THE VISION

Rifelion is a minority-owned media company elevating diverse voices, founded to combat the negative stereotypes of Muslims in the media. Rifelion shares the untold stories of American life and culture centered around American Muslims and other minorities through podcasts, blogs, and social media, with the goal of producing radio, television and film. Media profoundly influences pop culture, attitudes, and politics — diversity, equity and inclusion are necessary steps toward thoughtful and lasting representation for those whose stories have been misrepresented, erased, and ignored.

Rifelion sees a future in which the diversity of the American experience is represented throughout mainstream media without the need to advocate for its existence, so that we can see the diversity of the American experience across the broader spectrum of media, from podcasts to films and television.

Rifelion is based in Portland, Oregon.

OUR TEAM

  • Asad Butt

    Founder, Producer

    Asad Butt is the creator and Executive Producer of Ramadan America, the first-of-its-kind anthology film featuring stories about the Muslim holiday season.

    Asad founded Rifelion, a media startup that elevates diverse voices to produce Ramadan America and other content for and about minority communities. He was the Executive Producer on King of the World, an award-winning podcast series about American Muslim life after 9/11. He has more than two decades of experience working in startups, investing, and media.

    For 10 years he managed global accelerator programs in education technology and pet tech. Asad is a partner in the RASA Film Group and adjunct professor at Boston University's School of Communication.

  • Kem Poston

    Producer, Writer

    Kem is a writer, producer and creative consultant with Boston roots. His content background includes published writing for the Village Voice and Complex, and television programming for PBS, VH1, Discovery, History Channel and Lifetime. Kem holds a B.A. in American Studies from Wesleyan University, and currently resides in Los Angeles, CA.

  • Chad Milner

    Host, Producer

    Chad is a Massachusetts-based producer, creative consultant and educator. He has worked at the intersection of community development, education, arts and media for over two decades. He has co-produced numerous websites, promotional videos and a short documentary film, “Caste in the Classroom”, which was an official selection of the 2022 Bronze Lens Film Festival. Witness is his first podcast-based project. Chad holds a B.A. from Stanford University.

  • Mark Annotto

    Producer, Editor

    With more than nineteen years of entertainment/media industry management experience supporting the operations of content providers such as Studio71, MTV, Comedy Central, USA Network and SyFy, Mark has acquired extensive knowledge of all digital entertainment sectors - both U.S. and International - across podcasts, digital media, television, film, and production.

    He has been editing audio and video for almost two decades, specializing in podcasts, interviews, trailers, and short-form digital content.

  • Ather Ahmad

    Digital Strategist

    Ather Ahmad, based in San Francisco, is a versatile digital media professional with a commitment to amplifying diverse voices across a range of publications. Holding an MS in Digital Media Management from Northeastern University, Ather has cultivated his expertise through a diverse array of experiences. He has worked across a wide variety of digital publications including a financial journal, new media startup and a legacy publication. Through the course of his career Ather has held multiple roles including but not limited to hands on content generation , digital marketing and technical support.