Meet the Mentors 2017

Meet the Mentors 2017...

Meet the new Mentors for the NYUinLA Mentorship Program Class of 2017!

Acting Mentors

Keith Powell was a series regular on NBC’s Emmy Award-winning sitcom 30 Rock for seven seasons, where he received a 2008 Screen Actors Guild Award as part of the ensemble. Prior to 30 Rock, Powell was the Producing Artistic Director of Contemporary Stage Company in Wilmington, DE, where he produced, directed, and/or performed in plays starring Lynn Redgrave, Keith David, Jasmine Guy, Richard Easton and Sean Patrick Thomas (winning 2 Barrymore Awards). His theater credits include work at The Shakespeare Theatre, Portland Stage Company, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Hangar Theatre, Delaware Theatre Company, and HB Playwrights Foundation among others. He has also appeared in Deadbeat, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, the ABC pilot Judy's Got A Gun, Reno 911!, and NCIS: Los Angeles. He has had recurring roles on About A Boy and The Newsroom, and appeared in the feature films Armless, Syrup, and Night At The Museum: Battle Of The Smithsonian. He is the writer/producer/director of the animated pilot Nate & Abe (starring Rachel Dratch, David Wain, Alyssa Milano, and Robert Ben Garant), and writer/director of the short films People We Meet (also starring Frederick Weller and Scott Adsit), Let Them Lie, and This Is A House. Recently, Mr. Powell wrote, directed, and produced the web series Keith Broke His Leg (Indie Series Awards for Best Actor and Best Web Series), and produced, co-wrote, and starred in the feature film My Name Is David (co-staring Judy Reyes and Adepero Oduye).

Emebeit Beyene is "The Ethiopian queen from Philly who took classes abroad and studied film and photo flash focus record" as The Roots put it... except she studied Acting and Africana Studies at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. She appreciates the shoutout nonetheless. Emebeit is an actress, producer and co-creator of the webseries Downtown Girls, which came from four actresses who didn't see the stories that they wanted to see on TV so they created it themselves. With the success of Downtown Girls she's been featured in the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival Montreal, the American Black Film Festival,the LA Film Festival and on popular sites like Huffington Post, Glamour, Hello Giggles, Complex and Man Repeller. Currently based in LA, Emebeit is a working actress and can be seen in several short films in theaters nowhere near you. She enjoys watching tons of television (it's research!), the oh-so-great outdoors, eating froyo from Pinkberry, and, surprisingly, making people laugh.

Film & TV Mentors

Michael Milberg is Vice-President of De Line Pictures, a film and TV production company with a first look at Warner Bros. Michael started his LA career in the mailroom of iconic talent agent Michael Ovitz's newly formed management firm where he rose up the ranks. He left to work for producers, Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher, where he developed and supervised MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, BEWITCHED and JARHEAD. He then transition to DreamWorks SKG, where he oversaw BLADES OF GLORY, EAGLE EYE, THE RUINS, and TROPIC THUNDER. Michael has since made films with producers, Dan Jinks & Bruce Cohen, Donna Roth & Susan Arnold, and Jerry Bruckheimer before joining Donald De Line at his eponymous company. He currently is overseeing GOING IN STYLE at New Line, Steven Spielberg's upcoming READY PLAYER ONE at Warner Bros., as well as the second season of WAYWARD PINES on Fox. Michael is a Georgia native and graduate of TSOA's Film & TV program.

Pamela Goldstein is a literary agent at Verve. She came up through the agency ranks starting as an assistant at the William Morris Agency in 2008, was later promoted to International Coordinator in the Motion Picture Department at William Morris Endeavor Entertainment in 2011, and then moved over as an agent to Jeff Berg's company Resolution in 2013, before joining Verve last October. She has also worked with 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.

Kellye Carnahan is a former Creative Executive at Miramax, where she focused on feature film development and production including projects such as THE 9TH LIFE OF LOUIS DRAX and BAD SANTA 2. A Southern California native, Kellye graduated from the Tisch Film and TV Production Program in 2010 and moved back to Los Angeles. Kellye began her career at Verve Talent and Literary Agency before going to assist producer Julie Yorn on the set of WE BOUGHT A ZOO. Following ZOO, she served two years as an assistant/development coordinator to producer Zanne Devine. Kellye is an alum of the Tisch mentor program and a member of the Tisch West Alumni Council. In her spare time, she loves to bake and invent cupcake recipes, travel, and run half marathons in and around Disneyland.

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 a Senior Producer at POPSUGAR overseeing lifestyle content. Nicole also blogs about my food mis-adventures on itsborderlinegenius.com. You can follow her @nicolemiizuka

Mina Baban is a Television Executive for Amazon Studios where she buys, develops and oversees shows for both the US and International markets. She graduated from Tisch in December of 2011 and began work in reality TV production before moving to LA to pursue scripted television. After some direction from her NYU-in-LA mentors, Mina started in the WME mailroom and then supported several different TV literary agents. She eventually jumped to Amazon Studios to work in drama development. During her time at Amazon, Mina has worked with Amazon’s drama team in helping greenlight shows like THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL and additionally helped form Amazon’s International Originals Department, which creates local-language content for numerous countries all over the globe as well as finds co-production opportunities. As a development executive, Mina helps track, source, buy, develop, and produce shows from inception to launch. In her spare time, she enjoys playing volleyball and watching The New England Patriots.

Erica Schreiber is a film/television writer and professional reader. She graduated from Tisch’s Dramatic Writing Program after interning at “The Colbert Report,” and has worked as a Writer’s and Showrunner's Assistant on series like “Monk,” “Single Ladies" and "Hit The Floor" and has freelanced at Fox, CBS, FX Networks, and Showtime among others. This last year she wrote television episodes for Crackle and Hasbro, currently has a screenplay and a pilot optioned and is writing a digital series for Warner Bros and Alloy Entertainment. Erica is repped at Untitled Entertainment and WME, and enjoys sushi, Game of Thrones, and being on boats.

Volunteer Coordinator

Chandra Russell is a Chicagoan til Chicago ends. A graduate of Tisch's Acting program she now works in LA as an actress/writer. Her webseries, Downtown Girls, has been featured in Just For Laughs Comedy Festival Montreal, the American Black Film Festival, the LA Film Festival, Huffington Post, Glamour, Hello Giggles, Complex and Man Repeller. (if this looks familiar - her writing partner, Emebeit, is above and she literally copied and pasted - lazy). Most recently Chandra was cast as a series regular in the Comedy Central pilot "Southside". In her spare time she likes extended naps, junk reality TV and cuddling with her puppy. 

NYU Staff

Lily Hung oversees the NYU in LA Mentor Program, in collaboration with the Mentors and Volunteer Coordinator. As Tisch’s Director of Career Development, Lily connects artists with the tools and knowledge they need to effectively pursue their professional goals. Through individual career counseling appointments and group workshops, she advises students on job searches, resumes and cover letters, interviewing and networking skills, internships, grantwriting, and entrepreneurial strategies. Lily previously spent more than a decade in commercial and nonprofit theatre, where she worked with emerging theatre artists as a line producer and programming director. She holds an MFA in Dramaturgy from Columbia University and is now clumsily learning aerial arts.