Scene 2 Seen Podcast: Latasha Gillespie, Head Of DEIA At Amazon MGM Studios, Talks Creating Systemic Change
Hello, and welcome to the Scene 2 Seen Podcast. I am Valerie Complex, an associate editor and film writer at Deadline.
In today’s conversation I chat with Latasha Gillespie, the Head of Global Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility at Amazon MGM Studios, Prime Video and Freevee. In her role, she is responsible for the development and management of all content-related and customer-facing DEIA work for the organization.
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Under her leadership, Amazon MGM Studios created the entertainment industry’s first Inclusion Policy and Playbook, and standardized DEIA into its Greenlight Process. Latasha also created the Howard Entertainment Program, the first of its kind partnership between a major studio and an HBCU.
Prior to her current role, Latasha led the Global Diversity and Inclusion organization across Amazon, where she worked with Jeff Bezos and regularly briefed both the Board of Directors, and Congressional members on Amazon’s DEIA Strategies and progress. In addition, Latasha is credited for Amazon joining the HBCU Partnership Challenge, and founding Amazon’s Conversations on Race and Ethnicity annual conference and curriculum.
Prior to Amazon, Latasha spent 20 years in finance and human resources with Caterpillar Inc., holding various positions including Six Sigma Black Belt, Compensation and Benefits Director, and Employee and Labor Relations Director for the organization’s facilities in the U.S. and Mexico. During her tenure with Caterpillar, she is credited for launching the first diversity recruiting team and the company’s Employee Resource Groups. She also held the position of Chief Diversity Officer for three years prior to relocating overseas to Singapore to serve as the organization’s Head of Human Resources for Africa, Middle East, CIS/Russia and Asia Pacific.
In this episode she and I discuss how to create lasting systemic change within an organization, the future of content, and why DEI initiatives will help sustain a robust future for Hollywood.
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