SYNOPSIS
Fear of addressing harassment is all too common among people working, or pursuing work, in the entertainment industry. Many worry about retaliation, ruptured relationships, and a tarnished reputation within a close-knit community. Such fears lead to second-guessing or excusing unacceptable behavior, and most often, silenced voices. The consequence of this silence can be severe and lasting.
Join us in a safe space for an informational discussion with institutions and individuals to share information about your rights, protections, and available resources. We will also discuss strategies we can pursue to positively shift the culture of our industry, to support and uphold our fundamental right to be safe in our person and to be treated with dignity and respect.
LIVESTREAM & ARCHIVE
To watch the livestream you DO NOT have to log into our website. Simply go to http://sagaftra.foundation/livestream/ on the night.
Please DO NOT RSVP if you will be watching the live stream of this event. Only RSVP if you want to attend this event in person.
Video will be archived after the event at http://sagaftra.foundation/video-gallery/.
Email questions to livestream@sagaftra.foundation or tweet to #SAF.
PANELISTS
Lillian Gallina, LCSW - Social Work Supervisor, Actors Fund
Lillian Gallina, LCSW is a licensed clinical social work supervisor at the Actors Fund, a national human services organization serving all professionals in arts and entertainment. She oversees the Entertainment Assistance program which provides emergency financial assistance and mental health services. In addition to her work with individuals, she has developed and facilitated a variety of support groups and trainings on such topics as Sexual Harassment, Workplace Dynamics, Anxiety and Depression, and Substance Abuse. Lillian is a certified financial social worker with a Masters of Social Work from Hunter College and a Bachelor of Science in Creative Arts Therapy from the New School.
Adam Moore - National Director, EEO & Diversity, SAG-AFTRA
Adam Moore is National Director of EEO & Diversity for SAG-AFTRA. Since joining Screen Actors Guild in 2005 as Associate National Director of Affirmative Action and Diversity, he has been responsible for developing and implementing a national diversity plan of action to achieve accurate representation of those groups historically excluded from the entertainment and news media. Such efforts include the creation of educational programs, conferences, and workshops; development of public relations strategies; and the enforcement of non-discrimination and diversity provisions as outlined in the Union’s contracts.
Lowell Peterson - Executive Director, Writers Guild of America East
Lowell Peterson has been Executive Director of the Writers Guild of America, East since 2008. Peterson’s vision is a Guild that can be the center of writers’ creative and professional lives, even as the distribution, financial, and artistic models continue to change. His digital media initiatives have included seminars and other events to explore the financial, technological, and artistic dynamics of new media; a digital media training program; and organizing creators in that sector. He worked to expand the skills of newswriters and ensure their continued relevance as broadcast news shifts to additional platforms. He has worked to increase opportunities for film and television writers. Under his leadership, the Guild’s organizing and communications capacity have been greatly expanded.
Peterson was partner in the law firm Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein where he represented a number of unions, including the Communications Workers of America, the Laborers, and the United Auto Workers. Representing laid-off workers in the Enron and WorldCom bankruptcies, he won tens of millions of dollars in severance pay, and in many other cases he defended unions from attacks on organizing and other activities. He also successfully litigated against employers for evading contract obligations.
Lydia Pilcher - National VP Motion Pictures, Producers Guild of America
Lydia Pilcher is an American film and television producer and founder of Cine Mosaic, a New York based production company focused on entertaining stories driven by themes of cultural perception and understanding. Cine Mosaic specializes in international co-productions and movies based on studio and independent models, with business partners in the US, Europe, India, Turkey, Africa and the Middle East. Pilcher has produced over 35 feature films, most recently Disney’s Queen of Katwe (dir: Mira Nair), The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (dir: George Wolfe) in collaboration with Harpo Productions and HBO Films, and the upcoming feature, Radium Girls, which she produced and co-directed with Ginny Mohler. She is currently producing, Two Brothers with award-winning Iranian director, Bahman Ghobadi.
Pilcher is a two time Emmy Award winner and was nominated for an Academy Award in 2014 for Cutie & The Boxer. She has produced for many celebrated directors including Kathryn Bigelow, Wes Anderson, Wayne Wang, Gina Prince Bythewood, Alison Maclean, Ritesh Batra, and eleven films in a twenty-five year collaboration with internationally acclaimed director Mira Nair.
Pilcher is Vice President of Motion Pictures, Producers Guild of America, and Founder and Chair of PGA Women’s Impact Network. She co-authored The Ms. Factor: The Power of Female Driven Content, and is leading a new PGA project: CultureSHIFT: Creating Content Toward an Inclusive World. Pilcher is an adjunct professor at New York University Tisch Graduate Film Institute and teaches a seminar she created about the shifting landscape of audience and storytelling, Producing with a Vision: Radical Transformation and Disruption in the Entertainment Industry.
Laura S. Schnell - Attorney, Eisenberg & Schnell LLP
Laura S. Schnell, a member of the firm of Eisenberg & Schnell LLP, has practiced employment law in New York City on behalf of employees for over thirty years. She is a 1980 graduate of Dartmouth College and a 1983 graduate of the University of Chicago Law School and served as a law clerk for the Honorable Jack B. Weinstein in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York from 1983 to 1984. Ms. Schnell represents employees in all aspects of employment law and has extensive employment discrimination, sexual harassment, non-compete and employment contract litigation experience as well as financial industry and other employment arbitration experience. She has served on numerous bar committees and is a frequent speaker on issues involving employment rights and litigation, arbitration and mediation. She has been a Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers recognized attorney since 2006 and was named the New York Best Lawyer of the Year, Employment Law-Individual for 2012, and again for 2017.
Cynthia Lόpez - Moderator
Cynthia Lόpez is a media strategist, executive producer, content advisor and creative consultant developing national and global engagement strategy. She is the former Commissioner of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, where she was the steward of the Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting. López implemented strategies to support production of film and TV production throughout the five boroughs, and oversaw NYC Media, the City's official TV, radio and online network. During her tenure, New York City’s entertainment industry increased its direct annual to the local economy, an increase of 21 percent. Television production in NYC, increased from 29 episodic series to 46 series and feature film production rose from 192 to 253 films.
López joined the City of New York from American Documentary | POV, where she had worked since 2000, eventually becoming executive vice president and co- executive producer of the award-winning PBS documentary series. She was responsible for all aspects of the organization’s development, working with key stakeholders in education, public policy and community development. Her ability to forge strategic partnerships among corporate and public interest media has been a signature of her work. Notable partnerships include: New York Times, Reuters, Al-Jazeera Network, Discovery Communications, The Moth, Story Corps, Harpo Studios and ABC News, NIGHTLINE with Ted Koppel.
During Lopez’s tenure, POV earned numerous coveted awards. In 2013 alone, it was one of only 13 nonprofit organizations worldwide to receive a $1 million MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. Among its other honors is a Special News & Documentary Emmy Award for Excellence in Television Documentary Filmmaking, two IDA Awards for Best Continuing Series, 32 additional Emmy Awards, 17 George Foster Peabody Awards, 12 DuPont-Columbia Broadcast Journalism Awards, three Academy Awards®, the Prix Italia and the Webby.
López is the recipient of eleven News & Documentary Emmy Awards, four George Foster Peabody Awards, four DuPont Columbia Awards and many other prestigious industry awards.
López is the founding chairperson of the board of directors of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP). She served on the Board of Trustees for the Paley Center, NYC & Company, Museum of the Moving Image and the Tribeca Film Institute Latin America Fund Advisory Board. Lopez is currently on the Board of Directors for Latino Public Broadcasting. López was named by People en Español’s 25 Most Powerful Women, The Imagen Foundation’s Top 20 Most Influential Latinos in Entertainment in 2013 and 2014, and Variety’s Top 50 New York Entertainment Elite.
