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 2023 YEP Class
Allison Eilhardt, ROE Visual
Allyson Geiger, Marvel Studios
Cassandra Rodriguez, Pixar
Colin Hughes, Light Iron
Ekaterina Buchneva, Sensor Tower
Erick Silvera, Freelance
Erik Mahoney, Paramount Pictures Corp.
Haley Min Young Kreofsky, Freelance
Jamie Foley, 495 Productions
Jazmin Freire, Black Cake
Jennifer Losch, Work Editorial
Jimmy Zhu, Scanline VFX
Kara Prichard, A+E Networks
Lauren Balladares, Freelance
Luke Birch, Netflix
Maddie Hong, Netflix
Rachel Jobin, 6P color, Inc.
Sarah Xu, Fox Entertainment
Simon Yahn, Technicolor Creative Studios
Victor Amigo, Eluvio
Vivian Ip, Freelance
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.
