Our Team

The people behind the paper world.

Madina Papel is built by writers, performers, filmmakers, strategists, advisors, and technologists folding emotion, play, and ethical AI into new storytelling forms.

Meet the Team
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Story needs many hands.

Each voice brings a different fold: creative direction, performance, production, legal, finance, AI, impact, and imagination.

WRITERS ARTISTS ADVISORS VOICES TECHNOLOGISTS WRITERS ARTISTS ADVISORS VOICES TECHNOLOGISTS
Creative Core

The storytellers shaping the world.

Our creative team brings together lived experience, screenwriting, film, voice performance, and production craft to build a universe with emotional depth.

A studio for stories that are felt, played, and remembered.

Samah Damanhoori
Founder · CEO

Samah Damanhoori

Founder of Madina Papel LLC, Samah empowers individuals to redefine their narratives, celebrating authenticity and strengths beyond societal stereotypes in a world often bound by conventional fairytales.

Redefining happily ever after
Jessie Gill
Script Writer

Jessie Gill

An award-winning writer and NYU Tisch BFA graduate whose narrative and interactive storytelling work aims to foster acceptance, visibility, and emotionally resonant worlds.

Wylie Rush
Writer Assistant

Wylie Rush

An award-winning filmmaker with training from Pomona College and CalArts, with experience across production studios, screenplays, and festival-recognized short films.

Sarah Natochenny
Voice Over

Sarah Natochenny

The voice of Ash Ketchum and over 30 Pokémon characters since 2006, Sarah is an award-winning voice actress, filmmaker, and speaker.

Brandon Engman
Voice Over

Brandon Engman

Actor, dancer, and singer with a BFA in Drama from NYU Tisch, bringing performance range, musicality, and character energy to the world.

Marlene Stewart
Creative Mentor · Production Advisor

Marlene Stewart

An award-winning costume designer known for work including Terminator 2: Judgment Day and JFK, mentoring creative direction and production strategy.

Advisory Circle

Strategy, technology, impact, and scale.

Karen Kramer

Business & Legal Affairs Advisor

A strategic legal advisor with deep experience in tech and media, GDPR, data privacy, intellectual property, AI, and the creator economy.

Thomas Barnhill

Strategic Financial Advisor

A CFO and COO recognized for transformative leadership in finance, operations, mergers and acquisitions, planning, and strategic growth.

Naomi McDougall Jones

Business & Entertainment Advisor

A filmmaker, advocate, investor, and entertainment leader championing female voices in cinema and building sustainable systems for diverse storytellers.

Jeremy Kirshbaum

Generative AI Advisor and Strategist

Founder of Handshake, Jeremy builds custom generative AI systems, trains organizations globally, and teaches the Generative AI Masterclass on Maven.

Amina Al Sharif

Technology Innovation Advisor

A technology and government innovation leader with experience in cloud computing, machine learning, data security, and applying AI to storytelling and games.

Charlene Sanjenko

Impact Strategy Advisor

An Indigenous storyteller and social innovation entrepreneur, founder of reGEN impact media, and an amplifier of regenerative media and expansive impact.

Collaborate With Us

Bring your world into the fold.

For story, game, animation, AI, impact, or production collaborations, reach out to the studio.