Program Overview
The Young Entertainment Professionals (YEP) program nurtures the development of talented individuals at the start of their media and entertainment journey 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, YEPs gain lifetime access to a community of peers and other professionals to help set the course of their careers in this industry.
Applications for YEP Class of 2025 Closed on November 1, 2024. Application details here.
The 2024 YEP Class
Benjamin White, Light Iron
Christopher Tjajadi, Netflix
James Flores, Backblaze
Kennedy Daniel, Disney Entertainment
Luis Lagera, Star Trek Discovery
Scout Pruski, Picture Shop
Brian Tran, Day For Nite
Fernanda Schaefer, NBCUniversal
Jenna Field, ArsenalFX Color
Kiera Williams, Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences
Molly Hill, Walt Disney Studios
Carin Mazaira, Leica Geosystems
Hao Chen, Sphere Entertainment Co.
Jimmy Qiu, Picture Shop
Lauren Schwartzbard, Sphere Entertainment, Co.
Starry Ye, 26 Seconds
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.
