Carlea Jo Maben is from Lorton, VA. She graduated with an associate's degree from Northern Virginia Community College and is pursuing a bachelor's in film and video studies at George Mason University. Maben has been all about film since her sophomore year of high school where she would make her first short film. Growing up she would watch a movie and get her newest obsession from it (for example, after seeing Harriet the Spy, she kept a journal and tried to be the best (was in fact the worst) spy), it wasn't until high school she realized film was the only constant among all the phases. The same can be said about other artistic mediums such as theatre, photography and writing. Maben loves storytelling in all mediums. One of her biggest influences is author Talia Hibbert who is very vocal about and advocates for marginalized identities needing positive representation, Hibbert effectively reflects this belief in her work and Maben would like to do the same.