CONFIRMED FOR SPEAKER SERIES
Speaker
Evrod Cassimy
Evrod Cassimy is a TV News anchor for NBC in Chicago, IL, a singer/songwriter, a 6x regional Emmy® nominated journalist and a philanthropist.
Cassimy has been singing since three years old and writing music as a teen. He began singing in church but his love for writing led him to a pursue a career in journalism. He moved to the great city of Chicago and studied at Columbia College Chicago. There, he continued his love for music, singing and performing across the city including in front of a packed crowd at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
As Cassimy’s career in journalism began, he continued writing music. In 2018 he started his own independent record label, Everything Evrod Entertainment. This would be the beginning of his philanthropic work, using his music to raise money for inner city high school students. His first album, “Newzic” (News and Music) was released that same year. The following year brought “Just Evrod,” an album which included a special interlude with the legendary Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin singing to him. She was a close friend. The follow up to “Just Evrod” was an album called “E3” which was named by the fans of Cassimy’s music. Each album led to several singles that were played all over radio in Detroit, MI. Cassimy’s Christmas EP “A Cassimy Kinda Christmas” saw similar success.
With each album, every year Cassimy held a special live concert for free. He raised money for inner city high school students, raising awareness about the need for additional funding at each concert. The live concerts gained significant community support each year. In 2022, he had raised over $100,000 with his music with all proceeds supporting the cause.
Cassimy’s musical endeavors led to him getting calls to open for acts like Patti LaBelle, Boys II Men and Tamar Braxton. More recently he sang the national anthem for the WNBA at a Chicago Sky game at WinTrust Arena.
Giving back through music is incredibly important to Cassimy. He continues to do that with his latest Christmas single “Please Come Home For Christmas.” 100% of the proceeds from this single will be donated to the Chicago Housing Authority. So far he has raised thousands of dollars for the Chicago based organization.
“I truly believe in using my gifts to serve others. I get to do that as a news anchor and reporter and I will continue to do that through music," he said. “My parents are retired educators and have always stressed the importance of education. I’m truly humbled to be able to make a difference, helping others through music.”
Speaker
Lauren Drell
Lauren is a journalist and storyteller at heart. She is creator of award-winning commercial content as well as a media/booking producer. She has more than 15 years of experience that has taught her to pivot efficiently under rapidly changing circumstances and to always have backup plans. Nothing energizes her more than connecting with people through creative storytelling and leveraging her relationship-building and persuasive communication skills to turn ambitious, innovative ideas into a real-life production process, from location/talent scouting and bookings to celebrity interviews and organizing photo/video shoots. Most recently, she worked in an associate producer role on the Chicago Stories series Legendary Blizzards episode for WTTW, which aired in fall 2025. She also was an Associate Producer for the top-rated Beyond Chicago from the Air documentary (and earning a regional Emmy® Award) and Season 2 of The Great Chicago Quiz Show. She also won a regional Emmy® Award for WTTW's The Race to Reverse the Chicago River.
Speaker
Josh Frydman
Josh Frydman is a co-anchor and reporter for GN Sports, WGN’s nightly half-hour show dedicated to all things Chicago sports. Josh joined WGN-TV and CLTV in October 2014 after spending more than two years as a sports anchor and reporter at KFVS-TV in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
Josh also spent time at the NBC affiliate stations in Memphis, Tennessee and Columbia, Missouri as a sports anchor, reporter and producer. His work has been nominated for a regional Emmy® and honored by the Illinois Broadcasters Association, Tennessee Associated Press Broadcasters and Society of Professional Journalists.
Josh grew up in north suburban Buffalo Grove and attended Stevenson High School. He graduated from the University of Missouri Magna Cum Laude, where he was the sports director of the campus television station MUTV and worked several years at KOMU-TV, the local NBC affiliate owned and operated by the Missouri School of Journalism.
Outside of work, Josh is an avid pickleball player (he claims he helped start the trend that’s swept the nation), and loves traveling, spending time with family and exploring all the great food and entertainment options Chicago has to offer. He also enjoys volunteering his time with Nourishing Hope (formerly Lakeview Pantry), Junior Achievement and within the Chicagoland Jewish community.
Speaker
Craig J. Harris
Craig J. Harris is a veteran TV and film producer, screenwriter, actor, voice over artist, and stuntman. Harris has over twenty years of industry experience and has produced multiple television programs, including A&E’s Hoarders, and The First 48: Missing Persons, Lifetime's Chicago ER, CNN’s Chicagoland, and the upcoming Investigation Discovery series, All Access PD: Grand Rapids. Harris started his career in front of the camera as a SAG-AFTRA actor on TV (Chicago PD, Empire, PrisonBreak), and in film (The Unborn, Eagle Eye, Fred Claus). Additionally — along with performing voiceovers for video games and national commercials (Mortal Kombat, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s), Harris also works as a professional stuntman.
Speaker
Brian Schodorf
Brian heads Schodorf Media, a Chicago based national television and video production agency that specializes in producing content that engages audiences through narrative storytelling and branded content. Schodorf Media is a team of creatives, producers, cinematographers and editors who thrive in bringing stories to life through film and video production.
Their content has aired on major network television including; ESPN, Discovery, NBA-TV, PBS, ASPIRE-TV and The Documentary Channel to name a few. Schodorf Media is proud to have garnered 19 Regional Emmy® Nominations, 6 Regional Emmy® Awards, 11 Telly Awards.
Speaker
Alicia Sitz
Alicia is an energetic and ambitious regional Emmy®-winning producer, formerly at Weigel Broadcasting. She is committed to sharing informative and entertaining stories. She is highly adaptive to changing circumstances with a proven record of managing workloads, projects, and staff. Alicia is passionate about quality, organization, and viewer satisfaction. Exceptional at creating relationships with coworkers and thrives in a team environment. She has worked as a news producer as Newsy, WJBK Fox in Detroit, and WTOL in Toledo.
Speaker
Joe “Jody” Williams
No matter the camera or format Joe ‘Jody’ Williams has used it to help craft clear and powerful images. For the past 20+ years he has worked on an immense range of shows from indie ”freebies”, docs, to major studio projects with Craig Brewer, Spike Lee, Ron Howard, and Lee Daniels.
Jody’s expertise behind the camera began as a film loader fresh out of film school on a movie called Telling Lies in America by DoP Rey Villalobos. He moved up the ranks as an assistant then for a 15 year run as an Operator on critically acclaimed projects like 25th Hour and BOSS then on to DP one of FOX’s top-rated shows ever, Empire. It was on Empire where he sharpened his DP chops thru the day-to-day grind of episodic tv.
Other notable work’s include two regional Emmy® award nominations for Cinematography on the documentaries Paper Trail - 100 Years of The Chicago Defender and House Music: A Cultural Revolution. The hit Peacock limited series Fight Night, Coming 2 America, and Power Book IV Force. He has been highlighted in The International Cinematographers Guild magazine, interviewed for various articles, and sat on numerous panels for filmmaking and the likes. He also puts in work as a mentor to aspiring filmmakers. Peruse his body of work – his ability to adapt to different environments while embracing technological evolution is evident.
“My aim is to always execute and compliment the director’s vision. My job is to manage the visuals and inform the director using the knowledge base from my experience on how best to get the story told, using our available time and resources. I have a healthy respect for the sensitive process of crafting a story, so listening and conversing respectfully are important tenants of mine.”
While he will always consider himself a student of filmmaking Jody is also qualified to teach its finer points. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio he went on to earn his MFA in Film with an emphasis in Cinematography from Ohio University. He has taught classes and workshops at Xavier U., Ohio U., Cleveland State, and lectured at Harvard.
Jody is based in Chicago and is the father of 3 young men.