Jesse Ayala
Jesse (Jesus) Ayala is a new media storyteller at Fovrth Studios creating experiences around pressing social issues. He is best known for “Authentically Us: Voices from the Transgender Community,” Oculus’ first virtual reality docu-series, and #ImmigrantVoices a Global Citizen virtual reality series. His work has premiered at Tribeca, SXSW, Cannes, The American Film Institute (AFI), HotDocs, and Sheffield, and is recognized by the Webbys, Shorty Social Good, Tellys, and Social Impact Media Awards.
Ayala is a current NEW INC member and alum of Oculus Creators Lab, Future of Storytelling (FoST) for Good, IDFA DocLab Academy, and Adobe Make It Immersive.
Ayala’s faith in the power of storytelling to stir action stems from his fieldwork positions for the Clinton Global Initiative with HIV/AIDS interventions, the United Nations in crisis zones in Gaza and Lebanon, Al Jazeera as a photojournalist during the Arab Spring, and as a Teach for America educator in New Orleans. In 2013 Ayala co-founded Modavanti a sustainable lifestyle company.
Ayala is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and American University in Cairo. Ayala lives in Cambridge and New York City with his husband I.Glenn Cohen. Ayala is proudly Latinx and LGBTQ+.