Shira Gans

Moderator
Shira Gans is the Senior Executive Director of Policy + Programs at the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment, where she leads the city’s strategy to support the music industry. She created and produces New York Music Month, the city’s official music festival held each June, and has spearheaded initiatives including a $10M fund for women-led creative projects, the first Mayor’s Office of Nightlife, a new music industry degree at Brooklyn College, a public high school career pathway in music, and NYC’s $6M investment in Power Station at BerkleeNYC. She also directs NYC Film Green and hosts the Film Green Office Hours series, helping productions reduce their environmental impact.

Previously, Shira worked to advance equity through roles at the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Manhattan Borough President’s Office, and the NYC Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget.

She has been featured in Variety’s New York Women’s Impact Report, named a 40 Under 40 Rising Star by City & State, and recognized as a Climate Leader by Forbes. Shira holds a Master of Public Policy from UC Berkeley’s Goldman School and a BA from Wesleyan University.

Neerja Narayanan

Multi-hyphenate producer / studio executive / writer with track record for major studios in development, production, acquisition, having been based in London, Mumbai, New York, LA, having built & managed local content pipelines for vertically integrated studio divisions for commercially and critically successful multi-language content, including Fox International Productions (21st Century Fox), (now) Disney UTV Studios South Asia, Sony Pictures International Productions, producing cross border successes across formats with artists who are household names regionally and internationally, nominated for and won internationally recognised awards including BAFTA awards, Asia Pacific Awards, Indian National Awards, with festival premieres at Toronto, Berlin, Busan, London, Shanghai, Tokyo among others. Also worked in production, development, international sales, programming, and even been an assistant director on features, for orgs including Channel Four UK, the UK Film Council, Capitol Films UK, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Forest Whitaker's Spirit Dance Entertainment, and branded content for broadcast TV. Works with artist organizations like Gotham Film & Media Institute, Doha Film Institute, Portland Art Museum, Film Independent Global Media Makers, Sundance Women In Film Strategy and Financing Initiative, Creative Hawaii, Hollywood Radio & TV Society, has been jury member and drama selection committee for the Sarajevo Film Festival and MIA Rome (Mercata Internazionale Audiovisivo.) Has been a speaker at Cannes Marche Du Film, Berlinale European Film Market, Toronto International Film Festival, Channel Four, European Producers Club,TiE NYC, Columbia University, Gotham Film Week. Based in LA, building cross-continental slates + creative funds across Asia, Europe, America, Australia, LatAm, MENA/Africa.

Maggie Whitaker

Maggie Whitaker (Costume Designer) designs for theatre, film, tv, and video games. Their work has showcased at Sundance, Hamptons international Film Festival, Miami Jewish Film Festival, and Frameline Film Festival. Their commitment to creating beautiful character design and reducing textile waste can be seen throughout their design career and is showcased heavily in their short film work as a designer/associate producer, where they are able to guide the development of each film from pre-production through post. Film Credits include: Fairyland: Sundance premiere, Avenue of the Giants: HICC Premiere, Splash City, Back Home: Through the Stage Door; Shit and Champagne: Frameline Premiere 2020, Here She Comes; Theatre Credits: Eureka Day (world premier), Lobby Hero (Dean Goodman Choice Award); Marin Theatre Company: I and You (world premier); They are a member of USA local 829. www.maggiewhitaker.com

Emily Fleischer

Emily Plunkett Fleischer is the US Director of AdGreen and CEO of Maidstone, bringing more than 20 years of experience as a producer of commercials and content to her leadership roles. Throughout her career, Emily has managed high-profile projects for brands such as American Airlines, Audi, and P&G, and has overseen hundreds of productions with a focus on both creative excellence and operational efficiency.

In her role as US Director for AdGreen, Emily is at the forefront of expanding sustainable production practices in the American advertising industry. She advocates for the use of AdGreen’s carbon calculator, a tool that enables production teams to rigorously measure, manage, and ultimately reduce the carbon footprint of their projects. By promoting the principle that “what gets measured gets managed,” Emily is helping to shift the industry’s approach to sustainability, making emissions reduction an integral part of commercial content creation in the US.

Now, Emily leverages her extensive industry expertise to help companies produce content more sustainably. As CEO of Maidstone, she guides clients in implementing eco-friendly practices and reducing the carbon footprint of their productions, championing what she calls “compassionate compliance”—achieving sustainability without compromising on quality or cost.

Sylvie Weber

Sylvie Weber is a German-Dominican filmmaker whose work explores contemporary moral dilemmas through characters on the fringes of society. She often uses surrealism to reimagine history and her characters’ relationship to modern society.

Jessica Wolfson

Jessica Wolfson is an Executive Producer at Indeed, where she leads production for the in-house creative team and initiatives like Rising Voices, which amplifies emerging storytellers. A filmmaker herself, Jessica has produced numerous critically acclaimed films throughout her career.