CEG Leadership Program
2021 Level 1 Fellows

GEORGINA GONZALEZ

Director of Development

Gaumont Television

Georgina Gonzalez currently serves as Director of Development in the SPLATAM team at Gaumont Television, which produces hit shows such as “Narcos”, “El Presidente”, “Arsène Lupin” & “Barbarians”. She was previously Director of Development for the newly formed production studio at Cinépolis, the second-largest theater chain worldwide.  She started her career at Fox, Universal, MGM and the Univision-Netflix joint venture, Story House Entertainment on series such as the worldwide success “El Chapo” and the critically acclaimed “Tijuana”. In parallel, through her production company, Off-Hollywood Films, she produced movies such as "The Reports on Sarah & Saleem" (International Film Festival Rotterdam 2018 audience and jury awards),"Finding the Werewolf" (PGA Diversity master class and IFP fellow 2018), "Sanctorum” (Venice International Film Festival closing film 2019), “Martinez” (Torino and Berlinale labs, Tribeca and AFS fund winner 2018), Midday Cowboy (Mexican Academy Award nomination for best feature documentary 2020, now on Netflix), amongst others. She graduated from CUEC-UNAM & USC's Peter Stark film producing program as a Fulbright, FONCA & HBO scholar.

MAKIAH GREEN

Senior Vice President

LizzoBangers

Makiah Green is a life-loving entrepreneur and entertainment activist. Makiah recently joined Lizzo’s new production company as Senior Vice President and previously worked as a Manager of Original Series at Netflix, where she developed and oversaw a number of hit shows including Dead to Me, Master of None, Dear White People and Gentefied. Prior to joining Netflix, Makiah broke into the industry as an intern at MACRO, where she quickly rose the executive ranks and developed a number of films including Judas and the Black Messiah, Sorry to Bother You, and Really Love. Through her work, she aims to empower and delight diverse audiences through media, tech, and community organizing. She is the Founder of Black Book LA, a thriving community of over 20,000 people that connects Black millennials to the best events and Black-owned businesses in the Greater Los Angeles area. Makiah is a double graduate of the University of Southern California with a Master’s degree in Professional Writing and a B.A. in English-Creative Writing.

JADE-ADDON HALL

Director of Current Series

Lionsgate TV

Jade-Addon Hall is the Director of Current Series at Lionsgate TV, where he creatively oversees shows currently on air, working with writers and showrunners to mold their pilots into multiple season shows.  In this role he staffs writers and directors across multiple series, in addition to managing a host of creative production related decisions. 

Jade is known for his work previously in premium television at BET which includes developing and overseeing season one of TWENTIES with Lena Waithe, while helping to launch BET's first premium streaming network,  BET+. He also shepherded and developed BET+'s first two scripted original series FIRST WIVES CLUB with Tracy Oliver, and BIGGER with Felischa Marye. Prior to working at BET, Jade developed television for the Disney Channel and Disney XD ushering six series, including SYDNEY TO THE MAX, WALK THE PRANK and MECH X-4 to the networks. Hailing from Hillside, NJ he is also a proud graduate of Syracuse University, holding a BA in Psychology and an MFA in Television Radio and Film.

TIFFANY HAWTHORNE

Director of Original Series Drama

Netflix

Tiffany Hawthorne is a Director of Original Series Drama at Netflix and is based in Los Angeles. Her job responsibilities include buying, developing, and managing English language scripted dramas for the streamer. Initially Tiffany was hired at Netflix to shepherd series for Higher Ground Productions.

Prior to joining Netflix in May 2019, Tiffany was a Vice President of Scripted Content for the NBCUniversal Cable Group, developing one hour drama projects and limited series for Bravo, E!, Syfy, and USA Network. She oversaw the production of the USA Network pilot-to-series DARE ME written by Megan Abbott and Gina Fattore, QUEEN OF THE SOUTH, PEARSON (the SUITS Spinoff), UNSOLVED: THE MURDERS OF TUPAC AND THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G., and GIRLFRIENDS TO DIVORCE on Bravo. For a number of years, Tiffany also ran the USA Network internship program and was involved in various diversity initiatives for the company. 

Prior to working in cable at NBCUniversal, Tiffany worked in Corporate Diversity, participated in the NBC Page Program, and worked in Guest Relations at the Universal Studios Hollywood Theme Park. 

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Tiffany received her undergraduate degree from Stanford University. She currently lives in Marina del Rey, CA. Her hobbies were very different pre-Covid. Now the majority of her free time is spent taking long walks on the beach (literally), cooking, and adjusting to married life. 

HELEN HUANG

Content Acquisitions Executive

Helen Huang has procured over 1,500+ titles - cutting-edge stand-up comedy specials, award-winning documentaries and feature films - for Showtime Networks, where she worked for 12 years in Content Acquisitions. In 2011, she was recognized by the State of California for her volunteer leadership, and in 2016, she was a Nominated Changemaker at the United State of Women - the inaugural women’s summit convened by The White House during President Barack Obama’s tenure - and a participant of the U.S. Department of Labor’s second Worker Voice Summit. She is the Chief Empowerment Officer of Enrich Fiscal Fitness, teaching women financial literacy and empowering women to afford more meaningful lives. She has served as an Advisor to the LA Film Festival, on the Nominating Committee of the NAACP Image Awards, on the Board of Advisors of the Middleburg Film Festival, on the Board of Directors of Junior League Los Angeles, as a co-chair of ViacomCBS’s ERG for Asian American media professionals (AMP), and on the Seattle International Film Festival Official Competition Jury. A former member of SAG and CAPE, she is a current member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (Emmy Awards), Hollywood Radio & Television Society (HRTS), Colour TV (Executive branch), and on the Board of Directors of WIF (fka Women in Film). She is the first film acquisitions executive of Asian descent in US television history.

HUGH HUYNH

Director of Current Programming

CBS Entertainment

Hugh Huynh is a Director of Current Programming at CBS Entertainment. He oversees the broadcast dramas EVIL, FBI, FBI: MOST WANTED, SWAT, and Chuck Lorre comedy, MOM. Before joining CBS, he received his MFA in Television Production at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and BA in English Literature at UC Berkeley. His previous work experience includes CAA, Sundance Institute, and Nickelodeon Animation Studios. He is the Co-Chair of the Asian American Media Professionals at ViacomCBS and a CAPE Leadership Program alumni.

JANICE PARK

VP of Development & Production

Made Up Stories

Janice Park is the Vice President of Development and Production at Made Up Stories, Bruna Papandrea’s development, production and finance company which is currently in pre-production on Pam Veasey’s Spectrum Originals drama, Long Slow Exhale, starring Rose Rollins. As a first generation Korean-American, Janice is an outspoken advocate for inclusive storytelling. Her primary goal is to subvert culture with content.

Janice got her break as an assistant to director Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum who responded to her cold email seeking industry advice. She went on to explore book-to-film adaptations working at Indian Paintbrush and WME, before joining the mailroom at UTA, where she got her start as an assistant in the Independent Film Packaging Group putting together films such as Marielle Heller’s DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL, before transitioning to the TV Literary Department servicing clients such as Jill Soloway, Jenni Konner and Betsy Beers. After a brief stint away from Hollywood working at fitness startup ClassPass, Janice returned to work in the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, before joining Made Up Stories in its formation in early 2017. . She currently manages development of TV and feature film projects set up at Amazon, Spectrum, Hulu, HBO, Netflix, Universal, and Endeavor Content, as well as book to screen adaptations such as Elizabeth Acevedo’s Clap When You Land, Marie Lu’s Warcross and Steph Cha’s Your House Will Pay. Born and raised in Southern California, Janice graduated from Cornell University where she studied Information Science and Film.

ROBERT PATLA

Head of Talent Development

Apple TV+

A Wisconsin native, Robert grew up on the East Side of Milwaukee before graduating from Riverside University High School and studying Psychology at Lawrence University in Appleton, WI. In, 2013 he joined XLrator Media as an Acquisitions Executive, working with his former Weinstein Company mentor Barry Gordon. Already a premiere destination for independent action, thriller, and science fiction films, as Co-Head of Acquisitions for PACE, Robert helped XLrator Media become a leading distributor of multicultural content, curating a slate of independent feature films and documentaries made by, featuring, and targeting the African American, Hispanic and other under-represented communities of the world.

As an executive in HBO’s Talent Development and Programming department, Robert kept a constant influx of the best and brightest writers and directors coming through the HBO doors, with an emphasis on promoting diversity and inclusion both in front of and behind the camera. He helped run HBO’s emerging writer and director program HBO ACCESS, managed HBO's Visiting Talent Programs (including Visiting Writer, Visiting Director, Visiting Cinematographer, and Post Production programs) and consistently worked to make sure HBO stayed as close to or above the 50% mark when it came to episodes directed by and writers rooms comprised of women, people of color, LBGTQ, PWD, and other undeserved communities. 

In his new role as Head of Talent Developent for Apple TV+, Robert will focus on creating an atmosphere that fosters the success of women, people of color, and other underserved parts of the community, such as LBGTQ and PWD. Be it the stories we tell, who tells those stories, having diverse executives in place to make the aforementioned comfortable, or figuring out how to get younger generations interested in entertainment utilizing Apple technology, the goal is to not only identify talented individuals, but to utilize them by integrating them into the Apple ecosystem.

AHMADOU SECK

Director of Development

MACRO

Ahmadou Seck is an innovative executive who is passionate about working with diverse creatives to amplify their stories. As Director of Development, he produces projects in the scripted and unscripted spaces. Ahmadou’s professional journey includes experience in the agency world - Creative Artists Agency (CAA), a television network - Participant Media/Pivot, and Will Smith’s production company - Overbrook Entertainment. At Overbrook, he was an Associate Producer on the critically acclaimed show COBRA KAI and is currently working on season 2 of Netflix’s RAISING DION.

Raised by Senegalese parents in Seattle, Ahmadou was taught the importance of being an active member of the community. Since moving to Los Angeles, he has brought that same spirit to the entertainment industry and has held leadership positions with the CAA Multicultural Committee, Colour Entertainment, and AfroBrunch. Ahmadou has a B.A. from St. Martin’s University.

KENNY TSAI

VP of Current Programming

Universal TV

Kenny Tsai is a Vice President of Current Programming at Universal Television, where he is responsible for overseeing a roster of drama and comedy series that include “Never Have I Ever” (Netflix), “Good Girls” (NBC), “Saved by the Bell” (Peacock) and the Apple series “Little America.”  He was previously an executive at Blumhouse Television, where he helped manage their first-look deal with UCP and Universal Television, and got his start in the industry as the showrunner’s assistant on HBO’s Emmy-award winning series “Boardwalk Empire.”  A SoCal native, Kenny is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and the son of Taiwanese-American immigrants who has been a passionate fan of television since childhood.

ASHLEY WHITAKER

Director of Original Content

CBS

Ashley Whitaker joined the Original Content team at CBS All Access in September 2019. Since joining the team and rebranding to Paramount+, Ashley has supported the development of CBS All Access series including, STAR TREK: DISCOVERY, THE STAND, the upcoming series, GUILTY PARTY.  Prior to CBS All Access, she served as a creative executive at Harpo Films where she worked in television and film development. In this role, Ashley worked closely with OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, helping to develop scripted content for the network, including series such as GREENLEAF, LOVE IS... and AMBITIONS. Before this she took a break from entertainment to pursue interests in public policy and administration in Washington DC. She began her career as a production assistant for ABC Studios and as an assistant at CAA.

JON WU

VP of Film & TV

Hello Sunshine

Jon is Vice President of Film & Television at Reese Witherspoon's media company Hello Sunshine, where his projects include Where the Crawdads Sing (Sony/3000), Legally Blonde 3 (MGM), The Morning Show (Apple), and Surface (Apple). Previously, he was an executive at 20th Century Fox, where he oversaw the development, production, and acquisition of feature films (including Bohemian Rhapsody, Deadpool 2, Murder on the Orient Express, and The Greatest Showman). Jon began his career at WME Entertainment and Sony Pictures Television. He is a graduate of Yale University (B.A., African American Studies) and the University of Southern California (M.F.A., Peter Stark Producing Program)