Felicia D. Henderson named the 25th AAWIC Film Festival Trailblazer Honoree. She is an award-winning writer, producer, director, scholar, and mentor whose groundbreaking work continues to shape the landscape of television and film. She is the creator of Soul Food, the first successful African American one-hour drama series, which earned multiple NAACP Image Awards and an Emmy nomination. Her directorial debut, The Rebel Girls, inspired by the true story of young Black girls jailed for integrating a segregated movie theater in 1963 Georgia, has garnered critical acclaim and multiple festival awards—including the 2024 Diversity in Cannes Global Legacy Award, the Jury Prize at Cinequest, Best Short Film at Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival, and Best of Festival at the BronzeLens Film Festival—qualifying it for Oscar consideration. Henderson has served as showrunner, writer, and producer on hit series such as First Kill, The Punisher, Empire, Gossip Girl, and Everybody Hates Chris, Moesha, and co-created The Quad, a drama set at an HBCU. A passionate educator and advocate, she is an associate professor at Northwestern University, where she focuses on issues of class, race, and gender identity for television writers, and has published extensively on cultural representation and industry practices.