Ian Madrigal (they/he) is a queer and transgender filmmaker and creative activist making social impact through subversive storytelling. They are best known for their viral “cause”-play – carefully crafted stunts which span from photobombing CEOs in Congressional hearings dressed as the Monopoly Man to shaming Trump's DHS Secretary out of a restaurant over the child separation policy. Ian’s work has been profiled in the New York Times, Washington Post, HBO, the Today Show, Fox News, and NPR.

Ian was radicalized by political punk rock and staged their first creative protest at 14, slipping notes into the pockets of Disney clothing to expose sweatshop labor. After graduating UCLA Law’s Critical Race Studies program, they moved to Washington D.C. to serve as Legal Fellow with U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and went on to direct high-profile nonprofit campaigns focused on corporate accountability, human rights, and racial justice. Ian left the nonprofit world in 2018 to pursue independent filmmaking and creative consulting full-time. They now live in Baltimore and produce original video and written content, design media and organizing campaigns, and lead advocacy workshops for nonprofit clients and progressive causes.

Ian was honored with the Recent Alumni Award from UCLA Law's Public Interest program in 2019, the Greenlining Institute's prestigious Torchbearer Award in 2023, and a spot in the 2022-2023 cohort of Filmmaking Fellows with the Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund at Johns Hopkins University.