Meet The Hollywood Reporter’s Women Mentorship Program 2022 Graduates

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The Hollywood Reporter Women in Entertainment Mentorship Program pairs highschool girls from under-served communities who show exceptional promise with female entertainment industry mentors.

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00:00I

00:27moved to Los Angeles and got an internship at Jersey Films. So I started out by answering

00:32phones, which led to Danny calling. And when Danny needed an assistant, he said, I'll take

00:37the kid at the front desk. And that changed my life. My family and I use movies and TV

00:43shows to unite us and spend a lot of time together. So I feel like I've always just gravitated

00:47to the screen. My grandmother lived to 107, spoke five languages, and she was just an

00:52incredible woman. She sent me to the journey that I find myself right now. I am the oldest

00:58first gen immigrant. After I saw the mentorship program, my passion for film really came about.

01:04I see myself making films and just traveling the world. My career started when I sat on

01:10the steps outside of a local news radio station and waited for the programming director to

01:16show up. And I would go to that station every day until he agreed to hire me. It was the

01:21thing that catapulted me into my career. Growing up Indian immigrant family, which was really

01:27about work ethic and owning your own business. Even my first job at CBS, when I looked at my

01:33cubicle and my job, it really was, this is my small business. I see myself working for

01:39Pixar. I really want to direct my own animated shows or films, hopefully make something really,

01:46really special. I was the most stressed out fifth grader you have ever seen. And Mrs. Miller

01:50sat me down. She said, how do you best organize your life so that you are set up for success?

01:56In my career, my mentors have taken all shapes and sizes. Dana Walden really modeled for me how to have

02:03really hard conversations with extremely talented people, which then led to where I am today.

02:11My name is Pamela Abdi and I am the co-chair and CEO of Warner Brothers Pictures. My name is Elena

02:17and I go to Londo High School. I'm Dana Walden. I'm chairman of Disney General Entertainment.

02:22My name is Anita. I'm 17 and I go to Londo High School. I'm Dawn Ostroff, chief content and advertising

02:28business officer at Spotify. I'm Bella Bajaria and I'm the head of global TV and Netflix. I'm

02:34Ariana and I'm a senior at Londo High School. I am Corey Berry and I am the chief executive officer

02:40at Best Buy. I'm Jennifer Salke and I'm head of Amazon Studios. The idea behind the women in

02:48entertainment mentorship program was very simple. Pairing a woman who has succeeded with a young woman

02:54who wants to succeed. There is something that you learn from somebody else who have walked and

03:00experienced things that can never be learned in a classroom or on paper. It's because of efforts

03:06like this that young women will truly ultimately get that support that they need in order to do all the

03:12things that we know they're capable of doing. One of the amazing opportunities with a program like this

03:17is to reach out to young women who don't even know that careers in the entertainment industry are

03:24possible. It gives us in the industry an opportunity to concretely invest in the future by making real

03:31relationships with these young women. This program helps them to understand that not only is it possible

03:39but it's a very welcoming place for them. It levels a playing field. It introduces you to a world that

03:45you didn't know existed. This is a springboard that really vaults them into the future. People often

03:52say you can't be what you can't see and I see it in young girls eyes all the time. When I say I'm the

03:57CEO of the company you can just see their wheels start turning as they think about what their future

04:01could look like. Lucy Salhaney would walk in and she was demanding and entertaining and whip smart. I'd never

04:10seen a woman in that seat and it overwhelmed me. Growing up in America not seeing myself represented

04:17on screen was really a powerful isolating thing. When I was thinking about applying to law school I met a

04:24judge and his piece of advice was you don't take no for an answer. You have every right to be there.

04:31When you don't see people that look like you in those places you don't feel like you belong. When there's

04:38no seat at the table bring a folding chair. I'm her mentor. I was paired with Jennifer Salke as a mentor

04:47class of 2013. The way that she commanded a room was something that I had only seen men in movies too.

04:53Paola is like a daughter to me. I feel like she's part of our family and she likewise I feel like I'm

05:01part of hers. Most people don't know this but Jennifer actually officiated my wedding. I'm so honored to be

05:07asked. It was truly a full circle moment. Being a mentor doesn't just change somebody else's life.

05:14It changes yours. You're a mentor for life. That's the most incredible feeling to know that

05:20you played one small tiny little part in somebody achieving what their dreams may be. It's my

05:26responsibility to bring up female leaders with me and really investing of yourself in that person and in

05:34their journey. She keeps me on track. Understanding that there are going to be challenges and failures

05:38and that's completely a part of the process. And help hopefully shape what their dreams are going to

05:43be. See what doors are there for me to open. Mentorship is honestly the ultimate selfless gift

05:49that you can give of your own life experience. Because it's the human connection that mentorship brings.

05:55To trust my abilities regardless of the situation that I'm in. And when I did start believing in myself,

06:02I saw a drastic change. Maybe you're not changing the world but you certainly have the power to change

06:07someone's life. You're an amazing person. So you brought so much so much to my life and I'm going to

06:13get emotional. I know. I'm going to get emotional. I think I feel like she'll always be in my life

06:18and I will always be in her life. Oh, I love her a lot and that's, yeah.

06:29You motivate me. She's so wise beyond her years to say I remember when she was my mentee. She's so

06:36inspiring. Oh my god, she works so hard. She always reminds me that someone is there for me to have time

06:42for myself and to have time for my family and friends as well. She was very cool, very easy to

06:47talk to. Thank you for giving me life advice and like being real with me. I appreciate you and I'm

06:52glad that you're in my life now. Women Entertainment brought us together but after this it's a lifelong

06:56fun. You're someone I can look up to, someone I can always go to, like you're just everything. It's just

07:02been incredible to watch her grow this past year. Kind of finding like, you know, a way for me to like,

07:07use my voice. I know that you're going to be a star no matter what you do. So, thank you.

Meet The Hollywood Reporter’s Women Mentorship Program 2022 Graduates

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