ABOUT US

we are

Positive Identity

We are a content generator and aggregator based in Los Angeles, California and we want to celebrate positive race relations and identity in America and around the world. We currently focus on Asian, Black, Hispanic/Latin, and White people, but also excitedly share stories of Native, Mixed and other people as well. We find content to uplift race relations, see the best of each other and give people positive self-identity. The goal is that people use that perception change to take action and help make the world a better place.

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Our Story

We are a media entity dedicated to the idea that if we see the best in who we are and in who others are, it will change our perception to see the good in others and be inspired to do good ourselves. By loving who others are and who we are and then spreading that love, it will do wonders to create positive unity for all.
 
The creation of  Positive Identity is driven by a greater dream, yet exists as a new racial movement to address the current social climate. PI was founded in part to push back against the division created by the collapse of modern race relations in America. See links below for further reading.
 
 
The US, a country with the idea of a society being united beyond identity or race has found itself torn apart by those very elements. When there is a problem, new solutions are tried until we find things that work. Racial division is at statistical highs, and hate group growth is at record levels, we must continue to assertively try new ways to reject hate and create unity.
 
It’s time for a new movement and a new approach to race. One driven not by special interests but by the people. People who should be empowered because they are the ones that must have the power to make that change. A movement that doesn’t seek to divide us based on our worst, but brings us together by our best for positive unity.
 
 
That is Positive Identity.
 
Positive Identity looks to reject the mistrust, division, and alienation that people feel. In a world where it seems like only negativity reigns, we want to create positivity. To be clear, we must never stop seeking to fix the world and addressing the wrongs in it. Many have suffered along the way and we as a society must do everything in our power to heal those who have been hurt. But we must also know what we’re fighting for. Because if we only see the darkness of the world, that is all we’ll ever get. At PI, we want to be that light in the world. We want to celebrate who you are, who others are and how we’re working together to improve the world. We aim to spread and create stories that show the good people of all identities are doing for each other and the world. However we do things a little differently. While we want to change the world, we realize that true change comes from within. The foundation of this system of thinking comes from one age-old philosophy.
 
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
 
How can you love others if you don’t know how to love yourself? You must celebrate the members of your community who have done good in the world and be inspired by them. Seek to emulate them. Then celebrate the achievements of other communities as well. Celebrate each other and work together to succeed even greater than before. Perception guides action and we aim to change perception.
 
You can only be a great person or have others be great by first seeing them as such. We aim to share stories that show great people of all identities. Stories of people doing things that we know that you and others can do as well. We know that many of you care, like we do. You want to do something, anything to see things change. While many these days wonder what our place is in society, on social media and on the internet, we believe these platforms are opportunities for good. We know that sharing and supporting stories like this changes people. It changes people for the better. Sharing these stories  and supporting others will even change you for the better. The people in your life will see you supporting Asian, Black, Hispanic and White, Native, Mixed, Other and beyond. They’ll see you supporting people in the good they do and in turn they’ll support you in becoming that greater person.
 
Furthermore, by highlighting the positive things people of your identity group have done, it helps to give you confidence in your success, teach you what “success” is and helps you understand how to succeed. Some people think success is getting wealthy and famous; others believe that they should have a family, others think it’s activism, for others its following God. We primarily feel success is being a moral person who works in service to others. We seek to highlight all the different ways people are ‘doing good’ among various communities. 
 
We live in a diverse world. By seeing the best of other communities you will have a far greater outlook on life. Instead of repulsing yourself from other communities, exposure to the good they do will have you drawn to them instead. Having a positive self-image and a positive image of others will make you more driven, smarter, and eclectic in what you want to accomplish. 
 
Let’s go back to our motto. We are here because we want change for America and The World. ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’. See the good in yourself, see it in others, they see it in you and soon you’ll both be helping each other more and more and perpetuating that good. This will create a feedback loop, where your help of others will cause them to help you and thus radically improve you all. We have to change this idea that we’re in competition with each other and to do that means to change perception and then action. The success of others doesn’t mean our failure. The success of others should mean our success as well because we know they’re helping us, on our side and rooting for us to succeed as well.
 
We all agree to the shared values of Democracy/Republics, Human Rights, Global Charity, Scientific Progress, Cultural Greatness and so forth. So let’s celebrate how we’re succeeding in these values and how others are succeeding! Then, let’s take action on those feelings. By seeing the best in ourselves and others we open the door to radical and exponential self-achievement, community achievement and united global progress.
 
Right now in the world, it seems like things are getting worse. At PI we argue that we don’t have to let the world define who we are. We still have the power to define the world.
 
Let’s celebrate the positive things that Asian, Black, Hispanic, White people and all other communities have done to create a better world. And then let’s take action to give more to celebrate

Supporting Information

From presidents, to ideologies, to colors, to music to even paper or plastic, people rarely agree completely on anything. However, our mentality is this: there will always be disagreement about the methods and system, but if we can save just one life, it is worth it.

PERCEPTION
LOVE

additional resources

Our inspiration

Here is an index of similar positivity movements that have inspired Positive Identity.

The body positivity movement teaches how self-love and self-appreciation of your body can lead to self-improvement and elevated happiness.

VISIT WEBSITE

A series of movements designed to create positive gender perception for women.

VISIT WEBSITE

A series of movements designed to create positive perception on social media.

VISIT WEBSITE

Various social movements have created positive perception to create social justice for that that have historically been disadvantaged and oppressed.

VISIT WEBSITE

Supporting Videos

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How to keep up hope in the struggle for social change | Dalilla Hermans | TEDxAntwerp
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TEDxBloomington - Shawn Achor - "The Happiness Advantage: Linking Positive Brains to Performance"
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Cross cultural communication | Pellegrino Riccardi | TEDxBergen
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Our Team

We’re friends who came together to make this because we believe that we have the power to change the world. Here is our team, Present & Past!

Stephen Grey

FOUNDER

Is a White-American filmmaker by day and a social advocate by night. Born with Autism, he’s set out to Hollywood to partner with the outsiders of society like him by making films to tell their stories and support them through advocacy. Stephen’s filmmaking themes focus on stories of people that society thought were bad but were good and are heavily defined by Race Relations, Autism, Identity, Culture and Morality. He has produced films that cover the cultural spectrum and worked with filmmakers from all backgrounds. Stephen deeply loves America and believes its people have done great things… and that there’s more greatness to come.

Stephen has also been a member of the American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity, The Alliance for Media Arts + Culture, The Color of Change, and moderated dinners for Los Angeles’s Embrace LA series about race.

Twitter

Jasmine Asuncion

Project Management

Is a Japanese-Filipino-American project manager and digital media nerd with a background in advertising who is intensely curious about life, culture, and society. She was born in the Philippines but grew up in Los Angeles. However, she was fortunate enough to be able to go back to the Philippines and study there for a few years. That experience for her was enlightening and she came back home to Los Angeles with a new passion for life and culture. With Positive Identity, she hopes to bring people from all walks of life together in an optimistic and uplifting way.

Leonora Anzaldua

Directing & Creative

Leonora Anzaldua is a Xicana filmmaker whose passion lies in stories of underrepresented people and art for social change. Her upbringing in multicultural, working-class San Diego public schools profoundly shapes her worldview and approach to storytelling.

A director and cinematographer, Leonora choses projects that advocate social progress or highlight pressing issues. Her recent work includes The Positive Identity’s web series “Immigrants for America,” which spotlights immigration stories and the positive contributions of immigrants to their communities in the United States. Leonora also created a short documentary for the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction, an NGO that combats rural poverty in Southeast Asia and Africa through community empowerment and development. And she directed and produced the campaign video for San Francisco’s progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin; she is currently creating video content highlighting his accomplishments, as well as the benefits of drug and mental health treatment, and community investment over incarceration.

David Beier

Directing & Creative

David Amir Beier is a Palestinian-American writer, director, and digital artist. His work focuses on using the language of cinema and new media to highlight the voices of under-resented communities. David’s first film, “You Better Run,” was a modern re-imagining of a tale of 1001 Nights transposed to New Orleans in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina – a tragedy that David experienced first-hand. The film won “Best Short” and “Filmmaker’s Choice” at The San Diego Black Film Festival. The following year David was admitted into the USC School of Cinematic Arts where he won the Jack Nicholson Directing Scholarship. David’s student film “The Silver Baron” won “Best Silent Film” at The International Student Film Festival and was a finalist in The USA Film Festival International Shorts Competition. David was also one of 10 students selected to co-direct a feature film produced and starring James Franco. The resulting film, “Don Quixote: The Ingenious Gentleman of La Mancha” premiered at the Palm Springs Film Festival.

Ron Bush

Creative Director

Ron Bush is an African American LA based LGBTQIA stand up comedian, actor, and writer from Philadelphia, PA. Ron mixes personal stories with sharp social commentary to convey powerful messages to his audience. Ron studied acting and directing with John Coppola for 12 years, together they produced over 100 live sketch comedy shows at Studio C Artists, Theatre Row Hollywood. Ron has been a touring comedian for 8 years, had a monthly residency at The Comedy Store and was a paid regular at Ice House Comedy Club in Pasadena.

His inspiration comes from over 20 years of experience as an executive in the tech industry, being raised by a divorced single mom, and being mentored by one of the countries leading Jungian based psychologist, gay activist, and first openly gay white professor at Howard University in the 70’s. Ron is recognized as a leading voice in the LA stand up LGBTQ comedy community. His podcast, Positive Identity, with Stephen Grey is gaining popularity as they talk about the positive aspects of racial issues in America today. Follow Ron Bush for show information and more, he may be performing around town near you!

Hannah Shariff

Social Media

Hannah Shariff believes that diversity in every aspect is the most important step to creating a better world. An avid storyteller whose goal is to amplify the voices of diverse individuals, she has taken opportunities through internships like The Positive Identity to move this objective forward, being mentored by experienced individuals and learning important skill sets in the process. At TPI, she was a social media intern focused on increasing engagement for TPI-produced work online. Hannah currently attends Dartmouth College, and hopes to work in the entertainment industry in the future. 

Harley Hernandez

Social Media & Content

Harley Hernandez started with Positive Identity while living in LA for the summer with a university college program. She is studying to work in film and has a passion for film and TV directing, producing, and developing. Harley enjoys being on the Positive Identity team due to her love for spreading positivity and her passion for equality. Being half-Mexican, she has the drive to help others understand how important someone’s identity is to who they are and that all identities should be celebrated. Harley works on the production and social media teams here at The Positive Identity. She is excited to continue spreading encouraging messages and stories of people from all identities and backgrounds.

Nancy Le

Video Editor & Producer

Nancy is the video editor and producer of The Positive Identity. She is a rising junior majoring in Visual Communication at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.  Since Nancy aspires to be a creative producer/director and she is someone who loves telling stories, opportunities to work in a production company like TPT is very valuable for her. TPT’s mission truly aligns with Nancy’s passion because as a woman of color, social justice is what she deeply cares about, and she wishes to use the language of media and film to raise awareness and demand changes on current issues.

Joshua Pitney

Production & Writing

Joshua Pitney is a Screen Arts major at Pepperdine University. He joined Positive Identity in Summer 2022 and has loved his experience so far. He joined because he is passionate about spreading messages about love and acceptance with the power of filmmaking. He is on the autism spectrum, so he is eager to build up neurodiverse communities and teach how they can be a positive force for change in the world.

Autumn Montoya

Video Editor & Production

Autumn Montoya is a filmmaker based in Los Angeles. With her work at positive identity she also does freelance work in film production. She works in camera department, post production, and directing. Autumn is a student at the Los Angeles Film School, and is set to graduate late 2022. Since joining a high school film production class in her home state of Colorado, she knew film was her dream.

Alessandra Bielli

Social Media

Alessandra is a senior at Duquesne University majoring in sociology and minoring in business, communication, qualitative methods, and African studies. As a black woman, small business owner, and social media influencer, Alessandra is interested in diversity and inclusion as well as digital and social media marketing. Thus, she recently interned as a social media manager at The Positive Identity, which helped her land her current internship at Covalent, a video production company in Pittsburgh, PA. Upon graduating, she hopes to secure a position in Human Resources or digital or social media marketing at a corporation in New York, DC, or Florida. She also hopes to see her small business thrive and to be able to continue to work with various brands and companies as an influencer and content creator.

Sean Donahue

Organization Management

Born in Worcester, MA, Sean Donahue is a white Irish American artist, organizer, philanthropist, and activist living in Los Angeles, CA. Sean has a strong background in music, touring the east coast and southern California and also has extensive experience producing, editing and directing music videos and other film media. As a member of the antiracist collective, White People for Black Lives, Sean works in spaces deconstructing white supremacy and ending support for state sanctioned violence. As a queer person, he readily identifies the intersections of oppression and knows racial justice leads to collective liberation in all forms.

Alexis Murray

Lead Editor

“Curious to the world around her, Alexis is a filmmaker who loves to travel and explore nature and different cultures. Her mantras in life: to live life intentionally and to “turn lemons into apple juice,” meaning to make the impossible a reality while inspiring others to do likewise. Alexis’s worldwide adventures have fueled her desires to capture what brings people into community with one another through the lens of a camera. She graduated with a BA in Film Production and minor in Animation through Loyola Marymount University, and is eager to bring people together through storytelling.”

Kayla Sun

Video Editor & Organization

Kayla Sun is an Asian female filmmaker, one of the recipients of the 2020 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Production Grant for her upcoming film “The Locksmith’s Wife”. She is a MFA candidate for Film and Television production at University of Southern California. She is interested in showing Asian characters in natural and non-stereotypical ways. She is working with Positive Identity because she believes this to be a great way of helping people of all backgrounds express themselves and connect with each other.

Aviya Nettles

Producer & Production

Aviya Nettles is a current college student, working on becoming a producer and director. She worked at TPI as a producer intern, creating content for our social media platform, produced a short documentary alongside other interns, and researched various financial services to support the many people involved in the company. 

Trey Garcia

Editor & Creative

Editor/Martial Artist/Comedian/Actor/Survivor. Holder of a BA in Film with an emphasis in Editing from San Francisco State University. Raised as the son of a missionary, Trey has lived in many different cultures and societies growing up, and spends his time volunteering for his community in Concord, California. He aims to spread the message of love and kindness through humor in various film projects. Alongside his own independent films, he collaborates with others to try to get the story to you, the audience, in the clearest way possible. Because of his Kumeyaay/Apache Native American background, you might also find him at local Pow Wows, drumming for the All Nations Singers. His worldview is wide, and his ambitions are even bigger.

Tham Singpatanakul

Producer & Creative

Is an Asian filmmaker from Thailand who traveled across the world to find a bright opportunity in the United States. After graduating from Chapman University, Tham has a strong passion to make and produce films that explore the spectrum of identities by race, sexuality, and personal backgrounds. He hopes to bring in his own diasporic experience to raise awareness of the topic to general people. Now Tham is working with Positive Identity as a Social Media Content Manager because he finds a way to unite people from different backgrounds requires effective communications through modern and accessible media.

Ben Alexander

Outreach

Ben Alexander was born and raised in the multicultural hot spring that is the San Francisco Bay Area. He was privileged to encounter many vibrant, unique cultures and their peoples’ respective ethnicities in his journey toward adulthood. Finally free to live as an independent young man in Chicago, Ben graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Writing/Producing for Television, before soon moving back to the Sunshine State. Having experienced personal tragedies within the reality of racial bias, he aims to meld his love of all races/cultures/ethnicities/sexualities/genders with his passion for creating awareness and understanding through all forms of media.

Mikayla Dimick

Writing & Production

Mikayla Dimick was born and raised in Elko, NV – the entertainment capital of the world (at least when Cowboy Poetry is involved. Yes, that is a thing). During her final year pursuing a BS in Marketing from the University of Nevada-Reno, she struggled to find creative fulfillment in her upcoming career in the business world. With a fascination with pop culture and fan communities, this desire drove her to join Carnegie Mellon’s Master of Entertainment Industry Management.

Rushtri Chatterjea

Social Media

Rushtri Chatterjea is a senior at Indiana University, majoring in Creative Advertising and English. She is interested in marketing, advertising and public relations. In her spare time she likes writing,
drawing, eating cake and playing with her cat, Audrey.

Caleb Chandler

Editing & Production

Caleb is a current graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University in the Masters of Entertainment Industry Management program. He comes from a journalism background where he explored many stories within the communities he was a part of. Through his experiences, he has started to become more aware of diverse populations and is fascinated by narrative arcs different from his own. He is still learning how the game of life works but believes having an open mind is an important tool when
exploring the world.

Korey Nguyen

Editor

Korey is a recent film and digital Media graduate from University of California Santa Cruz. He is currently working on a communication design
certificate. His goal in life is to use food and film to connect cultures and people together through the different flavors of the world. His interests lie within the culinary artistry of cheap fast food french fries and endless supplies of key lime pie. When he isn’t dining on McDonald’s french fries, you can find him behind a BBQ, trying to perfect his skills for grilling the perfect steak.

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