Yvonne McCormack Lyons

Women's International Film & Arts Festival/WIFF-TV

Founder and CEO, USA

Yvonne is the Founder and CEO of the two-time, award-winning Women’s International Film & Arts Festival (WIFF) as well WIFF-TV, an online platform streaming films, television, and podcasts made by women for women. She is a persistent catalyst for changing how women are portrayed and perceived in the media. She hosts the podcast Reel Moments: With BadAss Women in Film & Entertainment. She created these in-person and digital platforms as outlets to provide opportunities for women filmmakers and content creators who have been historically underrepresented and also to address issues that impact women around the globe. Yvonne and WIFF have been invited around the world, including Cartagena, Columbia; Liverpool, England, New York City, Barbados, Miami, Chile to speak on women and girls in film and media, and in 2013, the city of Medellin, Colombia invited Yvonne to host its first WIFF in South America. Throughout the years, WIFF has hosted talents such as Academy Award Winner Halle Berry, Actress/ Producer Vivica A. Fox (Independence Day, Kill Bill, Empire), Actress/Producer Zoe Saldana (Avatar, Colombiana, Star Trek), Actress Kellita Smith (Z Nation, Bernie Mac Show), Actress/Director Amy Jo Johnson (Power Rangers, Flashpoint), and actors such as Shemar Moore (SWAT, Criminal Minds).