Valerie Mih is an animated filmmaker with a wide range of both studio and independent production experience. Commercially, she has animated for film/TV studios (Pixar, WildBrain) and game companies (Posit Science, Electronic Arts, Lucas Learning). She has independently produced/directed animated shorts for PBS and the festival circuit ("Paper Peace," "Harmonize,” “The Pets Zone”), as well as a half-hour animated physics documentary ("EINSTEIN," awarded best animation at the International Festival of Cinema and Technology). Her company, See Here Studios, has published several interactive iOS children's book apps. A multidisciplinary artist, she often composes the music and lyrics for her independent productions. Her current project is creative development, writing and songwriting for the animated preschool series "Treetop Family," which has garnered over 10 million views on Youtube's Super Simple Songs channel.

A Chicagoland native, Matt Silady taught eighth grade for six years in Champaign, Illinois, before moving west to study creative writing at the University of California at Davis. It was there he discovered comics as a medium for fine art. In June of 2007, he published his first graphic novel, The Homeless Channel. The story about a television executive attempting to start a 24-hour cable network for the homeless was nominated for an Eisner award. Since then, Matt accepted a teaching position at California College of the Arts where he's helped expand the college's graphic novel curriculum and now chairs CCA's MFA in Comics Program. Recent projects include guest editing the SF Weekly Comics Issue and the launch of the first city-wide San Francisco Comics Fest.