Charysse Tia Harper, was born and raised in Oxnard, California. She graduated from the University of Southern California (May 2006) with Bachelor degrees in Cinema & Television Productions and Broadcast Journalism. She also earned a Master’s in Management & Leadership (May 2009) at Regent’s University London in the United Kingdom. Charysse is of Trinidadian descent. She has focused on her culture in three of her projects: 1) award-winning film, The Other Side of Carnival (2010) that looks at the social and economic impact Carnival has on the Trinidad & Tobago society; 2) T&T 50 in Fifteen (2012), a look at important events that have occurred during Trinidad & Tobago’s 50 years of independence; and 3) Panomundo (estimated completion 2014), a project that is in production, which examines the history of Trinidad & Tobago’s steelpan and its influence around the world.