Subject Matter’s co-founders and co-executive directors, David Earls and Colleen Hammond, spent over a decade at Tribeca Film Institute where they served on the leadership team and oversaw the Institute’s individual giving program.

Having been in countless screenings of truly moving documentaries, they’ve witnessed many moments where an audience is so inspired by a story and ready to take action, but no one has been there to channel that enthusiasm. Both the films and the issues were missing out on an opportunity to engage supporters. At Subject Matter, they’re working to capture that enthusiasm and channel it into positive community actions in response to the films. 

Subject Matter was started in early 2022 by Colleen Hammond, David Earls, and Amy Hobby.

  • Colleen has over 12 years of experience working in the film industry and nonprofit sector. She spent almost a decade in fundraising at Tribeca Film Institute, was a digital media consultant for a number of documentary films, produced the award-winning feature film, Yes, God, Yes, and worked for the social justice storytelling organization Voice of Witness. Colleen lives in the high desert of northern New Mexico and is also a professional cruciverbalist.

  • After beginning his career at Goldman Sachs, David joined Tribeca Film Institute shortly after its creation in 2003 as Director of Development and later as co-head alongside Amy Hobby. He was a part of the Tribeca Film Festival’s rise, helping cultivate many of Tribeca’s individual supporters. David continues his leadership in the arts as a director of the Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC) in addition to being a Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of Subject Matter.

Board of Directors

  • Lily spent time in investment banking and asset management at Morgan Stanley before co-founding Felix Rey, a women’s accessories company, where she was President for 13 years. Lily co-chairs the Family Circle at the Met and is an ambassador of the Good+ Foundation. She was born in Iran, lived in Paris, and grew up in Pennsylvania. She holds a B.S. from Georgetown and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.

  • Jeffrey is a Tony, Emmy, AFI, and Golden Globe Award-winning actor who has enjoyed an illustrious career, spanning the worlds of theater, film, and television. Born in D.C., Wright graduated from Amherst College and received a B.A. in political science, later earning a doctorate of humane letters from his alma mater.

  • Samantha is Co-CEO of Rudin Management Company, one of the largest privately owned real estate companies in New York City. She focuses on development, redevelopment, design and marketing for the Rudin portfolio. In 2016 Samantha helped launch ABNY Women, which strives to connect and empower women from all sectors in NY. Samantha is also on the board of Roundabout Theatre, ABNY, and the May & Samuel Rudin Family Foundation.

  • Loren is the Co-Head of Documentary at Time Studios where he leads development, financing, and production of documentary storytelling that moves the world. He previously served as VP of Immersive Programming at Tribeca Enterprises and Senior Programmer at Tribeca Film Festival. He’s worked extensively in production as well as in various curatorial roles for The Gotham, POV, Tribeca All-Access, and Hamptons International Film Festival. Loren has also helped guide numerous feature documentaries to successful world premieres.

  • Christie Marchese is the founder and CEO of Kinema, a social cinema platform that empowers anyone, anywhere to show award winning films in creative spaces. She was previously the founder and CEO of impact agency Picture Motion, and spent time at film studio Participant Media and civic participation nonprofit Declare Yourself. Marchese holds a BA from SDSU, in both International Security and Conflict Resolution and Religious Studies, with a concentration in Arabic and the Middle East.

  • Salman Al-Rashid originally comes from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia but has spent most of his life in the United States. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in History from Stanford University and a M.A. from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service in Security Studies. He serves as a principal in Salmira Investment Fund, a family office based in New York City focused on real estate and private equity investments. He also heads Salmira Productions, an entertainment financing arm of the family office that produces film, television, theatre, and podcasts. Salman dedicates much of his philanthropic giving to non-profit theater institutions in NYC as well as to charities focused on animal rights and environmental stewardship.

  • Din Blankenship is an award-winning filmmaker based in Birmingham, AL who was recently selected by the Producers Guild of America to be one of this year’s PGA Create Fellows. Her first documentary, REFUGE, was Executive Produced by Katie Couric and has won both the Audience Award and Jury Award for Best Documentary at multiple film festivals. It was included in USA Today’s List of Movies to Watch in 2023 and is now available on all digital platforms and all Delta flights worldwide. It was also the recipient of an inaugural Subject Matter grant. She is currently in production on a documentary called LOVE, YOUR BIRTH MOM, which follows several women with unplanned pregnancies who are considering adoption. Each will ultimately decide whether to raise their children or place them into the arms of another family. Prior to filmmaking, Din worked as an architectural designer for over a decade. She has a Masters in Architecture with High Distinction from the University of Michigan and a B.S. in Architecture from the University of Virginia.