by Kevin Lewis
photos by Elisa Haber

		Front row, from left: Josie Thomas, EDSC Co-chair Roni Wheeler, Shelley Fischel, EDSC Co-chair Annette Powlis, host Regina Render and EDSC Co-chair Yvonne Smith. Back row, from left: John Rose, EDSC Co-chair Esperanza "Candy" Martinez, Ethan Loney, moderator William Greaves, DGA field representative Carlina Rodriguez and DGA Eastern Executive Director Christina Lomolino.

EDSC Co-chairs Debra Jeffries, Esperanza "Candy" Martinez, Eulogio Ortiz, Annette Powlis, Yvonne Smith and Roni Wheeler organized the event with the support of DGA Eastern Executive Director Christina Lomolino and DGA field rep Carlina Rodriguez.

Corky Ramirez, the longtime stage manager of TV's Late Night With David Letterman, was impressed with the gathering saying, "The event was well organized and informative. I think more of these gatherings are in order."

Some DGA members such as Errol Falcon came all the way from Florida and Gregory Reid came from Philadelphia.

This opening salvo focused on network television, and the panelists included John Rose, Vice President, Human Resources of ABC; Josie Thomas, Senior Vice President, Diversity of CBS; Ethan Loney, Director, Diversity, Human Resources of NBC; and Shelley Fischel, Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Administration of HBO.

Before introducing the panelists, Render paid tribute to those on the East Coast who worked to make the evening a reality. Western DGA members, she said, "have long championed diversity committees and it is exciting to be part of these efforts on the East Coast."

"Racial balance on DGA teams has a beneficial effect for all," she added. "It draws on our multi-perspective talents and forges racial cooperation that feeds back into our society as a whole."

Filmmaker William Greaves, whose latest film is Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey, focused on the meager hiring of non-white DGA members by network television.

Josie Thomas said, "There have been enormous outreach efforts that all of us [at the network] have engaged in with various minority communities. In terms of our numbers on the West Coast, we've increased our director assignments by 67% more than last year." These efforts, she emphasized, are a focus of Leslie Moonves, CEO and President of CBS, and his senior managers.

After asserting ABC's support for diversity hiring, John Rose said, "We particularly enjoy the relationship we have with the DGA. Regina talked about how we've gotten together to increase visibility of potential directors and ADs among show runners and executive producers on the West Coast with networking events and mixers. I can tell you that they've had an impact."

Ethan Loney admitted that the diversity program at NBC was created by pressure from outside but "It's probably the best thing we've ever done." Senior management is behind the program, in which Loney has been involved for seven years, and has gone beyond the original coalition agreement to institute a mandatory training program.

According to Shelley Fischel, HBO instituted its programs from internal pressure. In 1992 HBO "entered into a diversity mission that was really inspired by the women and people of color in the company who said enough is enough." This soon expanded to include other ethnically diverse groups and those with alternative lifestyles. Innovative HBO programs also facilitated these efforts. "We were telling the stories that nobody else was telling." She said the success of shows exploring racism, sexism and ethnic identity in turn changed the crews that make films and TV shows. The ethnically diverse crews reflected the stories on cable television.

Roni Wheeler and Annette Powlis discussed the goals of the Steering Committee. Powlis has worked on a slew of sporting, award, game, sitcom and talk shows in New York as a stage manager, an assistant director and associate director in a 17-year-long career. Few minority people have been employed on these shows. "You see almost no Asians, which is bizarre to me."

She hopes that decision makers will see that the Guild is full of qualified ethnically diverse people who will give "a level of validity, a level of reality to the scripts that are being written" about minority groups. But, she adds, "Diversity is now a buzzword and I'm fearful that it is getting desensitized because people are talking so much about diversity. Yet when you get down to the thick of it, and you go on these sets, if you see one or two minorities or ethically diverse people, it's a big deal. Primarily, that is not the case. On most of the major TV programs, even the ones that are quote unquote predominantly black TV shows, when you look on the other side of the camera, you don't necessarily see ethnic diversity behind the camera, in terms of camera operators, stage managers or directors. Definitely not in terms of directors, and certainly not in terms of associate directors. You will see production assistants and gofers that are ethnically diverse, but in terms of any key decision-making positions, you don't see that."

Wheeler, an assistant director, said the production schedule in New York has been bleak since the September 11 disaster changed the Manhattan skyline. She has been working with Esperanza Martinez, William Greaves and Joe Morton on a steering committee since 1993. It's been a long process," she admitted, "But to have an ethnically diverse steering committee of a guild as strong as the DGA means that good things are coming."

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