On April 29, more than 40 directors were introduced to executives of episodic television series during the Eastern Diversity Steering Committee’s (EDSC) 2014 Show-runners Event. Held at the Guild's New York offices, the invitation-only event brought together qualified female and ethnic minority Directors with show-running Directors, Producers and UPMS from episodic series shooting in the New York City area.
This event was an important part of the DGA’s diversity initiative and is geared toward creating more job opportunities for directors hailing from sectors statistically underrepresented in television jobs. It offered a unique occasion for these Directors to get personal time with top executives and discuss what they had to offer.
The event kicked off with a cocktail reception that allowed everyone to get acquainted in an informal setting. Then EDSC Co-Chair Joyce Thomas formally introduced the participating show-runners and spoke about the Guild's ongoing initiative to improve diversity in industry hiring practices by events such as this. Afterwards the DGA members signed up and participated in one-on-one interview sessions with a roster of show-runners that featured:
- Producer Lilly Burns from the Comedy Central series Broad City
- Producer Antoine Douaihy from the Amazon series Alpha House
- Supervising Producer Antonia Ellis from the USA network series Royal Pains
- Co-Executive Producer Eric Gurian from the NBC series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
- Co-Producer/UPM Regina Heyman from the HBO series Girls
- Producer Melanie Marnich from the Showtime Networks series The Affair
- Co-Executive Producer/Director John Polson from the CBS series Elementary
- Producer Frank Pugliese from the NetFlix series House of Cards
- Executive Producer Jonathan Starch from the NBC series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
- Producer Michael Stricks from the Fox Network series The Following
- VP/Supervising Producer/Director Nadine Zylstra from PBS’ Sesame Workshop
ABOUT THE EDSC
The Eastern Diversity Steering Committee represents the concerns of Guild members of African, Asian, Native American, Arab-Middle Eastern or Latino descent. The EDSC is committed to improving the employment opportunities, working conditions and the skills of ethnically diverse Guild members. The Committee's current Co-Chairs are Jason Hightower, Rebecca Strickland and Joyce Thomas. For more information about the EDSC, click here to visit their web page.