JOSH KAY

Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii as a reggae keyboardist and vocalist, Josh Kay has extensive experience in keyboard and vocal performance. With degrees in Music Production & Engineering and Music Business Management from Berklee College of Music, Josh is highly skilled in recording, mixing, mastering, and production.

Josh is currently the house engineer at Woodshed Recording in Malibu, California, and continues to freelance as a songwriter, engineer, keyboard player, and recording artist. Life-long surfer and music maker – Josh brings out the best in artists, players and performers, taking pride in running smooth, efficient, and inspiring sessions that result in phenomenal product.

NESMA BENSALEM

Nesma Bensalem is a true Renaissance woman whose unique combination of talents, expertise and multi-cultural background has made her a leader in the world of culture, tech, and impact.

With over 10 years of experience as a creative, consultant, and social entrepreneur, Nesma has worked with top brands, production companies, and multilateral institutions to shift narratives and inspire communities to take action for the greater good. From Deepak Chopra to the World Bank, to Hollywood and AI start ups, Nesma’s experience ranges across skills and industries, unified by the same purpose to serve the greater good and deep desire to connect us as a Humanity.

Nesma’s upbringing across four continents and more than a dozen countries has shaped her multi-cultural identity and provided her with a unique outlook on the world. She regards empathy as the key ingredient in her approach in raising awareness, building connections and fostering intrinsic motivation.

In 2021, Nesma founded WeCare Impact, a purpose driven creative studio and consulting firm working the intersection of art, technology and impact. WeCare Impact also has a social token($WeCare) with an Impact 2 Earn model for their social or environmental campaigns. As participants complete specific tasks, they earn $WeCare tokens which they can redeem for different products, services and perks on the community marketplace. Their next Impact 2 Earn campaign “Act 4 Earth” is launching this April 22nd, on Earth Day.

For 39 years, William P. Lightfoot has served as a lead attorney litigating multi-million dollar cases in the courts of the Metropolitan Washington Area. He negotiates settlement agreements, represents clients in arbitrations, mediations, and at trial, as well as manages cases from initial client intake through final disposition. He has recovered millions of dollars for his clients.

He represents people with serious injuries, such as death, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and broken bones. Mr. Lightfoot has extensive experience representing clients with physical injuries. His law practice is a combination of medicine and law.

Washingtonian Magazine wrote the following about his legal skills, “…few personal injury lawyers are more effective at winning big judgments for their clients.”

Cases he has litigated have changed dangerous practices of plumbers, manufacturers and health practitioners. Safe Kids, a child safety advocacy organization, recognized him for litigation that improved child safety related to burns from hot water. Appellate cases he has litigated have changed the law in the areas of closing arguments and statute of limitations.

The D.C. Trial Lawyers named him Trial Lawyer of the Year. Martindale Hubbell, Super-lawyers, Best-Lawyers, and AVVO have recognized his outstanding legal accomplishments. The American Association for Justice has awarded him its highest award for legal education. Each year he teaches law to lawyers from around the nation.

He is a member of numerous professional associations including the American Association of Justice, American Bar Association, Washington Bar Association, D.C. Trial Lawyers Association, American College of Trial Lawyers, American Law Institute, Leadership Washington, and Sigma Pi Phi Epsilon Boule.

He served two terms as a District of Columbia Councilmember At-Large, and he remains active in politics, having chaired four Mayoral campaigns. He continues to serve on the D.C. Judicial Tenure and Disabilities Commission that reappoints and disciplines judges.

He is an avid golfer, often enjoying comradery with members of the Washington D.C. Chapter of the Pro-Duffers.

Mr. Lightfoot is a graduate of Howard University and Washington University School of Law.

You may read about some of his current cases in the news section of our website. Mr. Lightfoot believes he is most effective when working with a skilled team of lawyers and legal assistants. As such, he serves as the senior trial attorney for the firm.

Ashbell the Entrepreneur

FOUR STAR CHEF, RESTAURANTEUR, INTERNATIONAL MEDIA PERSONALITY & LIFESTYLE GURU

Ashbell’s story is pure Americana: from humble beginnings as the great grandson of a sharecropper in rural South Carolina, he discovered his gift of spinning down home food and flavors into heavenly ambrosia from his trio of family ‘cooking saints’: Mother Retha Ludd, Great Aunt Laura and Papa Ashbell. 

Educated at the Sorbonne, he travelled the world soaking up the ethnic tapestry of culture, tradition and cuisine that binds us all. Returning to the US, he successfully branded and nationally distributed his own food products, while doing stints as executive chef for high profile restaurants and private corporate dining rooms. His talents soon caught the attention of the likes of Robert De Niro, President Bill Clinton, Patti La Belle and other celebrities, who engaged his services. Soon NBC television took notice and Chef Ashbell became on-camera presenter for the WNBC Weekend Today Show. There he cooked with Donald Trump, Matt Lauer, Al Roker and a host of other celebrities, raising ratings and wowing New York’s ethnically diverse community with his larger-than-life personality and impressive knowledge of everything from potato latkes to Cuban pernil.

In 2001, Ashbell took his talents ‘across the pond’ to London, helming Harlem@Saint, a supper club in busy Covent Garden. Ashbell was invited to join the BBC television show Good Food Live as a result of Harlem@Saint. 

Also 2002, Ashbell received a commission from the Royal Parks to run an exclusive café for the famed Serpentine Gallery Summer Pavilion designed by architect Toyo Ito. 

In 2003 Ashbell opened his eponymous restaurant in trendy Notting Hill, dazzling AA Gill, the acknowledged ‘toughest restaurant critic in the world’ who bestowed a 4-star rating on Ashbells.

Chef Ashbell is a regular on BBC Cable Food TV’s most popular show, Good Food Live, and appears on BBC Broadcast TV across the UK on Good Food Bites. He is currently launching a new line of handcrafted limited-edition specialty foods, ‘Bespoke Cuisine’, a new beverage product, and is in pre-production for the filming of his show on US Public Television, Chef Ashbell’s Food in America.

Dr. Brian Cole is an orthopedic sports medicine surgeon at Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush and a

Professor of Orthopaedics, Anatomy and Cell Biology at Rush University Medical Center. Dr.

Cole is Managing Partner of Midwest Orthopaedics and is the Department’s Associate Chairman

and the Section Head of the Cartilage Research and Restoration Center.

He is the Chairman of Surgery at Rush Oak Park Hospital and leads the Rush Orthopedic Master’s

Program. Dr. Cole is the 2020 President of the Arthroscopy Association of North America. Dr.

Cole also holds several other leadership positions in national and international orthopedic societies.

Outside of academia Dr. Cole serves as team physician for the Chicago Bulls, co-team physician

for the Chicago White Sox, and a team physician for the Chicago Red Stars, Chicago Dogs, and DePaul

University.



Honors awarded to Dr. Cole range from the “Best Doctors in America” since 2004 and “Top

Doctor” in Chicagoland since 2003. In 2006, he was featured on the cover of Chicago Magazine

as “Chicago’s Top Doctor.” In 2009, he was selected as NBA Team Physician of the Year and

Orthopedics This Week has named Dr. Cole as one of the top 20 sports medicine, knee and shoulder

specialists repeatedly over the last 5 years as selected by his peers. Dr. Cole’s patients describe his

practice as compassionate, available and willing to offer novel solutions to avoid surgery whenever

possible. Testimonials to the surgical care that Dr. Cole’s team provides are frequently featured

and shared.

Dr. Cole’s research interests include Cartilage Restoration, therapeutic biologics and regenerative

medicine, and minimally invasive surgical techniques for the treatment of the knee, elbow, and

shoulder. He has published more than 1,000 articles and 8 textbooks on orthopedic surgery and

sports medicine, has lectured nationally and internationally on more than 2,000 occasions and has

appeared as an expert on several TV documentaries.

Joel Franco tells compelling stories with an elegant voice, a crisp Italian sensibility and beautiful pictures. Franco’s experience, vision and intensity bring leadership, heart, and an eye for detail to his films. His understanding of the human condition and his passion for authenticity combine to create artistic, highly commercial works that draw the audience in and make them feel. Franco’s genuine desire to protect the integrity of each story and to bring out the best in the actors and crew have made him a trusted source for getting the job done. Colleagues trust his refreshing character and understand that he is a man of commitment and does what he says he will do, when he says he will do it.



Joel Franco was born in Italy and came to the United States in his late teens where he quickly immersed himself in American culture and film. According to Franco, “I have always admired American films. The American school of acting has a long history of producing great actors and I wanted to be a part of the world of film–a place where captivating stories are unveiled. The creation of film plays into my strengths: I love that magic is the result of the creative process. There must be passion to nurture the momentum of the story. And one must have intense focus to get the job done.” 



Influenced by American filmmaker Sidney Lumet for his vigorous storytelling and Italian director Robert Rossellini for his social realism, Franco is dedicated to staying true to the story in a fast paced, realistic and refined style. 



In 2006, Franco partnered with Solidaris LLC to found Chesapeake Films, LLC. Chesapeake Films has option agreements to produce several feature films and plans to produce two features per year in-house and to collaborate with established film companies for additional opportunities.



Joel Franco is a graduate of University of Maryland/Baltimore, a graduate of the USC-Universal Producing and Directing Program, and holds an M.F.A. in film production from the School of Film and Television at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

joelfranco@youthsports-themovie.com

ANSEL VANHORN

On Saturday, June 25th the VanHorn family traveled to Real del Mar, Mexico (just north of Puerto Vallarta) for a peaceful beach vacation with their daughters and close friends and their families.

On Sunday, the guys enjoyed a round of golf and afterward headed to the beach to boogie board & play in the surf with the kids. Ansel was boogie boarding when a wave came down on him, causing him to crash head first into the sand.

Ansel didn’t realize exactly what had happened at first until he tried to turn himself over as he was face down in the water. Right then he realized he couldn’t move in order to turn right side up to breathe. He felt at that point the best thing to do was take one more deep breath. He thought to himself, this is where it ends. And a feeling that’s hard to describe followed. Peace. Quietness. Serenity. Nothing else but that.

Thankfully the guys noticed something wasn’t right with Ansel. They saw him floating in the ocean. He had drowned. The adults were able to pull him out of the water. They immediately began CPR and never stopped working and by the grace of God were able to revive him. But they didn’t know what else lied ahead.

Ansel was transported via ambulance to a nearby hospital in Mexico where doctors proceeded to intubate him and continue to pull the fluid from his lungs. He was conscious and it’s where they discovered he couldn’t feel anything from his neck down. A spinal specialist was called in and they began running numerous tests.

It was determined although nothing was severed , Ansel needed surgery to relieve the pressure on his spine. Late Sunday night the surgeon removed his C4 and took some bone from his hip to replace his C4 vertebrae. And they placed a plate to hold it in place attaching that with screws into his C3 and C5. Ansel came out of surgery early Monday morning.

Many people worked diligently with doctors in Mexico to coordinate with neurosurgeons at St. Joseph Hospital in Phoenix and arranging for a medivac back to Arizona.

On Tuesday evening, Ansel and Sheryl landed in Arizona and were transported directly to St. Joseph/Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix. Praise God! Doctors at BNI confirmed a successful surgery in Mexico! Ansel spent 2 solid weeks in ICU at BNI and then moved to inpatient rehab there after. Mid September he returned home and the work has continued towards his healing.

He works everyday with a team of outpatient therapists, his incredible and devoted wife and family and large support system of friends.

His full independence is near, new milestones are hit everyday and he’s been named THE MIRACLE MAN because everyone has seen the grace of God and His power.

Faith, family, friends and grit. It’s the ingredients that is what brings new hope and progress to Ansel’s healing journey everyday. And he’s unstoppable! His goal is to regain full independence and return to work late summer as the Head of Acquisitions at the Laughton Team.

JUDE JOHNSTONE

Born in Bar Harbor, Maine, Jude Johnstone began writing songs at about age 8. At 18, she was “discovered” by Bruce Springsteen’s saxophonist, Clarence Clemons. After spending some time in New York and New Jersey under his wing, in 1979, she moved to Los Angeles, where her songs quickly became sought after by other artists.

She has been covered by Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, Bette Midler, Johnny Cash, Stevie Nicks, Mary Black, Jennifer Warnes, Trisha Yearwood and more, including a #1 song for Yearwood’s debut album called “The Woman Before Me” which earned her a BMI award.

Her songs then appeared on 8 other Yearwood cds. She also penned the title track to Johnny Cash’s 1997 Grammy winning album “Unchained.”

Jude has released 8 cds of her own that run the gamut from Celtic, Gospel, Americana, to Jazz, Blues, and even Big Band. She has been featured on the CBS Early Show, and NPR Radio’s “Morning Edition.” Her songs have also been on several television shows including “Nurse Jackie”, “Army Wives” and “Lie To Me.”

Jude has opened shows for Jackson Browne, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, Richard Thompson, Shawn Colvin, Chris Hillman, 10,000 Maniacs, David Crosby and many others and toured Europe under her own name numerous times.

If Jude Johnstone is not yet a musical household name, she sure as hell should be.

Henry Carrigan, No Depression

Turning emotional pain into art is a tricky business. Sometimes I wonder if the end result is worth it. Jude Johnstone makes a good case that it is.

Rodney Crowell

Jude’s fertility, in regards to songwriting, is truly awe inspiring.

Bonnie Raitt

There are certain artists whose songs go so deep it’s like they’re heart surgeons…Jude Johnstone has been able to do all that, and more, for so many years, it’s almost like she has a patent on it.

Bill Bentley
The Morton Report

Jude Johnstone’s ability to fashion the stuff of life seasonedemotions into handsomely crafted, lyrically attractive song fare is as remarkable as it is reliable”

Duane Verh
Roots Music

…She’s patently a master at capturing the heart’s dark and desperate moments, just as she’s capable of encouraging belief in its resurrection.

Mike Davies, Roots and Branches/The Beat