Hi, I'm Jillian (Carney) Howell.

When I was seven years old, Santa Claus brought me a Barbie video camera.  Coming of age in the early 2000's brought the YouTube boom, digital cameras, Windows Movie Maker, and cringey font choices. However, there weren't a lot of entertainment opportunities growing up in West Virginia, so I learned how to create my own. By 8th grade, I had started my own school banquets slideshow company, kickstarted a YouTube channel with friends, created all of the content for the middle school morning broadcast, read college level film history textbooks, and won two national video contests. Then, I had this wild thought: I wanted to make this my career. This self-starting curiosity, passion, enthusiasm, and tenacity has stuck with me today.

As a people-person, I thoroughly enjoy the creative energy of inspired and hardworking individuals and the opportunity to collaborate and learn from them. My zeal for organization, making stuff happen, and bringing people together collides in the world of producing. Since 2019, I have worked in Production Management at Walt Disney Animation Studios.

I have a personal mission for raising our youth in an environment of welcoming and love, leadership and education, and acceptance, something that I strive to communicate and authentically express in my every day life. My philanthropic passion stems from my involvement in Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) where I was a 2011 West Virginia alumna. Serving on the WV Alumni Board (2012-2016) and as the Director of Programs for HOBY SoCal, I continue to learn and evolve my leadership style and volunteer projects.

My most recent project, Shine On, WV is an online resource for arts in the mountain state with its cornerstone being a web series of 5-8 minute videos showcasing West Virginians working in the arts and entertainment industries. Click here to learn more.

You can often find me singing in the car, binge listening to alt comedy podcasts, eating dessert before dinner, twirling in swoopy dresses, or playing with make-up.