MSLCE Industry Advisory Board
The MSLCE Industry Advisory Board shares knowledge about current trends relevant to business and leadership across the creative sectors. The MSLCE program uses the IAB’s recommendations to ensure that the program’s curriculum is responsive to and at the leading edge of new developments in creative enterprises and helps position our students for excellent post-graduation opportunities.
The Board will be adding new members soon, check back for updates!
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Adrian Alea, Director + Producer
Adrian Alea is a Queer and Latine director and producer, currently serving as the Producing Director at the award winning Off-Broadway theater company, The New Group. His work focuses on community engagement, celebrity & pop culture, and cross-platform storytelling.
Theater institutional collaborations include: Gala Hispanic Theatre, Disney Theatricals, The Public Theater, New York City Center’s ENCORES!, Signature Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Cape Cod Playhouse, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Brava Theater Center, Miami Light Project, The Musical Theater Factory, the Drama League.
As a filmmaker, Adrian has produced 6 short films, such as "You Go Girl!" (2022 Sundance Film Festival Official selection, sold to The New Yorker & Condé Nast Entertainment), "Intent to the Spirit" starring Moses Sumney & LaChanze, and “O-Dogg” featuring Tariq ‘Black Thought’ Trotter from The Roots, and "When Rain Clouds Gather" which premiered at The Venice Biennale. For television, he was the Associate Director for ANNIE LIVE! starring Taraji P. Henson, Nicole Scherzinger, and Harry Connick Jr. on NBC and was formerly a Creative Management Associate for Jennifer Lopez (“Ain’t Your Mama” music video and “All I Have” Las Vegas Residency at Planet Hollywood). Education: Columbia University (BA), Northwestern University (MS).
(adrianalea.com | IG: @adrian_a_alea )
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Zachary Baer, Executive Producer, Wagner Johnson Productions
Zachary Baer (he/him) is the Executive Producer at Wagner Johnson Productions, a leading Producing and General Management company based in New York. Recent credits include: Stereophonic (Tony Award, Best Play), The Lehman Trilogy (Tony Award, Best Play), Here We Are, The Big Gay Jamboree, Hold On To Me Darling, The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, Ben Platt: Live at the Palace, Dylan Mulvaney's Day 365 Live!, and The DiscOasis at Wollman Rink NYC. Prior to WJP, Zack worked at Roundabout Theatre Company and Disney Theatrical Group, shepherding productions like Aladdin, Frozen, and Newsies to the stage. Zack is a proud graduate of Northwestern University's School of Communication.
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Maureen Fan, Co-founder + CEO, Baobab Studios
Maureen Fan is CEO & Co-Founder of 10-time Emmy-award winning and leading independent interactive animation studio Baobab Studios, whose mission is to "Bring out your sense of wonder. Inspire you to dream. Make YOU matter.” Named Fast Company's 2018 Most Innovative Company, Baobab has released Invasion!, Asteroids!,
Jack, Crow: The Legend, Bonfi re, Baba Yaga and Namoo all to commercial and critical acclaim.
Baobab’s most recent release, Oscar®-nominated Namoo, was acquired by Warner 150 and is now streaming exclusively on HBO Max. Namoo won the 2022 Annie Award for Best Special Production and was named Best Animated Short from the 2022 Gold List Awards.
Recently the studio announced two deals with Disney+ – Intercats and THE WITCHVERSE. THE WITCHVERSE is an animated anthology series based on the
Emmy-winning VR short fi lm, BABA YAGA and Intercats is an animated sitcom with ‘’Ralph Breaks the Internet’ writer Pamela Ribon. Maureen has held leadership roles in fi lm, gaming and the consumer web. She was most recently vice president of games at Zynga, where she oversaw three game studios including the FarmVille's, which contributed 40 percent of the company’s revenues. Maureen was also named one of ‘The Most Creative People of the Year’ by Ad Age and more recently Variety crowned her as one the execs to watch.
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Fri Forjindam, Experience Designer + Co-Owner, Mycotoo, Inc. + Dig It North America, Inc.
Fri Forjindam is Chief Development Officer and Executive Creative Director for Mycotoo, Inc., a global leader in themed entertainment, live events and immersive brand experiences. Voted “Top Media” company by Inc. 500, Mycotoo operates in North America and Europe, with successful entertainment projects worldwide including Netflix’s Stranger Things: The Experience Global Tour, The Mandalorian Experience; Dig It North America; Prince’s Paisley Park, Studio theme parks (Motiongate and Bollywood Parks) and award-winning brand experiences (HBO's SxWestworld Experience and Bleed For The Throne). Mycotoo specializes in entertainment strategy, master planning, design, development and production. In her role, Fri focuses on driving business development, branding and communications across Mycotoo’s growing global network. Forjindam has been featured in Forbes, Adweek, AdAge, Fast Company (2020 & 2024), Essence, KTLA, Huffington Post, FOX and was awarded Blooloop's "Top 50 Theme Park Influencer" distinction in 2018 and 2020. Mycotoo was awarded Top Prizes for Clio and Cannes Lions Gold for SXSWestworld. (@mycotoo | www.mycotoo.com)
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Al Heartley, Partner + Co-Founder, Evolution Management Consultants
Al is a consultant and teacher based in Atlanta, GA. He was previously a Co-Founder and Principal at ALJP Consulting, a search and strategic planning firm working with arts organizations across the country. He co-founded the firm out of a call to bring equity and inclusion to hiring and planning. Clients he worked with at ALJP included San Diego Repertory Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Pasadena Playhouse, Penumbra Theatre, Dallas Theater Center, Pasadena Playhouse, East West Players, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Theatre Bay Area, American Repertory Theater, Baltimore Center Stage, Building for the Arts, Alabama School of Fine Arts, the New Jersey Arts and Culture Administrators of Color, and New York Theatre Workshop.
Al is a graduate of Yale School of Drama with an MFA in Theater Management. Prior to his life as a consultant, Al was the managing director of the Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts at Northwestern University where he led the organization through the first year of the pandemic and produced programming that included virtual and hybrid offerings. He has worked for various regional theaters across the country including the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Yale Repertory Theatre, The Guthrie Theater, Cleveland Play House, and Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
He currently teaches at Northwestern where he advises students in the Master of Science in Leadership for the Creative Enterprises. He has taught or lectured or spoken at Florida State, Yale, Michigan, Syracuse, Ohio University, and the University of Buffalo.
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Kate Lorenz, Consultant, KGL Projects, LLC
Kate Lorenz is a strategic consultant working across the creative and social impact sectors. As founder and principal of KGL Projects, LLC, she supports small & mid-sized organizations and philanthropic institutions in actualizing their values, building cohesion and clarity across their organizations, and realizing ambitious visions for their communities. With a deep commitment to artists, social change, and leaving the world better than she found it, her practice is informed by a 360 view of organizational development and growth, and a deep understanding of the realities and complexities of executing plans and bringing them to fruition. Across her work, she brings both a personal commitment to equity and justice, alongside experience leading anti-racist and equity change within an organizational context.
She draws from over 20 years in the creative sector, most significantly as Hyde Park Art Center’s Executive Director from 2010 – 2022. Her tenure as Executive Director at Hyde Park Art Center included a long-term commitment to anti-racism and social justice, as well as a transformation of the institution’s impact, role in the community, and organizational and health. She led two successful strategic planning processes that each led to successful Capital Campaigns (of $6M and $17M, respectively) and over that time led a transformation of the organization’s programmatic model, financial picture, organizational culture, relationship to its community, and reputation as a leader in the field. During her tenure, Hyde Park Art Center was awarded the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions (affectionately known as the “genius award”), grew its annual revenues from 1.4M to over 3M, established a $1M Reserve Fund and $4M Endowment, conducted a significant facility renovation and upgrade, and developed new artist-centric programming that helped launch the careers of artists such as Theaster Gates, Amanda Williams, and many more all while creating a space where more than 150 teens and countless families on the South Side of Chicago annually were developing their creative practices.
From 2015-2022 she taught Nonprofit Financial Management in the School of the Art Institute’s Arts Administration and Policy program. Her teaching focused on how financial strategy and health are foundational for programmatic innovation and effectiveness. She has also taught at Northwestern University in the Master of Science in Leadership for Creative Enterprises program. She was a founding member and board member of Enrich Chicago, a collective of arts organizations in Chicago working towards racial equity in the field. She has a BA in Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences and Psychology from Northwestern University and received her MA in Humanities at the University of Chicago. When not with her clients, you will likely find her swimming in Lake Michigan or with her family.
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Laverne McKinnon, Executive + Leadership Coach
Laverne is an Executive and Leadership Coach who leverages her diverse background in entertainment and academia to guide individuals and organizations through loss and setbacks, helping them rediscover their capacity for transformation, innovation and impact. Specializing in realigning people and businesses with their core strengths, she believes that clarity of purpose and values is essential for achievement. Laverne's forthcoming book, Showstopper, explores how grief from career disruptions can be transformed into resilience, drawing from personal experiences and client stories.
As a faculty member at Northwestern University, she teaches a unique course on Persuasion & Pitching, emphasizing values-driven leadership. Her career includes senior roles such as Senior Vice-President at CBS and Executive Vice-President at EPIX, where she secured the platform's first Emmy nominations. She also served as Executive Producer of the Netflix series GIRLBOSS and co-founded K&L Productions, where she championed marginalized stories. Laverne’s educational foundation includes a BS in Radio-TV-Film from Northwestern and an MBA from Pepperdine, complemented by certifications in coaching and grief recovery.
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Michelle Sugihara, Executive Director + CEO of CAPE
CEO of CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment), the world's longest-running non-profit organization creating career opportunities and commercial success for Asians and Pasifika people in Hollywood. She is a fourth-generation Japanese American born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. Prior to joining CAPE, she was an entertainment attorney, film producer, and adjunct professor for the Claremont Colleges’ Intercollegiate Department of Asian American Studies. She also teaches “Improv for Non-Actors” and has performed improv internationally. IG:@capeusa | @michsugi
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Don Weiner, Producer + Director
Don Weiner is the original Creator, Producer and Director of “It’s Showtime at the
Apollo”, the long running variety show that aired weekly in syndication for 20 years. He
Wrote, Produced, and Directed the first 15 Seasons of that hit show and, along with
producing partner Jim Roush, brought Showtime back to Fox with a 2-Hour “30th Anniversary Special” and a weekly prime time series.
Soon after launching “Showtime at the Apollo”, Don teamed with Dionne Warwick to
produce “That’s What Friends Are For” at the Kennedy Center, a landmark TV event
featuring Elton John, Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder and Luther Vandross that raised
worldwide awareness and millions of dollars for the fight against AIDS.
As a Producer and Director, Don’s credits include “The Uptown Comedy Club”, based at
the groundbreaking Harlem venue; “Magic’s Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed”, which
premiered as the highest rated entertainment program ever on Fox; “Apollo Live!” for
BET with fellow Executive Producers Marcus King and Jamie Foxx; and most recently
“Canada’s Got Talent!”
Don’s Directing credits include the U.S and Canadian versions of “So You Think You Can
Dance”, “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader”, “Shark Tank”, “Steve”, the daily
talk/variety series starring Steve Harvey for NBC/Universal, “The Canadian Country
Music Awards”, and “Child Support” with Ricky Gervais for ABC.
Don Executive Produced and Directed “A Starry Night” which was a Live Gala
Fundraising Event for his Alma Mater Northwestern University. The star-studded live
performance was hosted by Stephen Colbert and gave Don and his fellow alumni the
opportunity to donate their time to raise money to support Arts Programming and endow a scholarship fund for deserving Northwestern MFA students.
In addition, Don recently joined the faculty of Chapman University in Los Angeles as an
Adjunct Professor at the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.
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Jonah Zeiger, Creative Leader in Film + Television
Jonah Zeiger is a mission-driven leader with an ability to inspire teams, stakeholders, and partners to collaborate effectively around bold ideas that strategically drive culture, content, and community forward while fostering sustainable economic impact and growth. Jonah has over 30 years combined experience across media and entertainment, arts and culture, higher education, government, and nonprofits.
From 2022 - 2024, Jonah served as Deputy Commissioner of the Chicago Film Office, a Division of Chicago’s Department of Culture Affairs and Special Events, where he led strategy for the City in its effort to support, grow, and enhance its media industry, now ranked as the 4th largest production hub in the U.S. In addition to supporting hundreds of projects from high-profile television series to award-winning independent films, Jonah spearheaded Sundance Institute x Chicago 2024: Championing Creative Independence, Sundance’s first partnership with a major U.S. city focused on elevating independent storytelling, artist support, and community engagement. Jonah also launched Chicago’s first Film Sustainability Initiative with an aim to green the local film industry and significantly reduce climate impacts in the sector.
Jonah has served as a board member and strategic advisor to numerous film nonprofits and alliances including the Independent Film Alliance Chicago and the Chicago Alliance of Film Festivals. He previously served as Associate Director of External Programs, Internships, and Career Services (EPICS) in the School of Communication at Northwestern University, where he oversaw professional development for the MS in Leadership for Creative Enterprises program as well as MFA programs in Writing for the Screen & Stage and Documentary Media. Prior to Northwestern, Jonah taught at DePaul University’s School of Cinematic Arts where he founded the Visiting Artists Series and initiated the partnership between DePaul and Cinespace Studios, the first partnership between a major American film school and a working soundstage in the U.S.
Jonah holds an MFA in film from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and a BA in Comparative Religion and Philosophy from Hampshire College. He also studied Leadership as well as Executive Learning and Organizational Change in professional and executive programs at Northwestern.