Our Team

Valerie C. Woods is a writer/producer in television and film and is also a publisher, editor, and author. Her most recent work (2019-2020) was as Writer/Co-Executive Producer on Season 2 of the Netflix drama series Sweet Magnolias. She also worked in the same position for Season 4 (2018-2019) of the critically acclaimed television drama series Queen Sugar, airing on Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). Currently, she is in development through her MCV Productions banner on a limited series based on Wrapped in Rainbows – The Life of Zora Neale Hurston, the award-winning biography written by Valerie Boyd and A Cowboy to Remember,  of the Cowboys of California trilogy by Rebekah Weatherspoon.

As one of four instructors trained by acclaimed screenwriter author and teacher Syd Field, Valerie has served as Creative Director for Syd Field – The Art of Visual Storytelling platform. She also taught as Adjunct Faculty in the Stephens College Low-Residency MFA in TV and Screenwriting program (2016-2020). In Summer 2020, Valerie was added to the faculty of VONA (Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation), offering an online scriptwriting workshop. In Fall 2020, Valerie joined the University of Georgia as a Screenwriting Mentor in their Low-Residency MFA in Narrative Media Writing.

Valerie founded the independent press, BooksEndependent, which has published six titles, including her novel Katrin’s Chronicles: The Canon of Jacqueléne Dyanne. She is also the author of Something for Everyone (50 Original Monologues), published by Samuel French, Inc. Through her production company, Valerie produced a series of staged readings of scripts adapted from literary work via Staged/Lit.

During Valerie’s 25+ years as a member of WGAw, she has written on one-hour drama series for CBS, Lifetime, Netflix, and Showtime. Credits include Co-Executive Producer/Writer on the drama series, Any Day Now on Lifetime Network. Her episode “Family is Family” was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award and Consulting Producer/Writer for the drama series, Soul Food on Showtime Network. Her career began after being awarded a Fellowship with Walt Disney Studios.

Shari Goodhartz

Shari Goodhartz received her BA in English & Literature from the State University of New York at Binghamton. A multi-award nominated film and television writer, Shari also worked in Corporate Communications for Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. where she provided writing, editorial, design and production services for corporate newsletters, executive speeches, and financial statements (as well as learning many other useful and fun skills). After leaving Columbia to write TV, Shari’s spec scripts paved the way for her to be selected for the prestigious Warner Bros. Comedy Writers Workshop, and she subsequently became the first Writers Guild of America Intern at Star Trek: The Next Generation. Shari has seen more than 20 of her scripts produced, she wrote the lyrics for “My Heart Goes with You,” the theme song for Dragonheart: A New Beginning, and she’s developed numerous series for various studios and networks. In 2000, Shari added Yoga Instructor to her resume, and her shrishari blog, which promotes critical thinking, attracts readers across the globe. She currently edits the Flying Guinea Pig Blog for Serve the Warrior, a non-profit organization that provides wellness support for U.S. Military Veterans.