Two Latino advocacy organizations have joined forces to launch a mentoring program designed to help nurture a new generation of showrunners.
The Alliance of Latino Executives and Rise Up have created a program that pairs 10 rising-star writers with 10 seasoned industry executives who can help develop their skills and guide their careers. The inaugural group of participants have been selected.
The organizations aim to make it an annual program that can make a difference at a time when Latino showrunners, directors, screenwriters and producers remain woefully under-represented in key roles in mainstream film and TV.
“For too long, we have heard from studios and platforms that there aren’t enough high-level Latino writers for them to hire for top showrunning positions,” said John Pollak, a co-founder of the Alliance. “Our goal with this program is to change that perception and bring awareness to the amazing Latino writers who have worked their way up the ranks on television’s biggest shows to earn consideration for these top jobs. We believe that peer-to-peer advocacy and executive-to-executive outreach will help give our program’s writers a voice and an opportunity that has eluded them for too long.”
Pollak is a partner with actor Wilmer Valderrama in Allied Management Group, which launched last year. The Alliance of Latino Executives consists of more than 100 prominent Latino executives in entertainment.
The founders of Rise Up are writers Danielle Sanchez-Witzel, Moisés Zamora, Christina Piña and Jorge Rivera.
“The job of showrunner is a really difficult one to get whether it’s creating your own series or being brought on to run another series. But the difficulty isn’t in talent or ability – it’s in relationships,” Sanchez-Witzel said. “It’s in making sure that decision-makers at studios know who you are and believe in you enough to give you a shot. Our goal is to lift up talented, high-level Latinx/e writers and make them visible to run not only series featuring Latinx/e characters, but series of every genre, representing all characters, in any world. The obstacle cannot be a belief that no qualified BIPOC writers exist for these jobs. Here we are. Hire us.”
Rise Up previously worked with UTA to develop a mentorship program for early career writers. The 10 writers (which includes three writing teams) participating in the showrunner program are:
- Davah Avena
- Tawnya Benavides Bhattacharya & Ali Laventhol
- Sal Calleros
- Chad Gomez Creasey
- Luisa Leschin
- Evangeline Ordaz
- Davy Perez
- Carlito Rodriguez & Leah Benavides Rodriguez
- Santa Sierra
- Al Septien & Turi Meyer
The industry insiders who will serve as mentors for the Alliance/Rise Up program include:
- Joey Chavez (Max)
- Tom Lerner (A+E Studios)
- Adam Martinez (CBS Studios)
- Alejandro Melendez (BBC Studios)
- Michelle Mendelovitz (Mattel Television Studios)
- Edy Mendoza (Netflix)
- Diana Mogollon (independent)
- Nina Tassler (independent)
The Alliance/Rise Up program comes as study after study indicates that the pipeline of Latino talent and executives entering the entertainment industry at present is too miniscule to allow for significant progress. Organizations such as the Latino Donor Collaborative have meticulously tracked the hurdles and hiring obstacles that Latinos face even at a time of heightened awareness on diversity concerns across the industry.
