
Veterans Fellowship
TALENT PORTAL

With a strong emphasis on experiential learning, the fellowship’s mission is to provide educational resources, professional guidance, and career-building opportunities for Veterans Writing Project alumni who are on the threshold of breaking into the industry.
Fellows participate in mock writers’ rooms, network with industry professionals, and work with a dedicated mentor to polish their original writing samples. This hands-on experience equips them with the tools needed to excel in a writers’ room.
If helpful, our staff will curate recommendations or facilitate introductions on your behalf. Email Director of Community Programs Kira VandenBrande at kvandenbrande@wgfoundation.org with your request.
Annual Lookbooks
In addition to the talent profiles linked below, WGF also crafts a dedicated lookbook featuring each graduating class.
Click the links below to view the 2024 and 2025 Fellowship Lookbooks!
Alumni Profiles
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Addison Blu
Addison Blu is an L.A.-based writer and military veteran. He served in the elite Army Special Operations, with whom he deployed to combat in Afghanistan and conducted Psychological Operations. He was recently the Military Consultant for the Hulu series Paradise. Addison writes half-hour and hour TV, always grounded in character and humor.
Anthony Pittore
After funding film school at mob-run poker clubs, Anthony Pittore joined the Navy as a cryptologic linguist and later served as an intelligence analyst for the NSA. He left government work to become a writer/producer and military consultant, recently rewriting a feature for a Netflix producer and selling a series to a vertical-format prodco.
Christopher Harris
Christopher David Harris is a gay Air Force veteran from Virginia. A huge nerd, he writes quippy sci-fi, fantasy, and superhero stories that explore themes of transformational journeys, religious and family trauma, connection to adversity, and the power of claiming your truth, with an eye towards LGBTQIA+ inclusion and representation.
Corinthian Maldonado
A proud Borícua from New York, Corinthian serves in the U.S. Air Force. He found his passion for writing in the middle of the desert during a deployment and has pursued it ever since. A graduate of the Veterans Writing Project and of the Veterans Writing Fellowship, he tells stories of loss, home, and the fight to belong.
LeVonda Lee
LeVonda's storytelling journey began when she wrote and directed plays for Black History Month while serving in the U.S. Air Force. She earned an MFA in screenwriting from USC. She’s a graduate of the Veterans Writing Project and the Veterans Fellowship. She writes grounded dramas and sci-fi thrillers exploring power, identity, and unseen systems.
RJ Palisoc
Growing up as a Filipino-American in 90s gangland Los Angeles, RJ Palisoc sought to escape by joining the US Navy right out of high school where he wrote about his experiences during multiple tours in the Persian Gulf. Now a veteran, he most recently completed the 2025 WGF Veterans Fellowship and has worked as a Producer for Sony Pictures.
Kadyn Michaels
Kadyn writes character-driven sci-fi, fantasy, and horror stories for film and TV. He was mentored by Jeremy Carver (DOOM PATROL) during The WGF’s Veteran Fellowship and has worked as a writer’s assistant & researcher for Kira Snyder (THE HANDMAID’S TALE). Previously, Kadyn served as a U.S. Naval Officer specializing in Surface Warfare (ship driving and fighting) and Intelligence.
Nicole Schwegman
Nicole Schwegman, a retired Navy Commander with 20 years of service, is a Naval Academy graduate who served in the Arabian Gulf and South China Sea. As Assistant Press Secretary for President Biden, she handled media for diplomatic issues like Trevor Reed and Brittany Griner's return. Now, she's a TV drama writer focusing on military stories.
Rylan Tuohy
Rylan became a TV Writer by way of rural Kentucky, a physics degree, Naval service, and viral videos. With an affinity for crime dramas with grounded comedy, Rylan received the Netflix Native American Writer Accelerator Grant and was in the inaugural Writers Guild Foundation’s Veterans Fellowship.