On October 19, ahead of their online meeting, the Women’s Steering Committee (WSC) hosted the panel discussion, Creating Community & Networking in Entertainment Via Social Media. The event featured Director Alberto Belli, Co-Founder of Latinx Directors, a database that showcases the community of talented Latinx directors who have the experience and are ready to direct; UPM Marcei Brown, Co-Founder, CrewVie.com, a productivity platform designed to help entertainment studios and productions build balanced and inclusive teams worldwide; Executive H Schuster, Founder/CEO of HUSSLUp, a platform that enables creators in media and entertainment to build a diverse global community through personal profiles with verified credits; Executive Meredith Shea, Director of Industry Relations at ARRAY, the Peabody Award-winning multi-platform arts and social impact collective dedicated to narrative change, founded by filmmaker Ava DuVernay; and Executive Shirley Vernae Williams, Head of Planning & Strategic Partnerships at HueYouKnow, a 17,000 member production resource group for media professionals of color.

In a conversation moderated by Director A. Laura James, the panelists discussed topics including the importance of voicing what you are looking for, being comfortable with asking others to vouch for you, and always paying it forward. They also revealed that social media platforms have become a place to visually tell one’s story, but also to build community and advised the audience to always be ready for the opportunity.

Following the moderated portion of the conversation, the panelists fielded questions submitted by the online audience.

ABOUT THE PANELISTS:

Director Alberto Belli Belli’s directorial credits include the upcoming sci-fi/comedy feature, Gatlopp; episodes of Ultra Violet and Black Scorpion and La Casa de las Flores; and commercials for brands like Visa, Hyundai, Snickers and Kohl’s. He is also the Co-Founder of Latinx Directors, a database that showcases the community of talented Latinx directors who have the experience and are ready to direct. Belli joined the DGA in 2017.

UPM Marcei Brown Brown has served as an Assistant Director, Unit Production Manager and Line Producer on DGA Award-nominated such as Jordan Peele’s Get Out and Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman; and other features including Adam Mason’s Songbird, Everardo Gout’s The Forever Purge, Brandon Camp’s Benji and Sam Raimi’s soon-to-be-released film, Umma. She is also a partner in the Catch A Break podcast which focuses on guiding people on how to break into the industry and navigate their career; as well as the Co-founder of CrewVie.com, a productivity platform designed to help entertainment studios and productions build balanced and inclusive teams worldwide. Brown joined the DGA in 1993.

Executive H Schuster Schuster has produced or overseen many TV series, including MasterChef and The Biggest Loser. She has been a senior executive at Reveille/Shine, and Ryan Seacrest Productions, and was founder and CEO of Morocco Junction Entertainment. She is currently the Founder/CEO of HUSSLUp, a platform that enables creators in media and entertainment to build a diverse global community through personal profiles with verified credits.

Executive Meredith Shea Shea is the Director of Industry Relations at ARRAY, the Peabody Award-winning multi-platform arts and social impact collective dedicated to narrative change, founded by filmmaker Ava DuVernay. There she is responsible for managing and fostering relations with crew members, studio partners and industry professionals for the inclusive below-the-line hiring database, ARRAY Crew. Launched in 2021, ARRAY Crew’s mission is to connect underrepresented below-the-line crew members of color and women of all kinds with producers and department heads in an effort to diversify production sets all over the world.

Executive Shirley Vernae Williams Williams is the Head of Strategic Planning and Partnerships for HUE You Know, a non-profit organization with over 17,000 members, dedicated to empowerment, employment and equity within the entertainment industry. Within the organization, she creates key relationships with reputable community organizations and media conglomerates that have an emphasis on inclusion in entertainment. In addition, Shirley is a board member of the Post New York Alliance, Foresight For-Givers Foundation and the Producers Guild of America, where she is also an active member along with New York Women in Film and Television.

Director A. Laura James (moderator) James has directed episodes of series such as Bunk'd and Austin & Ally as well as digital shorts for Disney Channel. A DGA member since 2014, James previously served as a co-chair of the Women’s Steering Committee and spearheaded a hands-on Online Presence Workshop for the WSC which gave participants the opportunity to work one-on-one with experts to help shape their personal brand across their digital platforms. She currently serves as the WSC’s Communications Coordinator.

ABOUT THE COMMITTEE:

The Women's Steering Committee (WSC) was created to advance the professional interests of its members, and to heighten their visibility and career opportunities in the entertainment industry. The WSC currently promotes diversity through sponsoring net-working events, screenings and seminars, and fosters relationships between the members to provide support, mentoring and networking opportunities. The WSC’s current Co-Chairs are Tara Miele, Shawn Pipkin-West and Liz Ryan.

• For more information about the WSC, click here to visit their webpage.