On September 28, the Focus on Women Committee (FOWC) virtual meeting featured the discussion, Focus on Atlanta & New Orleans Women.
In a conversation moderated by FOWC Co-Chair Maggie Greenwald, Atlanta-based 1st ADs Veronica Hodge-Hampton (Stargirl) and Renee Hill-Sweet (Tom Swift), and New Orleans-based 1st AD Ann Salzer (Leverage: Redemption) and 2nd ADs Mary Anne Olinsky (Claws) and Désirée Stevenson-White (Queen Sugar) spoke about their experiences working in these areas.
During their conversation, they revealed how they got their start in the Guild and their current projects, discussed how to strengthen the FOWC community in Atlanta and New Orleans, and offered advice to other members on how to achieve longevity in the industry.
Following the moderated portion of the conversation, the panelists fielded questions from the audience.
ABOUT THE PANELISTS:
 1st AD Veronica Hodge-Hampton
Hodge-Hampton is an Atlanta based Assistant Director whose credits include feature films such as Chris Rock’s Head of State, Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class and Troy Miller’s Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd; Bille Woodruff’s movie for television, Drumline: A New Beat; and episodes of Stargirl, Sweet Magnolias, Boomerang, MacGyver, Atlanta, Halt and Catch Fire, Devious Maids, The Walking Dead, Single Ladies and The Bernie Mac Show. She has been a DGA member since 1997. |
| |
 1st AD Renee Hill-Sweet
Hill-Sweet is an Atlanta based Assistant Director whose credits include episodes of Atlanta, Cobra Kai, Tom Swift, Genius: Aretha, American Soul, The Quad, Being Mary Jane, Shots Fired, Sleepy Hollow and Finding Carter. She was also part of the directorial team on Barry Sonnenfeld’s DGA Award-winning pilot for the series Pushing Daisies. She has been a DGA member since 2000, she began her career as a DGA Trainee in the Los Angeles program and has served as an alternate on the Western AD/UPM Council. |
| |
 1st AD Ann C. Salzer
Salzer is a New Orleans based Assistant Director whose credits include feature films such as Simon West’s Wild Card and James Cox's Straight A's; the remake of the mini-series Roots; and episodes of Leverage: Redemption, Ordinary Joe, Your Honor, Queen Sugar, Bull, Outsiders, Underground, South of Hell, Zoo, NCIS: New Orleans, True Detective and Ravenswood. She has been a DGA member since 1991. |
| |
|
 2nd AD Mary Anne Olinsky
Olinsky is a New Orleans based Assistant Director whose credits include features such as Malcolm D. Lee's Girls Trip, Aaron Schneider’s Greyhound and Dee Rees’s Mudbound; and episodes of Tell Me Your Secrets, Queen Sugar, Claws, Your Honor, Preacher and The Originals. She has been a DGA member since 2009.
|
| |
2nd AD Désirée Stevenson-White
Stevenson-White is a New Orleans based Assistant Director whose credits include features such as Malcolm D. Lee's Girls Trip, Nima Nourizadeh’s American Ultra and Anthony Burns’s Home Sweet Hell; and episodes of Queen Sugar, Naomi, NCIS: New Orleans, Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger, The Purge and Scream. She has been a DGA member since 2012. |
| |
|
 Director Maggie Greenwald (Moderator)
Greenwald’s filmography includes the features Sophie and the Rising Sun, The Ballad of Little Jo and the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury prize-nominated features Songcatcher and The Kill-Off. She also helmed the movies for television What Makes a Family, Tempted, Comfort and Joy, Get a Clue, Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane and Good Morning, Killer. Her episodic directing credits include Madam Secretary and Nashville. A DGA member since 2000, Greenwald is an alternate of the DGA National Board, a member of the Eastern Directors Council and is a Co-Chair of the Focus on Women Committee.
|
| |
About the Committee:
Originally a sub-committee of the Eastern Directors Council, in 2020 the Focus on Women Committee (FOWC) was designated an official and permanent committee of the DGA National Board for women members residing in the Eastern Region. The Committee would like to remind members that while their events are designed with a special focus on women directors, all DGA members are welcome to attend.