Mark E. Swinton is a Film and Television Producer. He is also an accomplished Playwright, Television Writer, and Director of Theatre and Television. Currently Swinton is the Vice President of Tyler Perry Studios, and the Producer of all of Tyler Perry’s Television Shows, Theatrical Stage Plays, and Feature Films. Most recently Swinton produced the comedy “Nobody’s Fool” starring Tiffany Haddish and Whoopi Goldberg. Swinton also produced the theatrical hit film –“Acrimony,” that starred Taraji P. Henson. 

Swinton is also produced the hit television dramas - The Haves and The Have Nots, and If Loving You Is Wrong on the OWN network. Swinton also produced the  television sitcoms The Paynes, (OWN) and all six seasons of the comedies -  For Better Or Worse, and Love Thy Neighbor.  Swinton produced both seasons of the edgy drama Too Close To Home, which aired on the TLC network. Swinton produced seasons five and six of House Of Payne, winning an NAACP Image Award for his work on season five.

Swinton also produced the following hit stage plays, which were released on DVD by Lionsgate... A Madea Christmas, Aunt Bam’s Place, The Haves And The Have Nots, Hell Hath No Fury, Madea Gets A Job, Madea’s Neighbors From Hell, Madea On The Run, and I Don’t Want To Do Wrong. Swinton also acts as an Assistant Director on all of Mr. Perry’s live stage plays.

As a Director in television, Swinton has directed several episodes of For Better Or Worse, Love Thy Neighbor, The Paynes on OWN, and Meet The Browns on the TBS network. Swinton wrote for ABC's hit animated sitcom The Proud Family, and UPN's sitcom Second Time Around.

Swinton received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from the highly acclaimed Newhouse School at Syracuse University. At Syracuse, Swinton studied television and film, with a double major in creative writing and directing. Swinton did his graduate study in film at National University.

Jaia Thomas is a Los Angeles-based sports and entertainment attorney and  founder of Diverse Representation.  She represents film producers, television writers, and various industry talent, assisting with intellectual property and transactional matters. She has negotiated deals with several networks including ABC, NBC, HBO and BRAVO. She also assists professional athletes with brand protection and various ventures.

Jaia has been quoted as a legal expert in publications such as The New York Times and USA Today . She has served as a panelist for the Los Angeles County Bar Association and Beverly Hills Bar Association and a speaker for several sports and entertainment law conferences. She has had several articles published in journals including, Pace Intellectual Property, Sports and Entertainment Law Journal (“For the Love of the Name: Professional Athletes Seek Trademark Protection”) and Journal of Sports Media (“Twitter: The Sports Media Rookie”).

Jaia is currently an adjunct professor at UCLA, where she teaches a course titled "Copyright Law and the Entertainment Industry." She also teaches a summer seminar series at Southwestern Law School titled "How to Start and Build a Law Practice," where she equips law students with the tools necessary to launch and successfully sustain a law practice. Prior to her appointment at UCLA and Southwestern Law, she was an adjunct professor at American University in Washington D.C. where she taught graduate students about the inner workings of production company formation. She has guest lectured at Stanford Law School and Georgetown Law School.

Jaia recently launched Diverse Representation, a new initiative aimed at increasing the exposure and number of African-American agents, attorneys, managers and publicists working in the sports and entertainment industries.

She is a graduate of Colgate University (BA) and The George Washington University Law School (JD). She also holds a Certificate in Television and Film Production from UCLA.