February 26, 2019 - 02:59 PM EST

Barack and Michelle Obama announce new heads of their production company

BY JUDY KURTZ

Former President Obama says the hires to lead his and Michelle Obama’s production company are committed to “finding new voices” to highlight in upcoming projects.

Priya Swaminathan and Tonia Davis will lead the

Obamas’ Higher Ground Productions

as co-heads, the company announced Tuesday.

“With Higher Ground Productions, we hope to bring people together around common values and uncommon stories,” Obama said in a statement. Obama said the duo, along with

Qadriyyah “Q” Shamsid-Deen,

who will serve as the company’s creative executive, will “bring that vision to life.”

“They’re masterful storytellers. They’re veterans in the industry. And they not only bring their unique perspectives and life experiences to every project, but they’re committed to finding new voices who have their own stories to tell,” the 44th president said.

“Our goal isn’t just to make people think — we want to make people feel and reach outside of their comfort zone,” Michelle Obama said a statement touting the new execs.

The Obamas’ production company inked a multiyear deal with Netflix last year to produce shows and other original content for the media giant.

Swaminathan worked at Annapurna Pictures, and produced documentaries for MTV and ESPN, along with Showtime’s 2007

human trafficking doc “Very Young Girls.”

Davis, formerly of Chermin Entertainment, executive produced 2017’s Hugh Jackman musical “The Greatest Showman” and the

Amy Schumer comedy “Snatched.”

Shamsid-Deen was a program director for Ryan Murphy Television’s Half Initiative.

The team, Higher Ground said in a statement, “is already at work building the company’s slate of projects.”

https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/431659-barack-and-michelle-obama-announce-new-heads-of-their

Re: Obama's "Q" - I include a link to a very informative article about Ryan Murphy "…The TV visionary behind American Horror Story, American Crime Story, and this year's Pose, talks about becoming a kinder, gentler show runner—and simultaneously a more fierce agent for change in Hollywood.

Ryan Murphy knows he scares people.

“People think I'm, like, Satan,” he says…"

https://www.gq.com/story/ryan-murphy-wont-be-an-outsider