Meet The Team

Bobby Roth is an acclaimed writer, director, and producer whose five-decade career spans feature films, acclaimed television dramas, and global film education. A Los Angeles native, Roth studied literature and creative writing at UC Berkeley before earning a B.A. in Cinema from USC and an MFA in Motion Picture Production from UCLA. He has written, directed, and produced sixteen independent feature films—including Heartbreakers, The Man Inside, Jack the Dog, Berkeley, and Pearl—which have screened at festivals such as Berlin, Toronto, and Sundance. In television, Roth has directed over 100 episodes of network television, including Lost, Prison Break, Grey’s Anatomy, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Mentalist, Criminal Minds, and Miami Vice. Roth is a founding member of the Independent Feature Project and former co-chair of the Directors Guild of America’s Independent Feature Committee. Roth also teaches masterclasses worldwide, sharing his expertise with students and professionals in over 20 countries. Known for storytelling with emotional depth and moral complexity, he continues to create socially conscious films, including the recent documentary Good Men (2024), making Lightworkers a natural extension of his lifelong exploration of courage and humanity. Learn more at bobbyroth.net

Jesse Kane is a veteran producer and editor with over 20 years of experience in broadcast television, documentary, and independent film. A graduate of California State University, Northridge with a B.A. in Film Production, Kane has worked on projects for ABC (20/20, Nightline, Good Morning America), Barbara Walters specials, and programs for VH1 and NBC. After decades in Los Angeles, Kane returned to his home in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he now focuses on independent projects that emphasize authentic storytelling. For Lightworkers, he collaborates closely with Roth in the edit, shaping over sixty hours of footage into a feature-length documentary, and oversees technical workflows for post-production.

Monica Valdes brings more than 20 years of experience in film festival programming, education, and community engagement. She is the co-producer of Good Men (2024) and Lightworkers (2026), leading festival strategy, publicity, outreach, fundraising, partnership development, accessibility planning, and the creation of educational resources and impact campaigns. Valdes founded and directed the DocMiami International Film Festival (2009–2016). Throughout her career, she has curated hundreds of film screenings, panel discussions, and educational workshops, and continues to serve as a juror and screener for film festivals across the United States. In addition to her work in film, Valdes is an award-winning educator and the author of Pocket Full of Love: A Pocket Book for Grieving Parents, written following the loss of her son. Her work is grounded in the belief that storytelling can foster empathy, strengthen communities, and inspire meaningful civic engagement.