Meet the Mentors for the NYUinLA Mentorship Program Class of 2013

Acting Mentors

Welcome Mentees,  we're excited to have you join us on the West Coast! We look forward to helping you get set up in LA and have a lot of fun things planned for you over the next 8 months.  We'll work as a group to explore the topography of the professional and artistic landscape of California and spend time building and achieving goals specific to your career.  Let's get started!

Dahéli Hall I grew up in Miami, FL. I’m an only child and a first generation American. My parents are from the Caribbean, my mother is from Haiti and my father from Jamaica. It was very special growing up in such a diverse cultural household. My parents stressed the value of education and I earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in Theater and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California from Peter Stark Film/TV Producing Program. I am an actress, comic and filmmaker. I am best known as a cast member on Season 13 of "MADtv," where I was able to write several sketches for myself and other cast members. As the zaniest cast member on BET’s prank dating show “Hell Date”, I also crafted many of the prank scenarios. My body of work also includes, my own public access talk show, Dahéli Live, writing and hosting a daily news show on the web for Participant Media – Brain Food Daily and two HBO award winning short films, “The Memo” and “Mandingo in a Box”. A reoccurring theme in my writing is the range of social issues that people face. My first work of note, a short film entitled "The Memo," is a satire about Ted (Gary Anthony Williams), who doesn't "get the memo" that the black revolution has begun. In "Mandingo in a Box," I explored how the quest for the perfect man can sidetrack women in their pursuit of love. Both of my short films were produced by, current VP of Motion Pictures at Disney, Tendo Nagenda. I just completed writing and shooting my own sitcom pilot called “Public Access” about a former TV star who is trying to re-launch her career by doing a show at a public access station (yes, it’s slightly autobiographical). Comedy is my primary vehicle for expressing myself. I describe my style as a special blend of humor and intelligence. I think of comedy as "the great diplomat": "I believe people are most open when they laugh, and that’s perfect time to get them thinking and communicating."

Bryan Dechart (Tisch '09) trained at the Meisner Extension, ETW, Viewpoints, Stonestreet and Commedia dell'arte in Florence, Italy. When he's not working and studying as an actor he serves on the Tisch West Council organizing events to build a community for NYU alumni living in LA and he enjoys exploring photography, gardening and woodworking. 

Film and TV Mentors 

"Welcome Mentees to sunny southern California! Adjusting to West Coast can be a wild ride (if you do it right), and Pamela and Pip are excited to guide you through the first few months of your new life here in LA. Together with the rest of the mentor group, we'll explore the culture of LA, and help you learn to navigate the ins and outs of the film and television packaging landscapes."

Pip Ngo is currently a TV development coordinator at Sierra Affinity/ Sierra Engine, a leading independent film/television finance and sales company. Pip graduated from the Experimental Theater Wing at Tisch in 2007. He previously worked in film packaging at CAA and for a boutique Broadway production house in New York. Pip is originally from San Francisco. 

Pamela Goldstein is the International Coordinator in the Motion Picture Department at William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, where she started as an assistant in 2008. Prior to that, she worked as the assistant to producers Tory Tunnell and Will Battersby at Safehouse Pictures, and as an assistant in the Production/Development Department at Miramax and Dimension Films. Pamela is a graduate of the 2006 class at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts for Film/TV Production. 

Welcome to Trey and Kellye's mentee group (and for some of you, welcome to LA!). We look forward to getting to know you and helping in any way we can here in Los Angeles.  It's sure to be a fun mentee season!

Trey Livingston comes from the great mid-west where colleges have D1 sports teams and movies cost only $5 to see in theaters. A NYU-TSOA 08 Film & TV major, who focused on screenwriting & directing. Trey first moved out to LA in 2010 working as an accounting PA for Magical Elves, Inc. who specialize in Reality TV shows such as Top Chef, Work of Art, and The Real L Word. Once done with that, he interned at the Creative Department at Spyglass which eventually became MGM. Once a job opened up at MGM, he was offered the chance to interview for it and must have done something right because they hired him and he managed to survive it for almost two years. Now, I'm at Anonymous Content, a management/production company, where I work as an assistant to a variety of different departments. Trey currently lives in West Hollywood, always winds up in Hollywood, and visits Santa Monica & Downtown not nearly enough. Trey enjoy movies where things explode, exciting or hilarious TV, and art galleries more than words can describe. 

Kellye Carnahan is a Southern California native and an alum of the Tisch Mentor Program. She graduated from the Tisch Film and TV Production Program in 2010.  Kellye has worked for agents and producers and is currently working at Miramax for producer Zanne Devine. Kellye hopes to one day be a film producer and maybe own a vineyard. In her spare time she loves to bake and invent cupcake recipes, sing karaoke and take road trips. 

Hi guys and gals. We're looking forward to getting to know each of you and helping navigate the often confounding and occasionally sublime city that is LA. Erica is a writer and Patrick is a producer. Between the two of us hopefully we'll be able to answer all your questions. 

Patrick Walmsley is a production executive at LBI Entertainment, the management and production company founded by Rick Yorn. In his six years with the company under producer Julie Yorn, he has worked on feature films such as THE OTHER WOMAN, WE BOUGHT A ZOO, UNSTOPPABLE, MAX PAYNE and BRIDE WARS among others. In addition to the production division, LBI Entertainment represents clients such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Benicio del Toro, Justin Timberlake and Martin Scorsese among others. A native of Cincinnati, OH and a graduate of New York University, Patrick resides in Los Angeles. 

Erica Schreiber left Port Angeles, WA to attend NYU Tisch's Dramatic Writing Program in 2002. After interning at "The Colbert Report" and graduating in 2006, she worked as the Writer's Assistant for USA's "Monk." Since moving to LA she has worked in the writer's offices of the CW's "Nikita" and VH1's "Single Ladies," and on the Fox film "The Wolverine." Currently she freelances at Fox and FX and is repped by Caliber Media as a writer. She loves sushi, LA weather, "Game of Thrones," and good dystopian YA novels. She lives in Valley Village.

Volunteer Coordinator

And last but not least I wanted to welcome you to Los Angeles, and the mentorship program!  I am the resident foodie of the group, so feel free to ask me that always fun to answer question of "where should I go eat?" because I'll inevitably send you back a laundry list of delicious and totally LA restaurants. 

Nicole Iizuka is a LA native who braved the cold east coast winters at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, but missed the sunshine of So-Cali. Nicole has worked for producers, agents & studio executives, yet her toughest boss by far has been her obsession with food. Two years ago she founded an experimental underground supper club Cloak & Dinner and after realizing that her torrid love affair could actually be a career, Nicole quit her creative development job at MGM for the fascinating freelance world of culinary & art. Since making the leap, she worked with the culinary team and art department on Gordon Ramsay's MasterChef and Hell's Kitchen, and with Stacey Kiebler, Debbie Fields and Chef Michael Chiarello on Supermarket Superstar. She is currently the Food and Lifestyle producer at POPSUGAR. Nicole also blogs about my food mis-adventures on cakeandheels.com. You can follow her @nicolemiizuka