Rick Najera

Rick Najera is a comedian, actor, writer, director and producer whose credits span film, television, theater and Broadway. Mentored early on by Whoopi Goldberg, Keenan Ivory Wayans and Cheech Marin, he found few roles available and began writing his own material, landing his first major writing job on In Living Color. In 2005 he made his Broadway debut at the Helen Hayes Theatre with Latinologues, a sketch comedy show he wrote and starred in, and he has directed sketch comedy for more than two decades. He wrote the holiday film Nothing Like the Holidays, which earned him an Alma Award for best writing, and received two WGA nominations for his work on MADtv. His writing credits also include the Hulu series East Los High, and he produced the talk show Latino Thought Makers. He is also a regular contributor to NPR radio and works as a professional speaker.