Phil Rockrohr is a storyteller, songwriter and journalist who has written for the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Reader, TimeOut Chicago, and the University of Chicago. He founded Chicago Music Tour in 2010, writing and presenting guided tours of Chicago music history. Rockrohr served as director of the Writing Center at King College Prep High School in Chicago for three years.  "Revisiting Utopia" is his first feature-length film. His family moved to Park Forest in 1969 and he graduated from Rich East High School in 1981.

John V. Moore is a Congressional political advisor. Moore has worked as a consultant with Hitz Boxing, Planet Hollywood, The Center for Community Change, and Chicago’s ESPN RADIO 1000. He is an adjunct professor in Communication and Media Innovation at Columbia College Chicago and previously served as a publicist for Columbia/TriStar Pictures, Castle Rock Entertainment and Gramercy Pictures. His family moved to Park Forest in 1974 and he graduated from Rich East High School in 1986. Moore, who joined our team after being interviewed for the film, appears in our trailer, but will not appear in the final cut of the film.

Brendan Goff received his PhD in History at the University of Michigan. Goff served as an assistant professor in Florida from 2011-21. He has taught English in Madrid and worked at a major bank in New York City and the Children’s Defense Fund in Washington, D.C. Goff published Rotary International and the Selling of American Capitalism in July 2021. He graduated Baldwin High School in Pittsburgh in 1984 and currently lives in Chicago.

Marcus Major is a photographer and former Time Warner and Dell employee. Major, now a resident of Austin, TX, grew up in Robbins, IL, and was a lifelong resident of the South Suburbs until enrolling at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He majored in photography at Columbia College in Chicago, where he received a bachelor of science degree in communications. Major graduated from Shepherd High School in Palos Heights, IL, in 1981.

Jean Hodges is an independent media and communications consultant. She is former senior director of news culture and communications at Gannett newspapers. Hodges has a lifelong dedication to training, ethics and transforming newsrooms into inclusive, welcoming workplaces. She is passionate about news as a vehicle for sharing accurate information and storytelling. Hodges spent more than 20 years as a reporter and editor. Her family moved to Park Forest in 1966, and she graduated from Rich East High School in 1980.

Joseph Zake is a seasoned creative project manager with experience facilitating in-house production teams at leading advertising agencies and executing a freelance portfolio of interactive media strategy and content development projects. No stranger to managing a variety of television, print, radio and digital media stakeholders, Zake thrives in a fast-paced environment demanding flexibility, attention to detail and effective communication. His family moved to Park Forest in 1976 and he graduated from Rich East High School in 1982.

David Narter is a teacher and author whose books have been featured on CNN, ABC-TV and WLS-Chicago. His essays have appeared in English Journal and The Book Group Book, and his short play, “Sharpies,” was published as one of Smith and Kraus’s Best Ten Minute Plays of 2019. His full length play, #krazyman, was a semi-finalist for the 2019 National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. His family moved to Park Forest in 1968 and he graduated from Rich East High School in 1983.

Judy Bailey has over 20 years of experience as a producer and content creator in television and film. Bailey began as an NBC page and became a production assistant for “In Living Color” and the HBO hit “Arliss.” She founded 24/7 Productions, where she and her husband, Stafford Bailey, created, produced and directed the award-winning documentary “Blacks Without Borders: Chasing the American Dream in South Africa.” The documentary found a home on Showtime and the Documentary Channel and was a fan favorite at film festivals. Bailey moved to Park Forest in 1969 and graduated from Rich South High School in 1982.

Vance Collier McDaniel is the founder, owner and operator of True Image Concepts and a Multimedia Artist who specializes in graphic design and video production. McDaniel has produced corporate videos with budgets of up to $250,000. His past clients include MTV, Debbie Allen Dance Academy, Muscle Beach Venice, Ronald McDonald House and the YMCA. He served as a U.S. Marine for six years. McDaniel's family moved to Park Forest in 1982 and he graduated from Rich East High School in 1986.