2024-2025 Board of Directors
Kim Jackson, President
(Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
Kim Jackson is a celebrated producer and creative as well as a pioneer in entertainment blockchain funding, development, and rights management. She is co-founder of the entertainment studio Evotion Media and has been active on several boards, including the ACE Programs for the Homeless, and The Gwen Ifill College of Media, Arts, and Humanities at Simmons University. Jackson began her career working with Disney/Touchstone Television in Los Angeles and then relocated to her first love, New York City, where she founded Streetwise Pictures. Through Streetwise she provided production services and investor relations for numerous theatrical and streaming feature projects. Her work has received Gotham, Spirit, and NAACP Award nominations as well as the Grand Prize at the Deauville Film Festival. One of the films Jackson produced was selected for opening night at New Directors/New Films at MoMA. Her films have been featured in competition at Rotterdam, Sundance, and Cannes. Jackson is a member of the PGA and Producers Union and is proud to serve as the Chair of the Board of Directors for New York Women in Film & Television.
Christina Kiely, VP of Education & Advocacy
Christina Kiely (Director/Producer/Writer) has been producing and directing documentaries for over 25 years. She wrote, directed and produced ABC News’ first digital documentary series, A Murder On Orchard Street and co-produced the accompanying podcast to the 7-part series (2018) – which hit #1 on Apple Podcasts. In 2004 she was nominated for an Emmy for her work on the ABC News documentary series NYPD 24/7. While at ABC she also produced for the series In the Jury Room and the weekly news magazine Primetime Mondays. Outside of ABC, Christina has produced and directed numerous programs, including the A&E Biography of Yo-Yo Ma, 12 hours of the TLC series Code Blue, the PBS weekly news magazine Rights & Wrongs: Human Rights Television, and various documentaries for the International Labor Organization of the United Nations. She is in production on Strong Girls: The Sixsters, a feature documentary about an all-girl Ukrainian rock band who fled the war and became anti-war ambassadors, co-producing and directing with Sean Gullette. And she is in development on Ace to Ace, a docu-series about diversifying the world of tennis and its next generation of stars (James Blake, Chanda Rubin, Ivan Lendl, the Bryan Brothers and more, attached). Kiely is also part of a screenwriting duo with her sister, author Maria Kiely. Their fictional family comedy We Should Celebrate is in development.
Sibyl Reymundo-Santiago, VP of Special Events
For over 30 years, Sibyl Reymundo-Santiago has been involved in film, television and stage production both in the US and Asia working with major studios such as MyxTV, Regal Films, Star Cinema, Metro Style and ABS-CBN Int’l. As President of Sitting Cat Productions, Sibyl has had several films released since 2015 including the Nicholas Brooks’ debut feature film SAM with Executive Producer Mel Brooks and casts that include Morgan Fairchild, Tom Pelphrey & Bryan Batt, ALONE TOGETHER with Philippines stars Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil, directed by Antoinette Jadaone, and most recently, the feature film FOLLOW HER starring Luke Cook & Dani Barker, directed by award winning director Sylvia Caminer. Having successfully tackled roles ranging from acting, producing and directing, Sibyl knows firsthand what it takes to bring a story from script to screen. She is a Member of the Board of NYWIFT and currently serves as VP of Events. She is an active member of the British Academy of Film & Television Arts (BAFTA), the Producers Guild of America (PGA) and is a founding member and former Co-Lead of the AAPI Working Group as part of the One Guild Initiative. Sibyl is a recipient of The Outstanding Filipino Americans in New York, Arts & Culture Award at Carnegie Hall. Sibyl also remains an active member of both SAG-AFTRA and Actor’s Equity, and has appeared in several film, television, and stage productions in New York City. She is in post on a documentary where she received the p.g.a. mark, while developing her own series. Sibyl serves her 13th year as the Executive Director and Head of Programming for the SOHO International Film Festival.
Gretchen McGowan, Treasurer
Gretchen McGowan is an award-winning producer and the head of production for Goldcrest Features in New York City where she oversees titles such as Carol, Restrepo and Which Way is the Front Line from Here. Gretchen has collaborated with Sebastian Junger on five films, and last year she produced Hell of a Cruise for NBCUniversal, a feature documentary about the cruise industry’s handling of the pandemic. Gretchen independently produced Jim Jarmusch’s The Limits of Control in Spain for Focus Features and she produced American Swing for Magnolia Pictures. She line produced the Oscar nominated Dancemaker, Buffalo ’66, Two Girls and a Guy, American Psycho and Heavy. While head of production with Mark Cuban’s HDNet Films, Open City Films and Blow Up Pictures, Gretchen supervised over 25 features including Brian De Palma’s Redacted, Alex Gibney’s Enron, Zoe Cassavetes’ Broken English, Steven Soderbergh’s Bubble, Nicole Holofcener’s Lovely and Amazing and Jim Jarmusch’s Coffee and Cigarettes. Gretchen’s memoir, FLYING IN: MY ADVENTURES IN FILMMAKING is set for publication with Post Hill Press in late 2024.
Joyce Pierpoline, Secretary
Joyce Pierpoline is a producer of award-winning films and founder of Pierpoline Films, based in New York. She recently executive produced Mediha, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at DOC NYC 2023; other films include The Listener, starring Tessa Thompson and directed by Steve Buscemi, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival; The Transfiguration, at the Cannes Film Festival; Sundance award-winning cult favorite Teeth, considered one of the top 10 political horror films of all time; Happy Tears, Angelica, and the multi awarding-winning first film by Neil Labute, In the Company of Men. Prior to producing, Joyce was a production and acquisitions executive for French studio UGC, where she was instrumental in the acquisition and co-production of numerous titles from some of the world’s most acclaimed filmmakers, including Ang Lee, Christopher Nolan, Kenneth Branagh, and Terry Gilliam. She began her career in France as head of international press for the Cannes Film Festival. She serves as Chair of the Board of BAFTA North America, and is member of the European Film Academy, European Producers Club, International Emmys, and Producers Guild of America, where she co-founded the Women’s Impact Network, promoting gender equality in the industry.
Sirad Balducci
Sirad Balducci is an independent feature film producer based in New York, with over 25 years of experience. Fueled by a passion for supporting creative visions that drive positive change, she works closely with talented directors and writers to bring incredible stories to life. As one of the founders of the Give Film Foundation, Balducci strongly believes in the profound power of film to make a social impact. Her award-winning short film Generation Lockdown, which she wrote and directed, sheds light on the traumatic psychological effects experienced by children in the face of the gun epidemic. Currently, she is writing and developing a new feature film focusing on mental health and inspired by the Rainbow Roll for the End of AIDS, a cross-country inline skating event she produced and documented in 1994. Balducci is a member of the Director’s Guild of America and represented by Gersh NY.
Kia Brooks
Kia Brooks is the Deputy Director of The Gotham Film and Media Institute. Her experience in strategic communications (including PR and Marketing) and events spans over a decade and she enjoys supporting and advising creators and entrepreneurs in taking the next steps in their projects and careers. At The Gotham, she oversees the organization’s programming, communications and supports the organization’s development efforts. Brooks is the founder of The Gotham’s Owning It program that supports women and non-binary media makers and entrepreneurs who break boundaries in the media and entertainment industry. She also developed the Expanding Communities program, which is dedicated to providing resources, a community space, and industry access to individuals with Disabilities and Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and LGBTQIA+ creators across film, TV, and audio industries. Through partnerships with organizations aligned with uplifting historically excluded voices, the program acts as a platform for both creators and organizations to reach new audiences, develop networks of potential collaborators, and access career advancement resources and opportunities within the media and entertainment industry. Previous to working at the Gotham, Brooks worked in film publicity for companies such as Focus Features, Oscilloscope Laboratories and Tribeca Film Festival. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Communication from American University and is currently enrolled in a Fundraising Certificate Program at New York University.
Shruti Ganguly
Shruti Ganguly is a filmmaker and writer based between New York City and Oslo. Shruti was a member of the Obama Administration’s ECCO committee of 30 leaders and creators in entertainment, chairing its Asian Caucus, and is on the Creative Council for Emily’s List. She has produced several feature and short films (including Spirit-winner H., and the Nora Ephron Prize-winner Initials SG) that have premiered at Sundance, Venice, Tribeca, Telluride, and Berlin. Ganguly is currently writing for Secret Daughter for Amazon Studios, which will star Priyanka Chopra and Sienna Miller, directed by Cannes-winner Anthony Chen. Ganguly developed and will EP Flossy, a half-hour comedy with writer/comedian Kerry Coddett, and EP Robin Thede, set up at Warner Bros and Showtime, and she will be an EP and writer on the half-hour TV series Brown Baby, which is in development with Bad Robot/Warner Bros and will star Himesh Patel. Ganguly has directed and produced commercials, short and feature docs, music videos and branded content, ranging from clients like Nike, Netflix, Michael Kors, MUNCH, and so on, through her production company honto88. In addition, Ganguly started Prism Entertainment with producers Megha Kadakia and Priya Giri Desai to focus on high-quality, South Asian-focused film and TV content. Previously, Ganguly worked at NYLON, MTV, and Conde Nast, producing the Clio-winning 73 Questions series. She is a co-founder of the Resistance Revival Chorus, a collective born out of the Women’s March that brings together artists and activists to use music and joy as an act of resistance. Ganguly is a published writer (Nevertheless We Persisted, Penguin) and a contributing writer for The Juggernaut. Ganguly received her Bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University, and went to NYU’s dual MFA/MBA program at Tisch and Stern. She hails from India, by way of Oman.
Toni R. Isreal
Toni R. Isreal is no stranger to arts and entertainment. The former Accounting Specialist sought and secured key apprenticeship opportunities to thrive from her greatest interests in film, television, and theater, leading to decades of experience in group sales and brand management. Isreal is the Founder of REALEMN Productions, Broadway and Touring with a focus on partnerships, marketing, PR, and producing. Having established an accomplished track record, Isreal recently launched REALEMN Enterprises that aligns REALEMN’s partnerships across theatre, television, film, and music. In addition to being a proud member of NYWIFT, Isreal is a co-founder of The Industry Standard Group (TISG), a Broadway League Associate Member, an awardee of the Central New Jersey Chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women for Excellence in Economic Empowerment, and a highly sought-after guest presenter for conversations around arts and entertainment. REALEMN’s client roster includes the hottest musicals on Broadway such as Tony Award-Winning MJ The Musical and 8 Time Tony Award-Winning Hadestown to name a few. Additionally, REALEMN championed community engagement and strategy for Hadestown’s tour, and multiple regional theatres along the east coast, as well as San Diego’s The Ole Globe and St. Louis’ Fox Theatre. Isreal’s impressive slate includes a co-producing credit with Hadesstown Tour and London’s (ReACT); LA’s The Secret Garden Musical. She also is currently attached to the Broadway-bound Musical, The Hippest Trip – SOUL TRAIN with more ‘raises’ in the works. Previously, Isreal was a consultant with New York’s World-Famous Apollo Theater, where she secured over a million dollars in sales as well as Managing Director of Walker International Communications Group (WICG.) She is a proud member of CTI – Commercial Theater Institute.
Amenya Makuku
Amenya Makuku is an independent producer, with tenures at Class 5 Films, where she worked on Thanks For Sharing, FilmNation Entertainment, where she worked on Oscar-nominated films Room and Arrival; and 4thPower Films, where she is presently developing a slate with Courtney Lee-Mitchell. Amenya is currently in post-production on Craig Webster’s Woman in the Cabinet, started during the pandemic. She coproduced director Josephine Decker’s Sundance 2018 smash Madeline’s Madeline, (released by Oscilloscope). 4th Power’s slate includes the projects, Uncatchable (in-development with Apple and Appian Way); Border Hacker (based on the nonfiction novel by Levi Vonk and Axel Kirschner; podcast iteration in development with FilmNation); Alfie (based on the novel by Christopher Bouix); and Marrying Anita: A Quest for Love in the New India (based on the memoir by Anita Jain). Scripts include the TV project Green Hill by Writer’s Lab Fellow Zuri Rice, as well as film project Sea of Moscow by Playwrights Realm Fellow David Zax. Amenya is also producing the project We Should Celebrate by sisters Christina and Maria Kiely. She is the Film/TV advisor for theatre-incubator The Playwright’s Realm. She additionally mentors for The Writers Lab fellowships.
Neyda Martinez
Neyda Martinez is a producer, strategist, writer, and a long-time cultural worker who explores the role of art in public life while centering social justice and cultural equity. Selected in 2023 as a Sundance Woman to Watch x Adobe Fellow, and a Faculty Fellow for the Mellon Initiative for Inclusive Faculty Excellence, Neyda’s current documentaries in production include Bartolo and A Chasm in Chinatown. Past documentary credits include Lucky (2014); and Decade of Fire, PBS’ Independent Lens 2020 Audience Award winner. For over a decade she was a communications strategist for AMDOC/American Documentary’s POV and America Reframed series, managing publicity, marketing and branding efforts with local, regional and national partners. Neyda serves on the editorial board of NYU’s Latinx Project IntervenXions and on the nonprofit boards of Pepatián, UPROSE, and Women Make Movies. Presently, she is an Associate Professor in the School of Media Studies, Director of the Media Management Graduate Program and Co-Director of the Impact Entrepreneurship Initiative at The New School.
Zenaida Mendez
Zenaida Mendez has been awarded the 2022 prestigious Jewell Ryan White Award for Cultural Diversity from the Alliance of Community Media. This annual award is given to persons who show an outstanding contribution to a process that encourages, facilitates, or creates culturally diverse and/or non-mainstream community involvement in the field of community media. Mendez holds the esteemed position of Director of Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN) El Barrio Firehouse Community Media Center. Mendez has an intensive career in public service, community activism, television production, and filmmaking. As a social justice activist, she is an avid voice for tolerance and has many years of experience working as an advocate for women’s and LGBTQI+ rights, as well as economic, racial and environmental justice. She also develops dynamic event-based programming initiatives, including developing partnerships with local nonprofits and community groups. She is currently Executive Producer of the monthly facilitated MNN Productions: Both Sides of the Bars, Radical Imagination, Critica, NY, Punto de Vista, Makilala TV the only National Filipino-American TV Program, Femenismo Global with former NYC Councilwoman Margarita Lopez, Health Action TV with Former Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields, Forward Together: Bishop William J. Barber II and the Poor People’s Campaign. As a filmmaker, Mendez collaborated on the film Coffee and a Donut the 2019 Best Short film by Independence Latino Film Festival NYC, Int’l Indie works (Audience Choice Award); SAG-AFTRA Foundation, Short film Showcase, and Dominican film Festival showcase. She is Co-Producer Clandestiny, the Artemis Award-winner Women in Action Film.
Okema T. Moore
Okema T. Moore is an Emmy Nominated, PGA producer and rising director. She has created unscripted and branded content for Lifetime, Netflix, Nickelodeon, DreamWorks, FOX, and Disney/Marvel. Some of that content includes Kenya Barris’ Klutch Academy, for BET, Beat Bobby Flay and The Kitchen on Food Network, Oprah’sColor of Care, Founding In Color Season 2 on Peacock and Nomad with Carlton McCoy on CNN. Most recently, she developed and produced a new docuseries for STARZ, and she was the lead producer for a short in this year’s AFI DWW 50th Anniversary Fellowship. She is a finalist presently for the PANO production microgrant, and has a host of indie shorts and a few features on deck to produce and direct. Her scripted work has premiered at a host of festivals, including TRIBECA, Outfest, ABFF, and the Oscar Qualifying Reel Sisters of the Diaspora. Okema has been a semi-finalist for The Blackhouse Producer’s Lab and Sundance’s Producer’s Track in 2022, and in 2023 was a fellow for both the Stowe Story and the Black Magic Creative Producers Labs. She also proudly serves on the board of NY Women in Film & TV and the Black TV & Film Collective, where she led their inaugural Producer’s Fellowship in 2021. Okema is committed to continuing to lift while she climbs, to build up womxn, queer, IPOC, Caribbean and Black creatives, as she continues to build her own successful career in film and television.
Audrey Rosenberg
Audrey Rosenberg is a Peabody-Award-winning and Emmy-nominated filmmaker known for her ability to cultivate talent, develop material and champion projects from inception through to release. She has recently been focusing on writing and directing in both the documentary and narrative space. Audrey has a unique ability to remain outside the Hollywood system while also working within it to promote authentic storytelling and to advocate for healing projects that deserve visibility. Audrey co-founded Invisible Pictures, a NY-based woman-led production company focused on authentic representation, and has since returned to independent producing. For Invisible, Audrey was lead producer and co-writer on the award-winning HBO Original documentary KATRINA BABIES that premiered at Tribeca 2022 in competition and aired on HBO August 2022. She produced the award-winning film BULL, which premiered at Cannes 2019, Executive Produced the series SOUL CITY (with JEEN-YUHS: A KANYE TRILOGY directors Coodie&Chike) which premiered on Topic in April 2020, and produced the feature LONG WEEKEND, which was released by Sony in March 2021. Audrey is an EP on Sandi Dubowski’s highly anticipated SABBATH QUEEN which world premiered at Tribeca 2024. Other credits include EP (with Steven Soderbergh) on the Emmy-nominated HBO documentary HIS WAY, and EP on HBO’s Emmy-winning BY THE PEOPLE: THE ELECTION OF BARACK OBAMA (with Edward Norton). Audrey was part of the producing team on Douglas McGrath’s INFAMOUS (starring Sandra Bullock, Daniel Craig, and Toby Jones). She produced Sean Gullette’s award-winning feature, TRAITORS, Co-EP’d Dawn Porter’s award-winning TRAPPED and was Consulting Producer for the multi-award winning and Academy-Award nominated I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO. Audrey’s upcoming projects include partnerships with Killer Films, Sharon Stone, Dominique Morriseau, Andre’ Holland, Oliver Stone, Leslye Headland, Radical Media and One Community, to name a few. Audrey is a member of the Television Academy, the newly formed Producer’s Union, the Producers Guild of America and serves proudly on the board of New York Women in Film & Television.
Emelyn Stuart
Emelyn Stuart embodies all things are possible when you marry purpose, passion, serious work ethic and commitment. Producing wasn’t an obvious path for this businesswoman who doesn’t deem herself an innate “creative” but it has proven to be a great fit for an extraordinary woman that has allowed making a difference propel her to uncharted territory. With a degree in business and less than a decade in the industry, Stuart has exemplified leadership and provided inspiration to filmmakers globally. A vast range of projects that includes a successful off-Broadway play makes Stuart different from her collaborators, but also garners her recognition internationally. Her wildly successful web series, 12 Steps to Recovery, earned Emelyn the Best Producer award at the 2011 LAWebfest. Stuart is partly responsible for multiple award-winning feature films including The Turnaround and Title VII. Her feature film Life Is Too Short premiered to sold out audiences in New York during its debut screening and in 2017 it was awarded Best Feature Film domestically and internationally at various film festivals. In 2018, Stuart opened an independent movie theater in New York called Stuart Cinema & Cafe. It will offer distribution deals to independent filmmakers and be a resource hub for artists. Now in 2022, she is building a multiplex movie theater in NY. This will make her the first Afro Latina to own a multiplex in NY.
Kuye Youngblood
Kuye Youngblood is an Emmy award-winning producer with experience in scripted, documentary, stand-up comedy, and concert captures with a focus on series, shorts, and features. Formerly the Head of Development and Production, she is currently the General Manager of the BRIC TV network. Her responsibilities include creative development from script to screen, managing a team of dynamic filmmakers, and sourcing distribution opportunities for new film works. Her EP work has screened at Tribeca, Sundance, The Lower East Side Film Festival, New Voices in Black Cinema, Hot Docs, ABFF, UrbanWorld, Bentonville, Bushwick Film Festival, New Orleans Film Festival, and Seattle International Film Festival, among others. Original series include The Show About the Show, Brooklynification, Dinette, All Hail Beth, the Inspector Ike feature film, and the animated series United Space of America. She’s been a speaker and mentor at SXSW, a juror with SeriesFest, and a producer/moderator for IFP panels. She was also Series Producer for Neighborhood Beat, a show about her hometown of Brooklyn!
Marsha S. Brooks, Esq., Legal Counsel to NYWIFT
Marsha S. Brooks is a partner in the New York City law firm of Brooks & Distler. She has worked primarily in the areas of entertainment and intellectual property law for over 30 years. Brooks represents producers, writers, directors, rights owners and “for profit” and “not-for-profit” institutions in the fields of legitimate theatre, motion picture, television and “new” technology. She is general counsel for the National Alliance for Musical Theatre and New York Women in Film and Television, Inc. Brooks served as co-Vice Chair of the Theatre and Performing Arts Division of the ABA Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries. Brooks has been a guest lecturer on a variety of subjects in the areas of intellectual property and arts-related law at, among others, Stanford University School of Law, Columbia University School of Law, Fordham Law School, New York University School of Law, Hofstra Law School, Commercial Theater Institute, Symposia of the American Bar Association’s Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries, Showbiz Expo East and Duke University.
President’s Circle
Leslie Fields-Cruz, Executive Director, Black Public Media (CHAIR)
Alexis Alexanian, Producer
Laverne Berry, Law Office of Laverne Berry
Grace Blake, Producer
Mirra Bank Brockman, Director/Producer
Marsha S. Brooks, Esq., Brooks & Distler (Legal Counsel to NYWIFT)
Beth Dembitzer, Producer/Director, Social Cinema
Alice Elliott, Director/Producer
Patricia Fili- Krushel, Executive
Harlene Freezer, Capstone Entertainment
Ellen C. Geiger, Frances Goldin Literary Agency, Inc.
Carey Graeber, Great Plains Productions
Terry Greenberg, Producer, Short and Sweet Productions
Lisa Hackett, Leftfield Entertainment
Wendy Keys, Producer
Terry Lawler, TLC Company
Alexandra Levi, Element Financial Group
Susan Margolin, St. Marks Productions
Annetta Marion, Director
Eileen Newman, President of Eileen Newman Consulting
Joy Pereths, Essential Media LLC
Simone Pero, Producer, For Impact Productions
Terrie Pologianis, A+E Networks
Marquita Pool-Eckert, Eckert Associates
Diane Robina, TV Guide Network
Wendy Sax, Producer
Marcie L. Setlow, Setlow Media
Claire Shanley, Producer
Diane Sokolow, Sokolow & Company
Caren Spruch, National Director, Arts & Entertainment Engagement, Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Patrizia Von Brandenstein, Production Designer
Ellen Zalk, Fractional Chief Operations Officer
Jamie Zelermyer, Producer
