Tressa Azarel Smallwood

Tressa "Azarel" Smallwood is an award-winning book publisher, movie producer, entrepreneurial coach and Founder of MegaMind Media, a production company specializing in creating compelling original content for female audiences. With a social media following of over 75,000 across all platforms and over 1000 members in her entrepreneurial group, Azarel has transformed the lives of thousands and is a sought after speaker.

In 2003 after writing her first novel, Azarel resigned from her teaching tenure in the Maryland school system to fulfill her dream of becoming an entrepreneur. A true trailblazer, she turned her debut bestseller into a multi-million-dollar publishing company called Life Changing Books with more than 162 titles that amassed thousands of fans worldwide. Known for her razor sharp business acumen, Azarel is a business woman who practices the hustle she preaches. She deeply understands what it takes to create success from scraps and how to build highly profitable ventures from the ground up. Since then, some of her titles are now being adapted to film and TV series on BET, TV ONE, Urban Movie Channel and more.

A female filmmaker on the rise, Azarel has produced over eleven films including Secrets, Sinners Wanted, Holiday Heartbreak, All In and The Available Wife. An advocate for women's issues, Azarel recently partnered with BETHer to produce The Waiting Room and The Couch, a series highlighting mental health and breast cancer awareness. And while bringing beloved actors such as Lammon Rucker, LisaRaye McCoy, Sheryl Lee Ralph, KJ Smith, Clifton Powell and more to the big screen, she is doing her part to revive the creative economy by employing hundreds of independent artists, creatives and entrepreneurs. Her films have also given unprecedented opportunities for noteworthy actors such as Vivica Fox, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Victoria Rowell and Kim Fields to step behind the camera as directors, paving a path for the diversity that the world deserves.

She received the 2019 American Black Film Festival & BET award for her films All In and The Available Wife.