Tuesday, May 21st, 2019

Special Event - The Evening Celebration

6:15 PM - 8:30 PM

Hollywood and Sports Honors Dinner

Mini-Roundtable at the Dinner

Entertainment Industry Outreach to Students

Stephen Galloway, Executive Editor, The Hollywood Reporter

Bettina Fisher, Director of Educational Initiatives, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Todd Johnson, President & CEO, Chamber of Commerce, Beverly Hills

Amanda Rhodes, Academy Golden Students

Yessenia Cux, Graduate of the Women in Entertainment Mentorship Program, The Hollywood Reporter

Katherine Hernandez, Graduate of the Women in Entertainment Mentorship Program, The Hollywood Reporter

Bettina Fisher is Director of Educational Initiatives for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 2015, she launched the Academy’s first annual Careers in Film Summit, an educational program to inform youth about the vast jobs in the film industry. Held in Los Angeles, California, the day-long event features industry panels and clips on various careers. The Summit has expanded to London as well as Atlanta and New York with half-day programs. She is also responsible for

creating and executing the curriculum for the Academy Gold Internship Enhancement and Mentorship Program as well as managing other Academy educational outreach programs. Bettina previously worked as a music producer and director at National Public Radio where she worked on shows such as the Peabody Award-winning Wynton Marsalis: Making the Music, Billy Taylor’s Jazz at the Kennedy Center and Jazz Piano Christmas. She’s held other positions at Wake Forest University and American University, where she was the Director of Strategic Programs and launched the Reel Journalism Film Festival and Political Comedy Festival. She is a frequent juror for the LAUSD’s Student Film Festival, New Filmmaker LA’s Best of NFMLA Awards as well as the Pan African Film Festival. Bettina holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications from James Madison University.  She lives in the Valley and is the proud mother of two sons. Stephen Galloway is an Emmy Award-winning journalist and the executive features editor of The Hollywood Reporter. He was named 2013 Journalist of the Year at the National Entertainment Journalism Awards and has interviewed a who’s who of Hollywood — including Steven Spielberg, Denzel Washington, Oprah Winfrey, Angelina Jolie, Daniel Day-Lewis and Brad Pitt. His profiles have been read by millions of readers and have generated media coverage throughout the world, from the Today show to CNN to the BBC. In August 2017, his account of visiting George Clooney’s family in Italy became a viral sensation. His stories on such major media figures as Ted Turner (with whom he spent three days at the United Nations), Sean Penn (whom he visited at his refugee camp in Haiti) and Johnny Depp (whose woeful finances became the subject of a heavily reported feature in May 2017) are among the most highly regarded of the genre. Fifteen years ago, Galloway created the Reporter’s celebrated Roundtable series (which now airs on the Sundance Channel), featuring the likes of Quentin Tarantino, James Cameron, Oliver Stone, Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. The Roundtables are a first-stop destination for A-list stars and must-see viewing for anyone interested in film. In 2014, Galloway was named the Cosgrove Visiting Artist at Loyola Marymount University. There, he created the Hollywood Masters interview series, which is filmed live before a student audience and features guests such as Helen Mirren, Clint Eastwood and Aaron Sorkin. The series now streams on Netflix. His biography Leading Lady: Sherry Lansing and the Making of a Hollywood Groundbreaker was published by Crown Archetype in April 2017.

Yessenia Cux, Graduate of the Women in Entertainment Mentorship Program, The Hollywood Reporter: Yessenia was born and grew up in a town called "Xemutzujche", which means under the shade of a tree. She has faced different obstacles such as discrimination, racism and poverty in her country. Her biggest challenge was leaving her family in search of the American Dream. Yessenia moved to California three years ago . Learning a new language, getting used to new customs and traditions was a difficult process, however, She has managed to overcome them. Yessenia already speak English fluently  and successfully integrated into the academic community at her high school. She is the President of Spanish Honor Society Club and the Captain of Cross Country Varsity Team. Yessenia is a native speaker of Spanish and speaks fluent K'iche'. She is determined to become an immigration Attorney and create a nonprofit organization to offer free services to immigrant people.

Amanda Rhodes, Academy Golden Students: Amanda Rhodes is a originally from the DC area where she also studied Theater

Administration at George Washington University. After working at Williamstown, Theater Festival in Massachusetts and Arena Stage in Washington, DC she went on to study at the Howard University Film program with a specific focus in Producing and Finance. After studying at Howard University she went on to work in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles with experiences such as Production Management with At&t Hello Labs where she worked on the film Last Two Lovers at the End of the World, mentored by Common. She also worked with United Talent Agency in Data Analytics and Social Media metrics for the agencies clients. Currently Amanda works with Walt Disney Studios where she works in  Customer Relationships