About Us
KaleidoCollective is a curated network of queer and trans creatives, executives, and other professionals in media, arts, and entertainment, who aim to make the world a safer, more enriching place for our community through narrative change and culture-shift efforts.
We envision a world where queer and trans communities can see the breadth of our diversity authentically reflected in the media milieu; where empathic representations forge broad acceptance and embrace; where the careers of queer and trans storytellers and culture-makers are thriving and sustained; and where no content about us is made without us. We are empowered to contribute to the collective discourse. We make greenlight decisions. We foster emerging talent and celebrate established success. We are durable, scalable, and adaptable.
We exist to (1) expand the market share of queer and trans content that gets professionally produced and distributed, and (2) ensure that members of our community are creatively propelling those works and getting paid for their efforts.
In other words,
we work to get more queer and trans content made, and more of our people paid.
Past Events
View More
Membership
Eligibility
- You’re a creative, executive, professional, or funder in media, arts, or entertainment; openly and proudly LGBTQ; established and successful but not a billionaire who doesn’t need anyone’s help to get your work out into the world.
- What are some examples of our member categories? Glad you asked:
• Creatives
Creatives are those who actually make any form of art or entertainment: content creators, artists, writers, actors, musicians, directors, comic book illustrators, producers, podcasters, etc. You can be independent, run your own production company, or be embedded within a larger organization if you’re hands-on in the making of content.
• Executives
Executives are full-time employees at for- or non-profit companies or organizations that create or platform media, arts, or entertainment in their operations. Whether it’s at Netflix, Sundance, Revry, or GLAAD, executives spend their time advancing the mission of their company or organization.
• Professionals
Professionals provide the wraparound services essential to the production and distribution of arts and entertainment content: lawyers, publicists, managers, journalists, agents, accountants, independent strategists, consultants, etc. Professionals are usually independent or run their own shop, but sometimes they work within a larger organization.
• Funders
Funders are those who funnel cash to content: equity investors, philanthropists, program officers at foundations with narrative change programs, bridge lenders, executives at media companies with green-light authority, etc.
We recognize that many folks’ work spans multiple categories. Where you fit is just as much art as science, but we look to categorize you based on the core function of your job. Do you make content yourself? Creative. Do you operate within a larger machine that makes content, but aren’t directly making the content yourself? Executive. Do you facilitate content’s creation and reach? Professional. Do you allocate money to content? Funder.
Application
KaleidoCollective will launch its formal membership program in 2025. In the meantime, you can sign up for our email list to get invited to our events, stay current with our happenings, and get notified when we open applications for membership.
Leadership
Co-Founders
ASHLEE MARIE PRESTON (she/her)
is a renowned media advocate, storyteller, and impact consultant. She founded and directs YouAreEssential, an organization dedicated to intergenerational and multicultural healing through frameworks that transmute grief into growth and conflict into collaboration—forging lasting and sustainable impacts. Ashlee Marie is a TED alumna, the first openly trans person to run for state office in California, and was the first trans person in the U.S. to become editor-in-chief of a publication. She is also a member of the NEXUS Impact Society, and serves as the Artist & Talent Peer Group Co-Chair for the Impact Guild.
JARED RUGA (he/him)
is an Emmy-winning and GLAAD-nominated director, producer, writer, and “creative suit” who helms Vavani Productions, a socially conscious media production company he founded in 2017. With three documentaries in distribution (including Sundance premiere QUIET HEROES), two in production, and a slate of scripted films and series in development, Jared’s goal is to build community by making content that engages and entertains while “sneaking in the vegetables” of prosocial impact. His thematic areas of focus are gender equity, LGBTQ equality, climate justice, and democracy. Also deeply involved in the nonprofit sector, Jared has served in various leadership and advisory capacities at the Sundance Institute, Voterise, Equality Utah, Restore Our Humanity, and both of his alma maters (the University of San Diego and the University of Utah), where he has created and taught undergraduate courses. In addition to co-founding KaleidoCollective, he is also Co-Founder and President of the Impact Guild and Co-Founder and Trustee of the Lightspark Foundation, which respectively field-build for and direct funding to media inclusion and civic engagement efforts. Jared lives in Los Angeles with his two wild pups, Tucker and Daisy.
