Industry Profiles and Q&As

Taylor Kay Phillips is an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning writer originally from Kansas City, Missouri. She currently writes for LAST WEEK TONIGHT with John Oliver on HBO and is the author of the book A GUIDE TO MIDWESTERN CONVERSATION. Her work has been published in THE NEW YORKER, THE ATLANTIC, and MCSWEENEY'S INTERNET TENDENCY. She lives in Harlem with her husband.

Liz Walker ’11 is a classically trained ballet dancer and choreographer based in Cambridge. She manages Harvard’s Signet Society, an intergenerational, multidisciplinary arts organization on campus. Prior to her retirement from full-time dancing, Liz performed as a soloist with Los Angeles Ballet, dancing a variety of roles in the classical, Balanchine, modern, and contemporary repertory. Liz’s work as a choreographer explores personal lived experience through movement, and she has worked on commissions for Mount Auburn Cemetery, Harvard Ballet Company and Metropolitan Area Planning Council. She lives in Cambridge with her husband, daughter and son.

Michelle Chen is Senior Producer, Kids’ Media and Education at The WNET Group, where she has been creating content for public media broadcast and digital platforms since 2004. She has received Emmy Awards for her work on the PBS KIDS series CYBERCHASE and the multiplatform project, GET THE MATH. Other projects include the groundbreaking educational gaming series MISSION US, which has received the Japan Prize for Educational Media and the Games for Change Award for Most Significant Impact; the Emmy-nominated PBS KIDS preschool math series COUNT ON JUNE BUG!;  the Youth Collective Gen Z engagement initiative; the PBS KIDS video and gaming OH NOAH!; and professional development video series for educators. She received her bachelor’s degree in biology from Harvard University.

Prior to L.A. Material, Sarah Wick spent six years as C.O.O. at Crooked Media, an audio and subscription based media company, and General Manager of a digital gaming vertical at Disney Interactive. An L.A. native, Sarah is happiest working in her garden and foisting her citrus on people.

Madeline Dorroh is a Los Angeles-based voice actor known for their work across video games, anime, and more. You can hear them as Norma in Zenless Zone Zero, Caramel Choux Cookie in Cookie Run: Kingdom, Inori in Medalist, Ratatoskr in Fire Emblem Heroes, Jorda in Trails Through Daybreak I and II, Prez in Project Wingman, and various others. For inquiries, demos and a full list of credits, please see their website at: https://www.madelinedorroh.com

Robert Carlock is the co-creator of the new NBC comedy THE FALL AND RISE OF REGGIE DINKINS, starring Tracy Morgan, Daniel Radcliffe, and Erika Alexander. He was an executive producer of the Emmy-nominated Netflix shows GIRLS5EVA and co-created UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT.  He was also the co-creator of NBC's MR. MAYOR as well as the Netflix animated series MULLIGAN. Carlock was an executive producer and co-showrunner of NBC’s 30 ROCK, earning three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series and four nominations in the writing category (losing each time to one of his co-workers, usually Tina Fey).

Carlock started his career at THE DANA CARVEY SHOW before joining SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE for five seasons, including a two-year stint as the producer and head writer of Weekend Update.  Following SNL, he joined the writing staff at FRIENDS, for its final three seasons, before the show won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series and ended its 10-year run.

Kelly Yang JD '05 is the #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of the FRONT DESK series, NEW FROM HERE, FINALLY SEEN, FINALLY HEARD, young adult novels PARACHUTES and PRIVATE LABEL, and picture books  YES WE WILL and LITTLE BIRD LAILA. Her books have earned multiple awards, including the 2019 APALA Award for Children’s Literature and the Strega Prize, and have featured on multiple best of the year lists. FRONT DESK was named one of the Best Books of the 21st Century by Kirkus Reviews. In addition, Kelly has written screenplays and television pilots for Netflix, CBS Studios, and the CW. Kelly immigrated to the United States when she was six years old and grew up in Southern California. She went to college early and is a graduate of UC Berkeley and Harvard Law School. THE TAKE is her first adult novel.

David Frankel is the director of THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2, which will be released by Disney in May.  His previous work as a director includes THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, MARLEY & ME, THE BIG YEAR, COLLATERAL BEAUTY, JERRY AND MARGE GO LARGE, ONE CHANCE, MIAMI RHAPSODY, and HOPE STREEPS. He won an Academy Award for Best Short for his film, DEAR DIARY, and an Emmy for his direction of HBO’s BAND OF BROTHERS.  His other work for HBO includes the pilot for ENTOURAGE, several episodes of SEX AND THE CITY, and FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON.  His other television work includes episodes of THE MORNING SHOW for AppleTV+; the pilots for MANIFEST (on NBC & Netflix), THE BAKER AND THE BEAUTY (on ABC) and THE IRRATIONAL (on NBC); and the Netflix pilot for INVENTING ANNA, starring Julia Garner.  He lives in Miami with his wife, Jennifer Beber.

Clive Chang is President and CEO of YoungArts, the National Foundation for the Advancement Artists, whose mission is to identify exceptional young artists, amplify their potential, and invest in their lifelong creative freedom. Clive brings to this role a combination of commercial and nonprofit arts leadership experience, as well as the perspective of a lifelong artist himself as a classically trained composer and pianist.

Prior to YoungArts, Clive was Executive Vice President, Chief Advancement & Innovation Officer for Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. In this capacity, he oversaw fundraising, strategic partnerships, and innovation programs for the world’s pre-eminent performing arts complex—home to 11 world class arts organizations across its 16-acre campus. Prior to Lincoln Center, Clive served as Director, Strategy & Business Development for Disney Theatrical Group, where he led strategic planning and growth initiatives for Disney’s commercial live entertainment businesses worldwide.

Clive holds dual Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Commerce degrees from McGill University, an MFA in Musical Theater Writing from NYU/Tisch School of the Arts, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He was an adjunct professor in the graduate program in Arts Administration at Columbia University in New York City from 2018-2021 and serves on the boards of the U.S. Presidential Scholars Foundation, Music Academy of the West, and the advisory board of the NYU Center for Black Visual Culture. Clive and his husband divide their time between Miami, FL and Weston, CT.

A native Chicagoan, M.J. Polelle is an emeritus professor of the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he practiced civil litigation in Chicago before joining the faculty of De Paul University College of Law and then the UIC-School of Law. He taught a comparative law course in Parma, Italy and served as a Special Assistant State’s Attorney for several years. His first novel, THE MITHRAS CONSPIRACY (Lido Press: 2019), a history-based mystery, was a 2020 finalist in both the Eric Hoffer Book Awards and Royal Palm Literary Awards of the Florida Writers Association. It also earned an IndieBRAG Medallion for placing in the top tier of reviewed novels. He did original research in Rome, Italy concerning the Mithras cult. His second novel, AMERICAN CONSPIRACY (Lido Press: 2021), a political thriller, drew on his years as a lawyer, a professor of constitutional law, and the fateful presidential election of 2016. M.J. Polelle lives now with his wife, Donna, in Sarasota, Florida.

Brittney M. Russell is a dynamic Bronx-born filmmaker and storyteller whose work is rooted in advocacy, authenticity, and the pursuit of justice. As a first-generation Jamaican American, she draws inspiration from her community’s resilience and cultural richness, using her lens to amplify underrepresented voices and challenge systemic inequities.

Brittney's filmmaking journey began in the public health sphere, where she uncovered her passion for documenting real-time stories that matter. Her work reflects a commitment to truth-telling, spotlighting critical issues such as maternal health disparities, social justice, and the lived experiences of marginalized groups.

A rising force in the industry, Brittney combines her talent for narrative-driven storytelling with an eye for visual artistry, creating compelling films that not only inform but inspire change. Her dedication to capturing the unfiltered realities of her subjects continues to shape her as a bold and visionary filmmaker.

Victoria Sung is the Phyllis C. Wattis Senior Curator at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA), where she oversees the museum’s long-standing MATRIX series of contemporary art and works with artists to create exhibitions, publications, and public programs. Recent projects include solo exhibitions with Amol K Patil, Lee ShinJa, Sin Wai Kin, Duane Linklater, Kenneth Tam, and Yee I-Lann. From 2015 to 2023, Sung was a curator at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, where she organized the touring retrospective Pacita Abad (traveled to SFMOMA, MoMA PS1, and the Art Gallery of Ontario), as well as exhibitions with Siah Armajani, Theaster Gates, Pao Houa Her, Candice Lin, Rayyane Tabet, and Laure Prouvost, among others. Her latest exhibition Theresa Hak Kyung Cha: Multiple Offerings, the first retrospective on Cha in 25 years, is on view at BAMPFA until April 19, 2026.