Mikayah “Kai” Lee is a director, producer, writer, and community servant committed to crafting socially impactful stories that uplift our human condition and provide food for thought. A proud native of PG County, Maryland and Washington, DC, she is an alumna of Duke Ellington School of the Arts where she majored in Literary Media and Communications. She is currently pursuing a degree in Film and Television Production at the University of Southern California. Kai’s passion for storytelling sparked in her 6th grade Media Arts class at Thomas G. Pullen Performing Arts Academy, where she first discovered the power to craft and capture a moment in time. Deeply influenced by her altruistic parents she remains committed to service, using both filmmaking and community service as vehicles for change, healing, and inspiration. Her work centers stories that inspire self-empowerment, confront injustice, and amplify overlooked or underrepresented voices.

In 2021, her short film You Think You Know Me won in the Short Documentary category at the Bethesda Film Festival. Since then, she has directed two documentaries Displaced (2022) and Faith and Service (2024), and two narrative short films: To Calm Your Mind (2023) and Where We Go From Here (2025). As a producer, she has contributed to over five USC short films, including the award-winning "Hell of a Child", "Marathon", and most recently, "Poised", created during her presidency at the USC African American Cinema Society, co-founded by John Singleton and David L. Watts.