Wednesday, November 13th, 2019

2:15 PM - 3:15 PM

Track III: Herscher Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 303-304

Working in the Industry: An In-Depth Discussion with Executives and Creatives from TV, Film and Technology

Simone Nelson, Managing Director, The CSU Entertainment Alliance, Moderator

Nichelle S. Carr, Lead Producer, West City One Studios

Emilienne Gray, EVP of Original Content & Programming, Tiny Horse

Jaena Sta. Ana, Line Producer, DreamWorks Animation

Billy Sprout, Collegiate esports, Blizzard Entertainment

Evan Shapiro, President, National Lampoon

Simone Nelson, Managing Director, The CSU Entertainment Alliance: Simone Nelson has developed and produced films, theater productions, festivals, and digital media entertainment start-ups for more than 20 years. She’s worked with, among others, the former head of Disney Studios & Theatricals Peter Schneider; filmmaker/writer Rebecca Miller and actor Daniel Day Lewis; Forensic Films; Film Arts Foundation; the Mill Valley Film Festival/California Film Institute; the Global Film Initiative; San Francisco Opera; The International Festival of Arts & Ideas and London’s famed Royal Court Theatre & Shakespeare’s Globe. More recently she produced the Berlin Film Festival award-winning documentary City of Borders; was a two-term President of Bay Area

Women in Film & Media; served as head of distribution & partnerships for Webby Awards founder/filmmaker Tiffany Shlain’s Moxie Institute Film Studio; and as managing director of the inaugural Social Change Film Festival in Bali, Indonesia. Besides her work for CSU, Simone is a producer for Richard Branson’s Virgin Disruptors and a new narrative feature film, The Last Black Man in San Francisco. Simone is also a strategic communications & creative development consultant working at the cross section of entertainment and technology. She is skilled at crafting innovative, engaging & high impact new & traditional media funding, marketing, publicity, & distribution strategies across multiple platforms & channels generating increased presence, audience share & revenue. Simone trained as an actor and has performed in venues all over the U.S. and abroad in musicals, plays and as the lead singer of several bands.  She’s taught producing, acting and directing at The Art Institute of CA–San Francisco sand has trained at New York’s American Academy of Dramatic Arts, The Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and the British American Drama Academy in London, England.  She graduated from Northwestern University with a B.S. in Theater and has an MFA from Yale University’s Graduate School of Drama.

Nichelle S. Carr is the Lead Producer at West City One Studios. She is passionate about the idea that we can change the world through storytelling. Through West City One Studios, Nichelle brings to light and raises awareness of “New Stories from New Voices” — evocative and entertaining untold stories from diverse perspectives for global audiences via theatrical, television and digital distribution. Nichelle is a creative executive who specializes in developing big ideas and making them happen. She is a producer with global film distribution and marketing expertise. Her varied expertise and passions are reflected in the work that she's done and the places she's lived – including media, finance and technology in Europe and the U.S., human rights advocacy in Nigeria, and economic development and education in Senegal. Before West City One Studios, Nichelle was a film executive at Universal Pictures in both London and Los Angeles, and has deep experience in complex cross-border corporate, commercial and financial transactions with elite international law firms. Nichelle is the Chair of the Board of Directors of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award USA and serves on the Board of Directors of the ACLU Foundation of Southern California. She graduated from Stanford Law School and is admitted to practice in California, New York, England and Wales. She also holds dual degrees in Black Studies and Law, Jurisprudence & Social Thought from Amherst College.

Emilienne Gray, EVP of Original Content & Programming at Tiny Horse, has over 25 years of experience in the industry and specializes in overseeing the creation and development of a network’s original content slate. Born in Cameroon and raised in France, Emilienne began her career in Germany’s Viacom MTV & VH1 office as a Schedule Coordinator. She quickly climbed the ladder and became the Head of Music Programming for MTV Central Europe, redefining the music programming strategy of the channel, successfully gaining the number one market position within the targeted demographic. She later moved to New York to act as the SVP of Talent & Music Programming and Strategy for Viacom’s MTV & VH1. Prior to joining Tiny Horse, Emilienne was VP of Multiplatform Programming & Promotional Strategy at REVOLT Media & TV. Emilienne is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Executive Management Program, and is also a Certified Professional Coach for Leadership & Executive Development.

Evan Shapiro is the President of National Lampoon, a Comedy Studio for Live Performance, Film, TV, Social and Audio. Shapiro, an Emmy and Peabody Award Winner, has produced or created more than 150 television series, specials or documentaries, including Portlandia, Comedy Bang Bang, Please Like Me, Take My Wife, Shrink, Trapped In The Closet, Harmonquest, Laurie Kilmartin’s 45 Jokes About My Dead Dad, HitRecord, Fortitude, Carlos, Bollywood Hero, My Brother My Brother & Me, Brick City, This Film Is Not Yet Rated and more. He most recently executive produced the comedy special Funny Women of A Certain Age for Showtime, and Trump Bites, the Webby Award winner for Best Animated Series. He is a Professor for TV and Media at NYU/Stern School Of Business.

Jaena Sta. Ana, Line Producer, DreamWorks Animation, was born in the Philippines and emigrated to Southern California in the early 90s. Her passion for filmmaking and production began while watching an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, which highlighted the life of the show's producer. Realizing her adoration for production, Jaena navigated her way through film school and into the entertainment industry, creating inspiring content wherever should could.  Jaena has since focused on creating animated content, working at studios such as LucasFilm, Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, and DreamWorks Animation where she currently serves as a Line Producer on Guillermo del Toro's “Tales of Arcadia” series.

Billy Sprout, Collegiate esports, Blizzard Entertainment: Since founding the UConn gaming club in 2012, Billy Sprout has dedicated his life to social gaming and esports programs. That passion has given him a wide spectrum of experiences, including hundreds of hours of AAA livestream productions, live gaming events in partnership with ESPN and the Fiesta Bowl, and esports tournaments with 6-figure prizepools. To date, his Tespa programs connect students from 1,200 universities and have awarded over 2 million dollars in scholarships to students that find a balance between social gaming and individual development.