The Team
Take The Lead is a 501c3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to prepare, develop, inspire and propel women to take their fair and equal share of leadership positions across all sectors by 2025. The 50 Women Can Change The World Leadership program is based on Take The Lead’s core curriculum, the "9 Leadership Power Tools to Advance Your Career," that teaches women how to lead themselves, their careers, their organizations, and their industries with a new definition of power, and create systemic change.
Elisa ParkeR, Project Director & Lead Trainer
Elisa Parker, media maven, speaker and a visionary for women and social justice is the co-founder, president & host of the award-winning program, See Jane Do, co-founder of Indivisible Women and Leadership Ambassador with Take the Lead Women. Elisa’s work takes her around the world to discover and share the extraordinary stories & solutions in each of us. She hosts her weekly show for nationally acclaimed radio station KVMR & is the co-founder & director of the Passion into Action™ Women’s Conference, TEDxGrassValley, Raising Jane and the See Jane Do Media Lounge. Elisa reaches thousands through partnership with other like-minded organizations and develops organizational-wide initiatives, communications strategies for events & digital media campaigns that support women’s leadership & gender equity. She designs, creates and facilitates training programs in hi-tech, media, healthcare & non-profit organizations to optimize performance outcomes. She is an alumna of the Women’s Media Center Progressive Women’s Voices program, Take the Lead Women & The White House Project’s Go Run program. Elisa holds a BA in Communications from San Francisco State and an MA in Organization Development & Leadership at the University of San Francisco.
Tabby Biddle, Project Director & Lead Trainer
For more than two decades, Tabby Biddle has worked at the intersection of women’s leadership, feminine spirituality and social change. She is the founder of TAB Media, a female-owned company centering women’s voices and leadership through media-making, public speaking and entrepreneurship. The bestselling author of Find Your Voice: A Woman’s Call to Action and two-time United Nations Foundation press fellow, Tabby’s voice has been featured in The Huffington Post, the Los Angeles Times, UN Dispatch, USA Today, Thrive Global, NPR, among others. She is the Co-Project Director and Lead Trainer of 50 Women Can Change the World in Media & Entertainment, and lead facilitator of Women on the Stage, an accelerator program to get more women speaking on TEDx stages. Tabby has been hailed by the United Nations Foundation as “a champion for women and girls around the world” and by Global Girl Media as “one of the true feminist and fierce leaders of the movement for gender equity in media and representation.” Tabby received her Masters in Education from Bank Street College in New York City, and her undergraduate degree in political science from Colby College. She lives in Santa Monica, CA with her husband and young son.
Brooke Newberry, Project Coordinator
Brooke is the project coordinator for 50 Women Can Change the World in Media & Entertainment. She is a digital experience strategist with a background in technical and creative project management, writing and content strategy, and user experience design. She’s passionate about helping others create their vision, especially those that create vital opportunities for women and girls to tell their stories. Brooke also has a Master’s degree in Food Culture from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Bra, Italy.
Gloria Feldt, Co-founder & presidenT of Take the Lead
Gloria Feldt is the Co-Founder and President of Take The Lead, and has been an advocate for women for 40 years. A former teen mom, her hard work and natural leadership abilities led her to a 30-year career at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, including a 10-year stint as its national president and CEO. People Magazine has called her “the voice of experience,” and Vanity Fair named her one of America’s “Top 200 Women Legends, Leaders, and Trailblazers.” When she discovered that women have been stuck at 18 percent of top leadership positions for two decades, she knew she had to find a way to change that. The result: she wrote the bestselling book No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power to give women practical Power Tools that break down their unconscious barriers to greater personal and professional success. In 2014, she founded Take The Lead, an initiative to bring women to leadership parity by 2025.
Rhea Beddoe, Operations Manager
Rhea Beddoe is the Director of Special Events & Operations at Take The Lead. She coordinates the planning and production of “Take The Lead Presents” events, including in-person learning events and online Virtual Happy Hours with women leaders and visionaries. Prior to joining Take The Lead, Rhea worked in the political and nonprofit sectors for over six years, most recently as the coordinator for a New York City Council campaign. She has always had a passion for supporting women’s rights and is an active volunteer with local NYC women’s health organizations.
Amber Nelson, Program Director
Amber Nelson is the Leadership Ambassador Program Director. Her communications and marketing expertise guide the recruitment, training, and strategy that drives the program. A longtime advocate for women’s rights, she supports Leadership Ambassadors across the country, builds relationships with corporate and nonprofit partners, and develops marketing that helps new audiences discover Take the Lead. She runs Lingo Consulting, Inc., a marketing, communications and research firm in Southern California with clients such as Kaiser Permanente, Transamerica, and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
Sheila Cameron, Industry Consultant
Artist, writer, and activist, Sheila Cameron, left mainstream entertainment to focus on art and family in 2005. Executive and producing positions at companies like HBO, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s LivePlanet, MTV, American Photo Magazine and Movieline.com lends a unique perspective to her work. She generated worldwide attention with the FREE KATIE site and t-shirts and broke down barriers between art worlds with, “Jerry Saltz Personally Invited Me to Hell and I’m Going”. She received her BA in Fine Art and Writing from Loyola University in Maryland and continues to explore the role of fine art in entertainment, social media and activism from her home studio in Nevada City, California. Although she is in Northern California now, she keeps personal and professional ties with Los Angeles, the city where she spent most of her life. Since the presidential election of 2016, she has used her skills to advocate for women’s issues.
Nailah Blades, Social Media Manager
Nailah is a business and marketing strategist who helps clients clarify their brands online and build thriving, inclusive communities, fans, prospects and influencers. Passionate about communication and community, Nailah holds a Master's in Communication and Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University and a Bachelor’s in Communication from the University of Southern California. Nailah uses her years of Consumer Packaged Goods industry knowledge to help brands craft unique experiences for their prospects and customers by helping them connect with their current target market, as well as finding new and alternative markets online.
SallyAnne McCartin, Public Relations & Communications
SallyAnne McCartin is the communications and public relations consultant for Take The Lead. As head of McCartin Daniels|PR her experience with idea-driven media campaigns is a perfect fit for her work for Take The Lead’s unique programming and thought leadership. Her clients include New York Times bestselling writers, Nobel Prize winners, artists and social change activists including Susan Faludi, Dr. Eric Kandel, Caroline Kennedy, Leslie Bennetts, Mitch Albom, David Boies, Kelly Corrigan, Walter Mosley, Dr. Robert Coles (DoubleTake magazine), and filmmaker Nancy Buirski’s (By Sidney Lumet, The Loving Story) Full Frame Documentary Film Festival.
Advisory Committee
We are grateful to the Advisory Committee who is generously contributing their time and insight to help us create a meaningful mix of women for this inaugural 50 Women cohort.
Margie Moreno
head of latam Originals, YouTube red
Margie Moreno heads Spanish speaking Originals for YouTube Red and works closely with the International team in developing localized international content for EMEA, APAC and LATAM. Prior to You Tube she served as the Vice President of Production and Development for NBC UNIVERSO, the NBC Universal cable network targeting US Hispanics where she oversaw all Original Programming, including Scripted and Reality series, establishing the network as a leader in original content for the US Hispanic market. Margie has an extensive background as both an Executive Producer and Network Executive. Including Imagina US/ Promofilm US (an international production company), Turner network’s TBS Superstation and Feature film company Mandalay Entertainment. Margie also serves on various Boards, including Co-Chair of NALIP (National Association of Latino Independent Producers), LA Board member of STEP UP women's network, and co-founder of the Women's Accelerator, a high-touch, management development program for women.
Monique Coleman
Actress, advocate, UN Foundation Girl Up Champion, All-State Foundation #GoodStartsYoung Ambassador
Monique is an actor, producer, and global youth advocate most often recognized as Taylor McKessie in Disney’s High School Musical franchise. She is most proud of her role as the first-ever United Nations Youth Champion. Monique has traveled to over 40 countries and uses her platform to raise awareness about the most pressing issues facing today's youth and girls.She had been a Champion for UN Foundation’s “Girl Up Campaign” for 7 years and is Allstate Foundation’s new “Good Starts Young Ambassador.” Mo stars on “Guidance” Season 3 streaming now on Go90 and can be seen in the upcoming indie films “The Outdoorsman,” and “Distortion.” “Acting is my passion. Advocacy is my Purpose.” - Mo
Diana Means
Founder, Alliance of Women FilMMAKERS
PRODUCER, The L.A. Women’s IntERNATIONAL Film Festival
CREATIVE SERVICES, Warner Bros.
Diana Means is the founder of Alliance of Women Filmmakers and Producer of The Los Angeles Women’s International Film Festival. She began her entertainment career in 2000 at ABC Television Network, Finance department and is currently working in Creative Services for Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. Diana was recently honored by Time Warner for her work on the festival being selected as a winner of the 2016 Richard D. Parsons Community Impact Award, Time Warner’s highest tribute to employees for exceptional contributions to public service. Diana has also spent the past decade volunteering with organizations serving women and girls and she currently sits on the board of StepUp and the Advisory Board of Dress For Success World-Wide West and Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media
Suzanne Farwell
Partner/Producer, Resonate Entertainment
Longtime collaborator of writer/director Nancy Meyers, Suzanne Farwell has been a producer on some of the most commercially successful comedies in recent history and has worked with many of the industry’s most recognized and sought-after talent. With early training at The William Morris Agency, Farwell began her production career on the set of Walt Disney Pictures’ remake of The Parent Trap. As President of Waverly Films at Sony Pictures Entertainment, Farwell co-produced the critically-acclaimed box office success Something’s Gotta Give (starring Academy Award winners Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton) and was Executive Producer on the worldwide box-office hit The Holiday (starring Academy Award nominee Jude Law, Academy Award winner Kate Winslet and Golden Globe nominees Cameron Diaz and Jack Black) for the studio. Farwell went on to executive produce It’s Complicated (starring Academy Award winner Meryl Streep, Emmy Award winner Alec Baldwin and Academy Award winner Steve Martin) for Universal Pictures and produced The Intern (starring Academy Award winners Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway) for Warner Bros. Pictures. Fox TV named The Intern “the best comedy of the year,” and Deadline Hollywood called it “Funny, sophisticated, warm, wise and completely winning. In 2017, Farwell completed the independent feature film Carrie Pilby, starring Bel Powley, Gotham Independent Best Actress Award winner for her breakout performance in Diary of a Teenage Girl, along with Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee Nathan Lane, Golden Globe winner Gabriel Byrne, Vanessa Bayer and Jason Ritter. Carrie Pilby premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival and was released theatrically in March 2017 and on Netflix in September 2017. Most recently, Farwell has formed Resonate Entertainment with partners Susan Cartsonis and Brent Emery. Resonate is a production company focusing on film and television for the female audience. Farwell has a B.A. from Florida State University and an M.A. from Pepperdine University.
JYoti Sarda
Founder and CEO, NIMBLE MEDIA LLC
Jyoti Sarda, is the Founder and CEO of Nimble Media LLC, a film production and streaming content company. She is co-Executive Producer of Equal Means Equal, a women’s rights documentary released in 2016. Currently, she is developing a documentary series about women in politics. She is also a seasoned entertainment marketing and distribution executive with tenure at both Paramount and Fox studios. She is an unapologetic rabble rouser and serves on the boards of GlobalGirl Media (training young women to become civically engaged through citizen journalism), LAANE (a leading LA-based social justice nonprofit), and Ellevate (a professional women’s networking organization).
Catherine Gray
Producer, Author, TALK SHOW Host
Founder, 360Karma
Catherine Gray is a pioneering documentary film producer, speaker, and author who has produced, directed and co-produced many award-winning documentaries that have aired on PBS and other cable networks. She creates projects that evoke change, empowering people to use their gifts to make a difference in the world.
Last year Gray launched a talk show, web series, online community, conference and companion book, “LIVE LOVE THRIVE: Inspiring Women to Unleash Their Life’s Purpose". She is producing the 2nd annual Live Love Thrive conference in 2017, presented by 360Karma and the City of West Hollywood. The event encourages women to help each other, so we can rise into more positions of influence and create a paradigm shift of equality for women. 360Karma is a platform that inspires women to LIVE LOVE and THRIVE!
Most notably, Catherine directed and produced the groundbreaking documentary film about gay marriage called “I Can’t Marry You,” narrated by Betty DeGeneres and aired on PBS, distributed on Amazon and on all major online retailers. The film was screened at film festivals around the world, has over 100,000 views on Facebook and is housed in history archives at LGBT centers, colleges, and universities nationwide.
Kate Neligan
EQUINE-PARTNERED Life & CarEER Coach
Founder, Synergy TV
Former VP Digital Marketing, LIONSGATE
Kate Neligan is an Equine-Partnered Life & Career Coach with her company Conscious Rockstar specializing in empowering individuals and corporate groups to become more powerful, present, and connected. Kate has her Master’s Degree in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica and pairs this embodied wisdom with the intuitive gifts of horses to help people live lives that rock. Kate is a bestselling author and her stories can be found in the books Women Will Save the World and The Power of Being A Woman. She is also a motivational speaker and her TEDx talk is on “The Pursuit of Perfection.” Her other passion is sharing transformational, inspiring stories. She founded Synergy TV Network, an online video channel that mirrors the very best of humanity through conscious media. Previously, Kate was the Vice President of Digital Marketing & Distribution at Lionsgate where she promoted thousands of films and managed partner relationships with iTunes, Comcast, DIRECTV, and more before she left to pursue her calling to help humanity leap forward in consciousness.
Phoenix Gonzalez
Co-founder and President of Sales at dotstudioPRO
Phoenix Gonzalez is the co-founder and President of Sales at dotstudioPRO a white-label OTT SaaS Platform. With over 15 years of experience in entertainment media, her passion and profession lie at the intersection of media and technology. With a proven track record of leadership and success, Phoenix has delivered a video technology solutions that help to transform the way we consume media digitally, across platforms and devices today clients including Minnesota Vikings, American Beauty Stars - Lifetime and Nosey TV - NBC/Marathon Ventures to name a few. She continues to defy all odds in her career and has been recognized by her peers in multiple industries.
Julie Hermelin
Co-Founder & Producer, XX Fund & 50/50 Project
An award-winning filmmaker, Julie Hermelin is a Senior Producer at Let it Ripple Film Studios, where she co-produced/wrote the film, 50/50: Rethinking the Past, Present and Future of Women + Power and co-founded and produces 50/50 Day, a global day of conversation and action about gender equity, this year happening on April 26th 2018 with over 20,000+ events signed up worldwide. With documentarian, Laura Gabbert and historian, Nancy L. Cohen, she is currently producing a non fiction series on first time female candidates running in the mid-term election called, Breakthrough: The Fall & Rise of Women, an American Political Story.
With collaborations spanning film, tech and music worlds, Julie’s worked with an impressive list of thinkers and artists ranging from Gloria Steinem to Moby. The MTV special “Ain’t Nuthin’ But a She Thang,” spotlighted her directorial work, as did David Kleiler’s book, You Stand There: Making Music Video. Julie’s often a featured panelist at conferences including SXSW and CMJ.
Hailed as one of the “people you should should know in LA” by Guest of a Guest, Julie leverages her social network for social change, founding The XX Fund, a women’s philanthropic collective that makes grants to grassroots non-profits that prioritize the needs of LA’s most vulnerable women and girls.