Wednesday, May 23rd, 2018

3:50 PM - 5:00 PM

Sponsored by Alliance for Women in Media SoCal

Track II: Haas Conference Center, Room 172-173, Live Webcast

Women in the Industry: Developing Film, Television & OTT About Women - A Golden Age in Hollywood and Indie Production

Laverne McKinnon, Executive Producer, Netflix comedy series, Girlboss Studios USA

Eileen Grubba, Actor & Activist

Katrina Wolfe, President of Production, AG Studios

Wendy Sweetmore, Founder/CEO, networkBe (former Senior Exec. MGM/Mark Burnett Productions)

Zadi Diaz, Vice President, Head of Digital Studio, ‎mitú

Christine Lawton, Strategic Business Operations and Digital & Emerging Media Executive; former head of Business and Legal Affairs, Universal and Fox”, Moderator

Wendy Sweetmore, Founder/CEO, networkBe (former Senior Exec. MGM/Mark Burnett Productions): Wendy's mission is to empower women and children to reach their highest potential. She achieves this through her entrepreneurial ventures, creating high quality content with a conscience, advocating for women and leading non-profit organizations. A seasoned Media Executive with over 25 years of experience working with entertainment companies globally. As a Producer of original high-quality content, Wendy has mastered all aspects of the creative process, including writing, production, development, PR, marketing, brand integration and sales, throughout her distinguished career.

Career highlights: • As Senior Executive for Mark Burnett Productions during growth stages (now MGM), Wendy created, produced and sold content for domestic and international TV markets. Shows produced by the company during Wendy’s tenure include; The Voice (#1 Series in America), Celebrity Apprentice, Survivor, and Shark Tank, while the company also garnished numerous Emmy Awards. • Worked with Hearst Publications to create content extension for their internationally recognized magazines including: Elle, Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar, Esquire and Seventeen Magazine. • Collaborated with top brands for show development including: Walmart, & P&G • Produced acclaimed TV series including: Oprah’s Big Give (ABC), The Apprentice (NBC), and number #1 comedy show in Australia Just Kidding (Channel 9, Aus). • Created and produced over 120 hours of original programming in the Documentary/Special Feature’s Department for Rupert Murdoch’s UK Network, Live TV. • Creative Director for Foresight, Buena Vista’s UK consulting marketing arm, developing and launched comprehensive marketing campaigns for multi-million dollar films. Personally, Wendy is the Founder of LINA, (Ladies International Networking Association), a professional group for high-achieving women that share their collective knowledge and experience to help others.

Eileen Grubba, Actor & Activist: Eileen Grubba's memorable, edgy characters in shows like Sons of Anarchy (2008), NBC's Game of Silence (2016), and HBO's Hung (2009) have gained her a reputation for courageous character work. She is a lifetime member of the world renowned Actors Studio where she is known as a "force" on stage, and often compared to theatre greats Geraldine Page and Kim Stanley. Eileen was born in Anchorage, Alaska into a family of eight children. She grew up in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, then moved to Atlanta, Georgia where she trained at the Alliance Theater, sang in a choir, performed in musicals, and worked in commercials and Independent films. She next moved to New York City where she trained at HB Studios, sang cabaret, and worked in TV and Film before moving to Los Angeles. In LA she works mostly in television and constantly trains at The Actors Studio under the tutelage of Martin Landau, Allan Miller, Barbara Bain, Lou Antonio, Mark Rydell, Catlin Adams. Her past films and Television series, include: NBC's Game of Silence (2016), Criminal Minds (2005), Bones (2005), Sons of Anarchy (2008), Hung (2009), Enlightened (2011) CSI: Miami (2002), The Mentalist (2008) Cold Case (2003), Nip/Tuck (2003), The Closer (2005), Monk (2002), and more. On stage, she has tackled challenging roles in plays by Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, David Mamet and on many new plays with emerging playwrights. She was the lead in multiple musicals including "Cinderella", "The Little Shop of Horrors" and "Dracula". Perhaps what is most unique about Eileen is her extreme life experience and what she does with it. Her adventures are much like the stories only seen on the silver screen. She has overcome numerous, unimaginable challenges and has the scars to prove it. Her indomitable spirit is a constant inspiration to others. A fighter all her life, she refuses to give up her quest to make her mark on the Entertainment Industry. She is an advocate for children with disabilities, families with genetic cancers, and fights for the inclusion of performers with disabilities in film and television. Eileen Grubba is also a writer, director, producer, and has an extensive resume in casting, working for network shows and feature films. She has been hired to write screenplays with strong women characters, and has produced several films and a pilot. She draws on her heavy life experience to create dramatic characters with gut-wrenching emotional depth and compassion, on stage, onscreen, and in her writing.

Laverne McKinnon, Executive Producer, Netflix comedy series, Girlboss: She has over 20 years of successful programming experience in premium cable, broadcast network and digital platforms including Senior Vice-President of Drama at CBS and Executive Vice-President of Original Programming at EPIX. Her work has encompassed scripted comedy and drama series, documentaries, web series, animation, music events, comedy specials and children’s programs. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Radio-TV-Film from Northwestern University and a Masters in Business Administration from Pepperdine University. Ms. McKinnon is also an Adjunct Lecturer for Northwestern University’s MS Leadership in Creative Enterprises program and holds certifications as an executive & life coach and as a grief counselor.

Katrina Wolfe is an Emmy nominated producer who served for a number of years as Senior Vice President of Production and Casting for the Dimension Films division of the Weinstein Company (formerly Miramax), where she worked on a number of iconic films including Bad Santa, The Others, Death Proof, Scary Movie, Sin City, The Road, Youth in Revolt, and dozens of others. After joining BN Films -- a subsidiary of Alex Garcia’s AG Studios -- as President of Production at the time of its launch in 2012, Katrina brought in and produced several feature projects including the critically acclaimed Nightingale, starring Golden David Oyelowo and executive produced by Brad Pitt and his company Plan B, and Captive starring Kate Mara, which was acquired for worldwide theatrical release by Paramount Pictures, among others. Nightingale was released by HBO Films and won the award for Best Actor at the 2015 Critics' Choice Awards as well as a nomination for Best Movie. It also received two Emmy nominations: Outstanding Television Movie and Outstanding Actor in a Limited Series or Movie, as well as a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor. In July 2015, Katrina launched her own division within AG Studios, focusing on the development and production of high quality English language film and television content. Upcoming projects include the Netflix Original feature Spivak with Michael Cera, set to premiere in May 2018, Daisy Arkansas starring Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch, Thoroughbreds), and Candy, a biopic of transgender Warhol superstar Candy Darling. Katrina began her career as a freelance script reader for Andrew Lauren Productions and Lionsgate. She graduated summa cum laude Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia University, where she won the prestigious W. Cabell Greet Prize for Excellence in English upon graduation.

Christine Lawton, Strategic Business Operations and Digital & Emerging Media Executive; former head of Business and Legal Affairs, Universal and Fox: Christine Lawton has 15+ years’ executive experience launching and monetizing businesses at the convergence of entertainment, technology and retail, helping Fox, Universal, DreamWorks and Disney innovate consumer experiences. With business, creative, financial and legal expertise across all aspects of the complex structural transactions necessary to launch and support B2B and B2C businesses, Christine applies rare combined perspective and oversight capabilities to digital, entertainment, media, retail, consumer tech, branded merchandising, and traditional licensing and distribution businesses. Christine has guided home entertainment, television, video game, mobile, digital distribution platform, music, toy, and retail relationships, and has structured, negotiated and drafted financing, acquisition, marketing, promotion, distribution, publishing, hardware, software and consumer products agreements. At Fox, Christine led a 20-person, global, home entertainment legal and business advisory team, including a digital legal licensing unit responsible for 300+ annual digital platform licenses. Also at Fox, she structured and negotiated partner relationships necessary to launch Fox’s Innovation Lab for immersive technologies. At Universal Studios Home Entertainment, she launched its video streaming and download businesses, growing revenue from $0 to ~$40M and forging relationships with Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, Microsoft Xbox, and Sony PlayStation. Concurrently, she ran its 13-person Business & Legal Affairs department, and structured and negotiated partnerships valued up to $100M, manufacturing and distribution relationships valued at $10M-$50M, and multi-year alliances with Lionsgate, Summit and DreamWorks that shepherded the home entertainment releases of The Hunger Games, Twilight, and Shrek franchises. At Fox and Universal, her efforts helped meet ~$1B home entertainment revenue goals. At DreamWorks, Christine was head of Business Affairs for worldwide home entertainment, domestic syndicated television, and worldwide pay and free television. At Disney, Christine was Director of Business & Legal Affairs at Buena Vista Home Video, responsible for video licensing, acquisition, manufacturing and distribution, and promotional partnerships. Christine was the 2017 Presenting Speaker at USC Gould’s Black Law Students Association Annual Alumni Banquet, is a co-author of “Harmonize Your Trade Secret Protection to Protect Your Assets”, published in the December 2017 edition of ACC Docket, and co-hosted the September, 2017 Women’s In- House Counsel Leadership Institute Project 20/35 Workshop focused on disruptive technologies. Her advisory affiliations have included Berman Strategic Advisors and artificial intelligence start-up Machinify. Christine also counsels on copyright, trademark, unfair competition and trade secret, right of publicity, antitrust, piracy, content protection, advertising, marketing, promotions, risk management and contract compliance. Christine holds a J.D. from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, is a member of the California State Bar, and holds a B.A. in Communications, with a minor in French, from the University of Delaware. She is Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the I Have a Dream Foundation – Los Angeles, and is a member of the USC Gould School of Law (USC Law) Intellectual Property Institute Planning Committee, the USC Law African American Admitted Students Committee, the 2020 Women on Boards Los Angeles Planning Committee, the Faculty Advisory Board for the Women’s In-House Counsel Leadership Institute, and the Association of Corporate Counsel (Diversity Committee, IP Committee). She has served on the Dean’s Advisory Council for the University of Delaware College of Arts & Sciences, and assisted USC Law in the development of its Entertainment Law curriculum and as a speaker in entertainment law classes. She has been a member of the USC Law Annual Fund Executive Committee and was a USC Law 2010 Reunion Committee chairperson. Christine was appointed the Los Angeles Hub Co-Leader for the Women’s Network @ NBCUniversal in 2010, and co-chaired the 2009 GE/NBC Universal West Coast Regional Legal Conference on Women & Diversity. She has also participated in speaker series at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, UC Irvine School of Law, the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC), and the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA).