A preamble to the Festival: March On! founders share candid stories from a decade — plus the live announcement of the 2026 finalists for the 10th Annual Student & Emerging Filmmaker Competition.
What really happens behind the scenes of a social justice arts festival dedicated to preserving civil rights history? Which moments changed us, made us laugh, nearly derailed everything—or reminded us why this work matters?
Join Robert Raben, Founder of March On!; Isisara Bey, Artistic Director; Opal Hope Bennett, Student & Emerging Filmmaker Competitions Director; and moderator Jamal Simmons, CNN political commentator and longtime friend of March On!, for a lively, candid, and joy-filled live conversation celebrating more than a decade of March On!.
Part reunion, part oral history, and part “you had to be there” backstage pass, this special 90-minute live conversation will revisit the unforgettable moments, unexpected surprises, and lasting lessons that have shaped March On! since its founding. Along the way, the panel will reflect on the artists, activists, filmmakers, civil rights leaders, and countless others who have helped build a community dedicated to carrying civil rights history forward.
The evening will also feature the exclusive live announcement of the 2026 March On! Student & Emerging Filmmaker Competition Finalists, giving attendees the first opportunity to learn about this year’s remarkable filmmakers and celebrate the next generation of storytellers whose work will be featured during the Festival.
Unlike a traditional panel discussion, you’ll help shape the conversation. Throughout the evening, attendees will be invited to submit questions live, with audience questions woven into the discussion. Whether you’ve been with March On! since the beginning or are discovering it for the first time, this is your opportunity to pull up a chair, join the conversation, and hear what’s shaped us.
Come for the laughter. Stay for the lessons and the inspiration. Be among the first to celebrate our 2026 Competition Finalists. Leave feeling more connected to the people behind March On!—and excited to become part of the next chapter by joining us for this year’s Festival.
Jamal Simmons
Moderator
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Jamal Simmons has been at the nexus of politics and media for nearly three decades -- focused on increasing U.S. economic competitiveness through innovation and diversity. Most recently, he was Deputy Assistant to the President and Communications Director for Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House. He can currently be seen as an on-air political commentator for CNN and as co-host of Trailblaze, a podcast where he brings his sharp insights and humor to dive into thought-provoking discussions on the complexities of policy, politics, and America’s role on the global stage.
Before joining the White House, Jamal was a political contributor for CBS News and “Here & Now” on NPR. His article, “The 4 Percent Problem” in Democracy, A Journal of Ideas, was heralded as the first to identify the surprisingly consistent low rate of Blacks in leadership across academic, corporate, and military sectors.
Prior to CBS, Jamal produced and hosted Hill TV digital interviews with political leaders, celebrities, and activists. He joined Hill TV from the Raben Group, where he advised corporate and foundation leaders for nearly a decade. He also co-chaired the Internet Innovation Alliance and founded CRVIII (CRATE) a digital media start-up.
Jamal is one of the most experienced political operatives of his generation. In 2008, he was the lead Obama campaign surrogate on CNN during the epic presidential primary battle between Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and worked for the Obama/Biden ticket at the Democratic National Committee. In 2004, he was traveling press secretary to two presidential primary candidates and in 2002 campaign communications director for a U.S. senator. Before the age of 30, Jamal managed media staff in 40 states for Gore/Lieberman 2000; served as a Gore spokesman in West Palm Beach during the Florida recount; and was chief of staff to a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee.
Jamal got his start on Bill Clinton’s traveling campaign staff in 1992 and set up events around the world for the Clinton White House. He was also an assistant to U.S. Trade Representative and Commerce Secretary Mickey Kantor. In those roles, he represented the U.S. government in 15 countries including Ukraine and China.
Highly sought-after for his insights, Jamal has appeared on MSNBC, PBS Newshour, and ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos. His credits as a speaker or moderator include the Milken Institute, Executive Leadership Council, SHRM, the U.S. National War College, and Morehouse College’s commencement.
Jamal is a former member of the CulturalDC arts board, PepsiCo African American Advisory Committee, Rosa Parks Scholarship Foundation Board, Council on Foreign Relations, and French American Foundation. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Morehouse College and a Master in Public Policy (MPP) degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School.
Jamal lives in the New York City area with his wife and their children.
Robert Raben
March On! Founder
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Meet Robert Raben — a strategist’s strategist on a lifelong mission to inject humanity, common sense, equity, and justice into the fabric of American politics and culture.
Since its founding in 2002, Raben has grown to include a diverse team of 100+ experts, consultants, activists, and communicators working tirelessly to change the faces of power in public policy, media, education, business, philanthropy, the arts, and more. With decades of experience as an attorney, senior Hill staffer, and assistant attorney general, Robert easily navigates legal subtleties and powers through political realities.
Robert’s highly respected legislative career began on Representative Barney Frank’s staff, where he served as counsel to Frank (Democratic counsel for two Subcommittees of the House Judiciary Committee); first on the Constitution, then on the Courts and Intellectual Property.
In 1999, Robert’s reputation and effectiveness earned him an appointment to the Department of Justice as principal deputy assistant attorney general and, subsequently, assistant attorney general of the Office of Legislative Affairs. After a unanimous confirmation vote by a Republican-controlled Senate, Robert was charged with overseeing Attorney General Janet Reno’s legislative initiatives and leading responses to extensive Congressional oversight of the department. Robert was the first openly gay man to receive Senate confirmation, and to lead in a law enforcement agency.
Beyond his work with the firm, Robert has served on the boards of game-changing entities, including The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, NRDC, the UnidosUS Action Fund, President Barack Obama’s My Brothers’ Keeper Alliance. the American Constitution Society, the Alliance for Justice, the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project, the Mississippi Center for Justice, and more.
As a serial NGO entrepreneur, Robert has started initiatives impacting the leadership of our country, including Friends of the Museum of the American Latino, the March on Washington Film Festival, and Green 2.0. Robert hails from Miami and holds degrees from the Wharton School and the New York University Law School. He is a Scorpio.
Isisara Bey
March On! Artistic Director
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ISISARA BEY is producer, keynote speaker, cultural curator and facilitator for performances, conferences, festivals and workshops for her company, Journey Agent Productions.
She serves as Artistic Director of the March On! Festival, an annual Civil Rights themed legacy project and platform of first person accounts, storytelling, scholarship, films and all the performing and visual arts. She has curated programs for the Apollo Theater and the UK’s Women of the World Festival (WOW). As Journey Agent, her workshop and keynote audiences include women, entrepreneurs, military veterans, arts festivals and universities in the US, UK, Australia, Egypt, Guatemala, Singapore and Cambodia.
For a decade, she served as VP of Programs for Count Me In For Women’s Economic Independence’s nationwide women’s business pitch competitions. Before that, she worked for Sony Entertainment for 20 years, first in Sony Pictures and ending as VP of Corporate Affairs for Sony Music. Highlights include producing the first two Congressional Tri-Caucus Retreats for the Black, Hispanic and Asian Pacific Islander members of Congress, and launching Sony’s Symposium Series and Affinity Groups.
Past clients are Syracuse University, V-WISE, Black Nurses Rock, New York Public Radio, Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence, American Society of Transplantation, Odyssey Network, NY City Parks Foundation,NJPAC, Pathways to Prosperity, Vital Voices, and the ASEAN Business Alliance.
She has served on the boards of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, National Book Foundation, and the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.. Her career began as a television news writer and producer, and an award-winning radio on-air personality and producer.
Isisara is a certified facilitator with The Empowerment Institute, and has trained extensively with Pathways Institute, Loving Relationships Training, Pax Communications, The School of Womanly Arts, The Moorish School, the Chopra Center and Transcendental Meditation and Northwestern University Executive Training program. She resides in Brooklyn, New York.
Opal H. Bennett
March On! Student & Emerging Filmmaker Competitions Director
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Opal H. Bennett is the Programming Consultant for March On! Film Festival, where she created and manages the Student and Emerging Shorts Competitions. She is an Emmy-winning Senior Producer at POV and Executive Producer at POV Shorts. In her first season producing, POV Shorts won the 2020 IDA Award for Best Short Form Series and the series broadcast the 2021 NewsDoc Emmy Winner for Short Documentary, The Love Bugs. Previously, Opal was Shorts Programmer and Director of Artist Development at DOC NYC and Senior Programmer at Athena Film Festival. Prior to that, Opal also worked with Nantucket Film Festival, Aspen ShortsFest, Tribeca Film Festival and consulted for The Gotham (formerly IFP).
Opal is a member of the AMPAS Documentary branch and is a Board Member of the Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC). She has served on juries for SxSW, HotDocs, Aspen & Palm Springs ShortsFests, Cleveland, Milwaukee and Seattle International Film Festivals and IndieMemphis Film Festival among others. She has also served on the shorts selection committees for Cinema Eye Honors and the IDA. Opal has participated on various selection committees for film programming and grants. A Columbia Law grad, Opal holds a Masters in Media Studies from the LSE, and received her B.A. from New York University.
Kim Callinan
March On! Executive Director
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As Executive Director of March On! (formerly the March on Washington Film Festival), Kim Callinan collaborates with the Artistic Director, Festival Director, Board and the entire team to advance the organization’s mission of using the arts to amplify the untold and underrepresented stories of the civil rights movement. Together, they successfully produced March On! Health: The Right to Be Well—a timely and powerful festival created through close collaboration among staff, artists, and partners during a period when many social justice organizations faced funding challenges. Through intentional donor cultivation and expanded partnerships, the team ensured the festival continued with both purpose and impact. March On! is now evolving into a year-round platform that inspires, trains, and mobilizes supporters; nurtures emerging leaders; and amplifies overlooked narratives through the arts.
Across her career, Kim has led and collaborated on efforts that combine strategy, storytelling, and systems change to advance equity and social progress. She has helped double organizational revenue to nearly $25 million, strengthen infrastructure, and expand the reach of movements working at the intersection of health, justice, and personal dignity. Her portfolio includes large-scale public health and social-impact campaigns that have reshaped national conversations—from rebranding the NIH’s ‘Back to Sleep’ campaign to ‘Safe to Sleep’ to managing the $ 28 million Covering Kids & Families initiative, which helped enroll more than five million children in health insurance and reduce the number of uninsured by nearly two million.
Rooted in both vision and collaboration, Kim’s leadership reflects a belief that real change happens when strategy meets empathy, and when diverse voices come together to act on shared values. She holds a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland Global Campus, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government from Oberlin College, along with advanced certifications in project management, fundraising, diversity and organizational change, cultural intelligence, and neuroleadership.