Monique Morton Derouselle is a Louisiana-born and bred interdisciplinary artist whose artistic approach is to "root for everybody Black" by showing honest, nuanced depictions of Black folks that are rarely seen on screen. Monique received her BA in Mass Communications from Southern University Baton Rouge, her MFA in Writing from California State University Los Angeles, and improvisational training at The Second City Hollywood. Monique has been in the film industry since 2009 and has worked on both sides of the camera. She is a writer, director, producer, actor, improviser, a full-time middle/high school theatre teacher, and an avid binge-watcher… which she swears is research. She was a mentee in the inaugural year of Unlock Her Potential, a mentorship program for women of color created by Sofia Chang. Monique is proud to say her mentor is Stefon Bristol, writer/director of the Netflix film See You Yesterday. With his support and guidance, Monique developed her first short film, Rising Dawn, a coming-of-age sports comedy loosely based on her time as a high school majorette.