Our Esteemed Panelists:

Kathryn Howell
San Francisco-Northern California Local President, SAG-AFTRA

Kathryn Howell is an American actress known for a wide variety of character roles in film and television. 

Kathryn has worked extensively on stage, holds a BFA in Theatre from UNC-Chapel Hill, and received a full scholarship for advanced study at American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. Kathryn is a long-time member of SAG, AFTRA (SAG-AFTRA), and AEA. She received her AEA card at New York's Vivian Beaumont Theatre.

Niceole R. Levy

After growing up near China Lake Naval Weapons Center in the middle of the Mojave Desert, Niceole escaped to the bright lights of Los Angeles. While studying acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, she realized her true love was writing stories, not playing them out. She worked as a police dispatcher to pay her way through USC undergrad and then completed the Master of Professional Writing program, also at USC. An alum of the CBS Writers Mentoring Program, NBC's Writers on the Verge, and the WGAW Showrunner Training Program, Niceole has written on “Ironside,” “Allegiance,” “The Mysteries of Laura,” “Shades of Blue,” "Cloak & Dagger," “Fate: the Winx Saga,” “S.W.A.T,” and “The Recruit.” She also co-wrote a feature, "The Banker," with former “Allegiance” showrunner and director George Nolfi, available on AppleTV+, and recently finished writing “Spark,” a film inspired by the life of Claudette Colvin. Niceole currently has several TV and feature projects in development. Her first book, “The Writers’ Room Survival Guide,” was released in October of 2022.

 Niceole is also featured in a series of powerful Film Courage interviews on writing for television and how to get a foot in the door.

Megan Rees

Screenwriter, Labor Activist, Therapist, WIFSFBA Event Committee Member

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Megan Rees graduated from UCSC with a degree in theater and went on to get a master’s in Drama Therapy at NYU. As a licensed therapist, Megan has helped hundreds if not thousands of people tell their stories but had mostly stopped dramatic writing for about 20 years.

After her transition to tech when a colleague commended her ability to write for a very specific brand and she was quarantined during a global pandemic she finally reunited with her love of writing. Her drama pilot Hot Town, inspired by her work as an activist, is a love letter to Oakland’s radical past and has earned three semifinalist placements and an invitation to the Athena Film Festival Writers Lab. 

Megan has a private practice and business consultancy focused on helping people heal from traumatic work experiences and helping companies set up psychologically safer environments. She hopes to use these skills in a TV writers room someday.