Program Overview
The Young Entertainment Professionals (YEP) program nurtures the development of talent between the ages of 21–32 years old with mentoring and education, introductions to industry leaders, invitations to events, and access to resources that will further their careers. Through active participation in HPA and SMPTE, YEPs gain lifetime access to a community of peers and other professionals to help set the course of their careers in this industry.
The 2021 YEP Class
Bibi Arbab, The Walt Disney Company
Veronica Badell, Academy Gold
Fernanda Bueno, NBCUniversal
Cathy Bui, Room306 Media LLC
Yasmine Cheikh-Eljeilat, The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
Huan Cheng, Center for Asian American Media
Christina Coleman, Netflix
Sara Duque, Cala Producciones S.A.S.
Tahirah Foy, HBO
Melissa Gutierrez, Narrative Ads
Liv Gwynn, National Geographic Channel
Desmond Jackson, PMF Media
Nikki Jee, Paramount Pictures
Simon Lecointe, Dalet
Barbara Losseau, Zealot Inc
Catheryn Mallari, Premier Digital
Natalie Mangione, Walt Disney Studios
Twi McCallum
Whitney McElveen, Netflix
Bowen Moreno, Xperi
Benjamin Noble, 3 Ball Entertainment
Nicoletta Nomicou
Evan Okada, Sim International
Maria Quiroga, Mariangela Quiroga Photography
Leah Robinson, Big Brother
Karla Rodriguez, Sony Pictures Entertainment
Drew Roublick, New York City Ballet
Megan Schneider, Marvel Studios
Nicole Thrakulchavee, Company 3
Stephanie To, Tremendous Entertainment
Mackenzie Webster, Nordstrom
Adam Wohlers, Disney Creative Services
Ting Yu, IATSE Local 700/ACE
YEP participants are chosen in an annual selection process.
YEPs have frequent opportunities to take center stage. YEPs have been seated on panels at the HPA Tech Retreat and at the SMPTE Annual Technical Conference, produced a webinar series, and contributed columns to the HPA NewsLine e-newsletter.
Incubated in 2016 by the Women in Post committee, YEP advances the organization’s goal of cultivating and encouraging the next generation of worthy entertainment professionals to follow a career in the media content industry.
