DGA Graduates 34 Members From Guild’s Television Director Mentorship Program

David Robb
·2 min read

As part of its ongoing efforts to push the industry towards greater diversity, the Directors Guild has graduate 34 members from its Television Director Mentorship Program, which pairs members who seek to expand their TV directing careers (protégés) with veteran directors (mentors) who serve as their professional guides to the working world of episodic TV.

Founded in 2018, the nine-month program is part of the DGA’s Director Development Initiative, which focuses on education, networking and career development.

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“Through mentorship and in-depth training from seasoned episodic director members, we have created opportunities for members across all DGA categories to deepen their skills and provide a robust pipeline of diverse talent for our industry,” DGA president Lesli Linka Glatter said. “My personal thanks to our terrific mentors who have so willingly supported the guild’s commitment to providing opportunities for the next generation of storytellers.”

Stressing the guild’s long-term commitment to diversity, Breannah Oppenhuizen, Diversity & Inclusion Program Executive for the DGA, said that the guild “looks forward to continuing the DDI Mentorship program with the release of the application for its 2023 cycle slated for early next year. The newest iteration of the program will reintroduce career development workshops as a key secondary component in addition to the craft workshops and monthly learning events.”

Here are this year’s graduating  protéges and mentors:

East Coast:

  • Lloyd Lee Choi mentored by Rob Hardy

  • Jennifer Derwingson-Peacock mentored by Michael Pressman

  • Yor-El Francis mentored by Norberto Barba

  • Melissa Haizlip mentored by Seith Mann

  • Kris Lefcoe mentored by Andy Cadiff

  • Eduardo Letamendi mentored by Michael Smith

  • Seyi Peter-Thomas mentored by Laura Belsey

  • Lydia Dean Pilcher mentored by Michael Slovis

  • Sarah Pirozek mentored by Timothy Busfield

  • Susanna Styron mentored by Nicole Kassell

West Coast:

  • Steve Acevedo mentored by Mel Damski

  • Amy Aniobi mentored by Todd Holland

  • R. Dianne Bartlow mentored by Mary Lou Belli

  • Daniel Bydlowski mentored by Leonard R Garner Jr.

  • Anna Chi mentored by Jet Wilkinson

  • Alycia Cooper mentored by Ken Whittingham

  • Stephanie Cristancho mentored by Michael Goi

  • Miguel Cruz mentored by Jaffar Mahmood

  • Patrick Cummings mentored by Jeffrey Blitz

  • Rylee Ebsen mentored by Mark Cendrowski

  • Sean Frank mentored by Carl Seaton

  • Eli Gonda mentored by Bill D’Elia

  • Cellin Gluck mentored by Viet Nguyen

  • Corey Grant mentored by Victor Gonzalez

  • Joy Lane mentored by Lee Rose

  • Annetta Marion mentored by Kabir Akhtar

  • Carmen Marrón mentored by Allan Arkush

  • Andrew Molina mentored by Ed Ornelas

  • SJ Main Muñoz mentored by Andy Wolk

  • Pratibha Parmar mentored by Ron Underwood

  • Chell Stephen mentored by Tessa Blake

  • Jay Torres mentored by Bethany Rooney

  • Scott Weintrob mentored by Lee Rose

  • Ssong Yang mentored by Rodrigo Garcia

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