OUR HUMANS — School of Humans

School of Humans is dedicated to telling stories with imagination and intention. Our team represents decades of experience in writing, producing, and storytelling – bringing a depth of creativity, passion and innovation to our work. School of Humans internal culture is built on collaboration, mutual respect, journalistic rigor, curiosity and growth. Our talented team of producers, hosts, writers and collaborators have produced live-action and animated series for television, SVOD, and streaming — including Discovery, Adult Swim, Netflix, FYI, Cooking Channel and more. Podcasts produced by the School of Humans team have been downloaded more than 26 million times.

Our Leadership

L.C. Crowley

Chief Executive Officer
Before founding School of Humans in 2009, L.C. had a long career as an advertising creative director. He has overseen the growth of the company while executive producing a varied slate of genre-defying projects, including Dirty Jobs, Six Degrees With Mike Rowe, Rusty’s Rockfeast with the Zac Brown Band, Daytime Fighting League, and Stuff You Should Know. He runs more miles before 8am than most people do all week.
Brandon Barr

Chief Content Officer
Brandon has worked in TV for 15 years, first at Cartoon Network/Adult Swim and then co-founding School of Humans with L.C. Crowley in 2009. On the television side, he has executive produced Six Degrees with Mike Rowe, Stuff You Should Know, Screenland, Daytime Fighting League, and Offbeat Eats. He executive produced School of Human’s first hit podcast, Hell and Gone, launching the podcast division. Before starting School of Humans, he was a long-time advertising writer. He currently lives on a boat in LA with his dog and a neighbor who is a parrot.
Cynthia Hodack

EVP Chief Operating Officer
Cynthia Hodack added EVP Chief Operating Officer to her title in August 2020, after serving 10 years as VP Chief Financial Officer for School of Humans. In addition, Hodack served as EVP Chief Operating Officer for Trioscope Studios and currently serves as a consultant. Prior to joining School of Humans, Hodack served as VP of Finance & Administration for Cookerly Public Relations. She holds a B.S. degree from University of Florida’s school of Journalism and Communication.
Virginia Prescott

President of Audio
Virginia gathered an impressive collection of tote bags and awards over decades in public media. She earned her audio chops as producer, editor and director for NPR’s On Point and Here and Now, and the Peabody Award-winning team behind Jazz from Lincoln Center with Ed Bradley. Like Oprah and Taylor Swift, Virginia is a Gracie Award-winner, but that is where the similarities end. She’s worked in audio journalism from New Orleans to New York, in conflict zones from the Balkans to Sierra Leone and was awarded a Loeb Fellowship from Harvard.

Our Team

Jennifer Tocquigny

VP of Development
Jennifer is a film, TV, and podcast producer whose projects have screened at 150+ festivals worldwide including world premieres at TIFF, SXSW, IDFA and AFI.
Jennifer has circumnavigated the globe to over 70 countries working on documentary, digital and branded content for HBO, Warner Brothers, Netflix, Starz, Freeform, and Sony Pictures. She has a passion for social impact projects and loves the challenge of creating significant change through storytelling.
Ben Franzen

Executive Producer, TV
Ben Franzen is an award-winning producer & photographer. Franzen directed the feature-length documentary Copyright Criminals, which premiered at TIFF and aired on PBS. Franzen has a penchant for comedy; his name is attached to episodes of Squidbillies and Daytime Fighting League, both on Adult Swim.
Franzen recently served as Executive Producer of Six Degrees with Mike Rowe on Discovery Channel and is currently the EP Showrunner of Dirty Jobs.
Emilia Brock

Senior Producer, Audio
Emilia is a passionate storyteller with experience in journalism, photography, video/audio production, and more. She found her calling in public broadcasting and podcasting, but has had a wide-ranging career: she's been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet – a pawn and a king. (Translation: everything from music supervision for VICE to communications at Delta Air Lines to literally a street poet in Helsinki.) Emilia is now a well-connected hermit.
Gabbie Watts

Senior Producer, Audio
Gabbie Watts began her audio career in college radio at WPRB Princeton (bragging), hosting music exercise show "Squatts with Gwatts." After graduating, she made her foray into public radio, producing daily arts and culture show "City Lights" at WABE Atlanta. She became a School of Humans podcast podcast producer in 2019.
Julia Christgau

Producer, Audio
Julia was born and raised in NYC with artistic roots in acting, directing and writing for theatre, film and TV. She has performed on stage for most of her life, everything from Shakespeare to Annie Baker both in NYC and regionally. Her short films have garnered awards and nominations in the U.S. and abroad. She is dedicated to telling stories with integrity, equity, compassion and of course, humor.
Daisy Church

Production Manager, Audio
Daisy, originally from South Carolina moved to Atlanta, Ga just after graduating from the University of South Carolina. Before working at School of Humans, Daisy started her career in radio then went on to cast voiceover talent for audiobooks. She has developed quite an ear for all things audio. When she's not listening to podcasts she loves going to concerts, and being the ultimate aunt of four!
Jesse Nighswonger

Audio Editor / Sound Design / Composer, Audio
Jesse Nighswonger is a sound designer, audio engineer, and musician with a degree from Art Institute of Atlanta. With a decade of experience, his credits include short films, commercials, corporate videos, and working in public radio. He has worked on several award winning podcasts and composed original theme songs. Jesse spends his free time at home watching beautiful sad movies and making strange soundscapes in his music studio.
Edeliz Perez

Producer, Audio
Edeliz Perez is an Austin based audio editor and VO artist who became a podcast hobbyist turned producer. After hearing the gentle voice of Ira Glass through her headphones, she knew audio storytelling was it. Edeliz produced her own podcasts before getting her role at School of Humans. When she’s not working, she enjoys treating herself to fancy dinners, going down wikipedia rabbit holes, and rewatching New Girl.