Meet the Sista Brunch Team

Fanshen Cox, Co-Creator, Producer & Host

Award-winning playwright, actor, producer & educator Fanshen Cox is the founder of TruJuLo - a production company that uplifts stories that speak truth in pursuit of justice in service of love. Fanshen was SVP of Impact and Development at Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s Pearl Street Films for six years, where she co-authored the Inclusion Rider - used by Damon, Affleck, Michael B. Jordan, AMC Studios, Fifth Season and more to help ensure that cast and crew hiring in entertainment is representative of what the world looks like. She served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cape Verde, West Africa, and holds a BA in Spanish & Education, an MA in TESOL, and an MFA in TV, Film & Theatre. She has been honored with Distinguished Alumni Awards from CSULA and from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Photo Credit: Des Lee

Tasha Rogers is a native Angeleno. She is the youngest of six and a mother of one son. Tasha has been a professional hair stylist and entrepreneur for over twenty-five years. She started her hair business named Know Split Endz in 2009 and has worked in the Los Angeles Leimert Park/ Crenshaw district for most of her career. She also grew up in this area and loves to give back to her community by volunteering and donating to organizations that are based in the area. Tasha graduated from West LA with a Humanities Liberal Arts associate degree. Her love for all things film related has guided Tasha to becoming a film student. She currently is attending Cal State LA where she is pursuing a journalism film degree. She wrote and directed the short film; Planting Seeds We All Eat. Her goals are to create, produce, and direct content that is not rooted in pain and dysfunction about black and brown people while also providing opportunities for the marginalized and underrepresented people in the film and entertainment industry.

Tasha Rogers, Co-Producer Seasons 6 & 7

Samantha K Henderson is excited to be part of the Sista Brunch Podcast, where accomplished women in the entertainment industry share their experiences, motivate, and inspire listeners. She joins the team with a good level of technical skill, creativity, a keen eye for detail, and experience from working on a diverse range of projects that include film, video, audio, and podcast production. Samantha earned her MBA with a concentration in finance from San Francisco State University, CA. She has had films screen at several festivals, including the Burbank International Film Festival, the Broad Humor Film Festival, the Nevada Women’s Film Festival, and the Pan African Film Festival. When not producing, Samantha is writing and just trying to be a decent human being.

Photo Credit: Ashly Covington

Samantha K. Henderson, Co-Producer & Editor Season 7

Ashanti Groves, Associate Producer Season 7

I’m super excited to join the Sista Brunch team! Since I was a kid, I’ve always loved the arts and media — from film and TV to storytelling in all its forms. I’m from Fort Wayne, Indiana, and I’ve always been passionate about how media can inspire, connect, and spark real conversations. Being part of a team that uplifts Black women in media feels full-circle for me, and I’m so ready to learn, grow, and keep building my path in the media industry!

Charlie T. Savage is an award winning screenwriter, producer, and director who develops bold, thrilling and hilarious culturally resonant stories that spotlight the Black female experience. Her work under Charlie Bit Me Joints LLC spans film, audio, and live media. As Associate Producer of the Sista Brunch Podcast, Charlie helps shape conversations that uplift Black women and gender-expansive creatives through honest, culture-centered storytelling. As a US Navy veteran, Charlie amplifies the voices of military service members past and present to help build community. She is an active advocate for armed forces connected creatives through her work with Veterans in Media & Entertainment and as Media and Communications Committee Board Chairperson at the historic Hollywood American Legion. A New Orleans native based in Inglewood, California, Charlie’s creative voice blends purpose, heart, and impact to help the unseen become visible.

Charlie T. Savage, Associate Producer Season 7

Chanda Jones became a social media manager by chance, not realizing it would launch a career that has spanned over 10 years of employing a unique mix of curiosity, creativity and strategy that has helped build a vibrant social connection between brands and their communities. Her first was managing the social media account for Issa Rae Productions' widely popular and award-winning series, The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl. The role branched into working for the production company in larger capacities within its adjoining entities like ColorCreative and Raedio.

Before her professional experience and driven by her unwavering intrigue with humanity and the stories that exist within us, she majored in journalism and obtained her undergraduate degree from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio and her Master of Science degree from Boston University.

Currently attempting to work her way through mastering both the guitar and bass, if she is not consumed by the latest episode of some series everyone is talking about, she's working with the Canady Foundation for the Arts, as a social media manager, amplifying the importance of the nonprofit and its unique position as an organization designed to transform youth of color into change-makers through the power of the arts. If not that, she's posting about the next episode of Post In Black, a web series dedicated to showcasing the experiences of Black post-production professionals working in the entertainment industry.

Chanda Jones, Patreon & Community Coordinator

Shawn Pipkin-West, Co-host Season 6 & Drop - In Host Season 7

Shawn Pipkin-West has been a DGA Member since 2004, but has been in the Entertainment industry for more than 20 years. Some of her feature credits include Mufasa: The Lion King, Dream Girls, Longest Yard, Family Stone and Beyond the Lights. Pipkin-West’s TV Credits include ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, The Catch, For the People, FOX’s Shot’s Fired, NBC’s Community, Friday Night Lights, Raising Dion for NETFLIX, Sorry For Your Loss for FACEBOOK Watch and Big Shot for DISNEY +. A DGPTP Graduate, Pipkin-West is on the Board of Trustees for the Directors Guild-Producer Training Program, The DGA National Board (Associate), Co-chair of the DGA’s Women’s Steering Committee, 1st AD Committee and has been on the AD/UPM Council West as a member and/or alternate from 2013-PRESENT. She is also a two-time DGA Award Winner for Movies for Television - Temple Grandin - 2011 and Variety/Talk/News/Sports - Specials - A West Wing Special Benefit When We All Vote - 2021.