign Painter, creating hundreds of hand painted signs for clients ranging from small businesses to large corporations. He has partnered with various proprietors, designers, architects, artist and developers, consistently bringing craftsmanship and a detailed vision to every project.

Celestine Fabros is a product designer and entrepreneur who bridges the worlds of digital design and botanical art. Through her independent agency and Euflora, her biophilic design studio, she creates experiences that help ideas take root whether online or in botanical form. Where she is today is the result of following her curiosities, nurturing ideas, and blooming where she’s planted. She’s passionate about cultivating spaces where creativity and community flourish, reminding us that our ideas, like wildflowers, can thrive when we give them light, wonder, and the courage to be seen.

Photos by Steve Weinik. Videos by Andrew Gormley

This CreativeMornings Philadelphia event was generously hosted by our partners at Adobe and our local sponsors Center for DesignPhiladelphia, The Navy Yard

Meet Our Speakers: Abby Jamiel & Samantha Yannucci

What happens when two urban planners meet at a public space conference? They dream, scheme, and become a team—and now they’re bringing their urban revolution to CreativeMornings!

Abby Jamiel, AICP is Co-Managing Director of Planning + Advocacy at Ombuds, where she focuses on bringing joy and justice to cities through public space, arts, culture, and climate migration work. A Harvard GSD graduate and former Fulbright Scholar in South Africa, Abby discovered her calling while living in Sub-Saharan Africa, where she became fascinated by how “the feel of a place” connects to culture.

Samantha Yannucci is Managing Director of Research + Engagement at Ombuds, specializing in the intricate connections between human experience and the built environment. With a master’s in Urban Planning and research experience in Stockholm, Sam is passionate about cultural integration and refugee experiences. She leads Conscious Philadelphia, working to build a more responsive and inclusive urban landscape.
Together, they’re tackling big questions about community engagement, cultural integration, and how public spaces can heal both cities and souls.

Come hear how they’re reshaping urban environments, one thoughtful intervention at a time.

Photos by Steve Weinik. Videos by Andrew Gormley

This CreativeMornings Philadelphia event was generously hosted by our partners at Adobe and our local sponsors Center for DesignPhiladelphia, The Navy Yard

Sherri Hope Culver is an educator, a podcast and TV host, a consultant for children’s media, a media literacy advocate, and the person you can count on for a walloping supply of goofy camp songs. She is Director of the Center for Media and Information Literacy at Temple University, where she teaches in the Klein College of Media and Communication and leads the Certificate in Children’s Media.

Sherri is internationally recognized for her leadership in children’s media and media literacy. She served as a Fulbright Global Scholar and co-chair of the UNESCO Global Media Literacy Alliance, and has consulted for organizations such as TIME Studios, Fred Rogers Productions, Google Kids & Family, META, and PBS Kids. Her international work includes projects with UNESCO, Prix Jeunesse, the Thessaloniki Media Summer Academy, and the Public Journalism Club of Armenia.

She has spoken at conferences in over 20 countries, including the Children’s Global Media Summit, World Summit on Media for Children, and UNESCO Global MIL Week. Her recent report, The Quality Question: Why Children’s Media Must Aim High, builds on her Fulbright research. She has contributed chapters to several books and co-edited the international yearbook on Media and Information Literacy.

Sherri began her career in television, eventually serving as CEO of Independence Public Media. With a deep belief in the power of media to connect, educate, and inspire, she brings both serious expertise and joyful energy to everything she does.

Photos by Steve Weinik. Videos by Andrew Gormley

This CreativeMornings Philadelphia event was generously hosted by our partners at Adobe and our local sponsors Center for DesignPhiladelphia, The Navy Yard

Kelsey McKee is a little bit of everything, but most recently, she’s a founder. Originally from Atlantic City, NJ, Kelsey made her way to Los Angeles after high school to attend the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising.

In 2015, she started a fashion blog called Bells + Whistles, which, seven years later, became the name of her digital strategy and design agency.

Early in her career, Kelsey interned at fashion and creative PR agencies in New York and LA. At these companies, she worked with clients such as Glossier, Jason Wu, Norma Kamali, Smarties, and OK Cupid, just to name a few.

At one point, Kelsey briefly did stand-up comedy, but she doesn’t really like to talk about it.

Today, she’s the founder of GoodThings PHL, an app designed to make it easy to find and engage with your local community.

Photos by Erin Blewett. Videos by Andrew Gormley

This CreativeMornings Philadelphia event was generously hosted by our partners at Adobe and our local sponsors Center for DesignPhiladelphia, The Navy Yard