Jeresum Entertainment is ran by 4 multi-hyphenate creatives and executives. Find out more about each of our individual team members below.
Our Team
Vivian D. Payton
WRITER/DIRECTOR - PRODUCER - MANAGER
A Chicago native, Vivian’s creative career began on the University of Illinois campus in Champaign- Urbana where she graduated with a B.S. in Speech Communications and a minor in Broadcast Journalism. In 2007, she was staffed as a writer for NBC’s MEDIUM, a position that ended because of the 2007 WGA Writers Strike. She was then chosen as a 2008 Television Screenwriting Fellow at USC’s School of Cinema – Guy A. Hanks and Marvin Miller Screenwriting Program, where she met her writing and producing partner, Paul Mays. The strike’s immediate effect on the industry left her unable to get staffed again as a writer, so Vivian re-invented herself as a reality TV producer. It turns out her one-hour drama writing skills were an asset to TV shows in the docu-series format, especially those with female driven ensemble casts. She produced the first and most successful season of VH1’s Love and Hip Hop Atlanta and returned for season 6, as well as the Hollywood and Miami LHH franchise. She also produced such shows as OWN’s Ladies Who List and Behind The Scenes on Tyler Perry, Bravo’s Real Housewives of Atlanta presents - I Dream of NeNe - The Wedding Special and she wrote the pitch for Kandi & Todd’s Wedding Special that was also greenlit by Bravo. She also produced Oxygen’s Preacher’s of Detroit and TV One’s Hollywood Divas, an exciting docu-series that followed the lives of Hollywood actresses. She produced BET’s new music competition show for R&B and Hip Hop artists, The Next Big Thing, a documentary for Lifetime Television called Didn’t We Almost Have It All – The Whitney and Bobbi Kristina Story and was tasked with tackling the heartwarming story of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Reunion show, which included the reconciliation between Will Smith and Janet Hubert (the original Aunt Viv) and a tribute to the late James Avery. As a showrunner and executive producer, Vivian has produced Toya and Reginae, Waka and Tammy and Brat Loves Judy for WE TV and Royal Rules of Ohio for Hulu. Now, after having made a name for herself in the world of reality TV, Vivian is focused on a return to scripted as a writer, episodic director and show creator. Most recently, she directed ‘Save A Life’ - currently streaming on AllBLK.
As an artist manager, Vivian manages and oversees the careers of both Summer and JP Payton.
Summer Payton
ARTIST - SONGWRITER - PRODUCER - COMPOSER - SCREENWRITER - ACTOR
Summer Payton is a multi-hyphenate entertainer from Chicago, Illinois. Growing up, Summer was encouraged to explore her creativity and thus she found a love for multiple artistic expressions and it inspired her to pursue a career in the arts. Her journey led her to New York University, Tisch School of the Arts’ Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music where she fully developed her artistry. Later, at the 1500 Sound Academy, Summer enhanced her engineering and music production skills under the mentorship of Grammy award winning music producer, Rance Dopson of the legendary band, 1500 or Nothin’. Musically, Summer is an r&b singer, songwriter, producer, and musician. Summer released her debut album, “Golden Hour” on her golden birthday, December 25th, which features a stunning array of songs straight from Summer’s heart and soul and continues to be her proudest accomplishment to date. Most recently, she released her single, “My Life,” an original song from the short film Save A Life. “My Life,” an inspirational anthem, touched audiences across the globe, with specific success in the UK as it reached #10 on Amazon UK’s Hot New Releases in R&B Songs chart, as well as charted #20 on the UK Soul Top 30 and debuted on the UK Global Soul Chart Show as a new entry at #9.
In addition to her own musical projects, Summer enjoys composing music for film and television, like she did for the award winning short film by Regina Hoyles, Adullam, as well as Felicia Pride’s critically acclaimed short film Look Back At It, and the highly watched short film by Vivian D. Payton, Save A Life.
Save A Life, Summer’s first project as a film producer is currently streaming on ALLBLK and was an official selection of the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival as well as the 2022 British Urban Film Festival. She has since gone on to produce other short films including the upcoming, Message For The King, directed by Phillips Payton.
In response to the lack of roles Summer felt available to her as an actress, she took a page out of her screenwriter-mother’s book and began writing her own content as a vessel for her creativity. She has since developed multiple pilot scripts in partnership with her mother, Vivian Payton, as a screenwriting duo. Their pilot Quarter-Life was an official selection of the 2022 Sherman Oaks Film Festival and a Quarter Finalist in the Female Voices Rock Film Festival.
In TV production, she has served in many capacities before finding a home and a love of Post Productions. She served as Story Producer for season one of OWN’s Ladies Who List and season five of VH1’s Love and Hip Hop Miami and was Supervising Story Producer of Fuse and World of Wonder’s Big Freedia Means Business.
As a highly motivated innovator fueled by a love of entertainment, Summer is committed to perfecting her talents and is dedicated to leaving her mark on the entertainment industry.
JP Payton
WRITER/DIRECTOR - ACTOR - COMPOSER - MUSICIAN
As a writer/director, he is credited as Phillips Payton. He recently graduated from Loyola Marymount University’s School of Film and TV as a screenwriting major with a minor in Theatre. His work has been categorized as “very classical with a modern spectacle.” His love of history and classical literature has influenced themes in his writing. His imagination has drawn him towards the historical and science fiction genres and as a result he is driven to infuse color and diversity in the historical and sci-fi/fantasy space. JP’s first short film Crutch focuses on a theme of grief and lost love with a protagonist who wishes he could turn back the hands of time and be different, better. His most recent short film, Message For The King is a period piece, circa 1000 B.C. It is one of the many stories of King David’s life told from the perspective of a king who’s unfortunate actions brought King David’s wrath on his people. As a screenwriter, JP has written several shorts and TV pilots. He recently finished his first feature, The Cold Son, and is shopping his first pilot, Sons of Israel.
As an actor, JP is very dramatic. His intense delivery is perfect for dramas and action adventures. However, his performances are grounded in reality. He’s very relatable and has the ability to make viewers feel as if he is speaking for them or that they would behave in similar ways or have the same reactions as his characters. JP also has a transformative quality about his acting that he is constantly improving upon like the greats he admires and studies, i.e. Jamie Foxx, Chadwick Boseman, Gary Oldman, and Andy Serkis. He is currently attending USC’s School of Dramatic Arts getting a Master of Fine Arts in Acting, He was 1 of 8 students selected for the prestigious program.
Musically, JP Payton, also known as Prodigal is a producer, composer, musician and singer/songwriter. Prodigal has been making ‘ahead of his time’ music. Born and raised in the south suburbs of Chicago, Prodigal learned to play piano by ear in a home filled with music. His musical obsessions were Ray Charles, Michael Jackson, Scott Joplin and The Temptations, a mixture that helped to shape his musical vocabulary. As a producer, Prodigal started by taking classic songs and sounds from everything from video games to other musical cultures like Asian, Latin and Indian cultures and meshing them together with a hip hop flair. As a composer, his music is keyboard and percussion driven, defined by his unorthodox rhythmic choices.
Lee Payton
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER - MANAGING MEMBER
Lee Payton hails from Joliet, Illinois where he found a love for music as the lead organist at Mount Moriah Baptist Church. Lee attended the University of Illinois University, Urbana IL, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, with a dual focus of Macroeconomics and Organizational Behavior. At Jeresum, he functions as the backbone of the company.
Lee is also a Principal Consultant, at one of the world’s leading technology firms. He has over 25 years of experience in IT Services and has consulted with organizations across multiple industry sectors on how to protect business critical assets and processes via effective business resiliency, data protection, high availability and cyber recovery solutions. He is an industry leading consultant and Consulting Practice Management professional, skilled in leading teams of managers, architects, and consultants in developing enterprise transforming solutions leveraging improved processes, advanced technology, and effective usage of human resources. He is adept at developing strategies to help clients manage through the organizational and cultural impact of change resulting from or impacting IT transformation efforts. Lee believes in the art of the possible, that good consultancy starts with active listening, and diversity of thought produces high quality solutions.
Prior to joining his current firm Lee was a founding Principal, Corig•elan, LLC. A Chicago, IL based consultancy specializing in Business Resiliency. As the Principal responsible for service delivery, he established project management methodology, standard tools, and execution collateral that were the foundation of Corig•elan’s delivery model. The firm successfully executed the full entrepreneurial cycle from business planning thru exit strategy by negotiating an acquisition, in year 5 of operation.