Today I got to speak with two-time Emmy winning producer Sasheen Artis, who is the Founder/CEO of Plenty of Pie, a talent incubator and production accelerator offering leadership development, practical producers skills training, and mentorship to emerging and mid-career creatives of color. Sasheen has worked with such newsmakers as President Barack…

Today I got to speak with the group of accomplished female directors behind the initiative called GenXX: Maria Burton, Susan Dynner, Monique Sorgen, Nandi Bowe. Maria and Monique have been on this podcast before, episodes 14 and 131, respectively, which you can still find on the website, here: Ep 14 Maria Burton and here: EP 131 Monique Sorgen. All…

I caught up with Emily Best, the founder and CEO of Seed&Spark and also Film Forward, which is an experiential learning platform designed to activate the full potential of today's dynamic and diverse workforce by replacing boring corporate training videos with a cinematic learning experience built around award-winning short films from around the wo…

Introducing Catch a Break podcast - Project Greenlight edition. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/2rlN3HPJuJTHBlt7zs70Xj?si=439b9a184fbe4fa5 or here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/catch-a-break-podcast/id1457637810By Julie Harris Oliver

The new season of Catch a Break - Project Greenlight version drops July 13th! Go subscribe to Catch a Break to not miss an episode. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/catch-a-break-podcast/id1457637810 https://open.spotify.com/show/2rlN3HPJuJTHBlt7zs70Xj?si=439b9a184fbe4fa5By Julie Harris Oliver

Today on this podcast we have the good fortune to speak with Blake Mitchell. Blake Mitchell (they/them) began their career in film production in Los Angeles, working for the VP of Production at Participant Media. After leaving LA, they worked at Google over 8 years where they managed teams in diversity & inclusion, learning & development and recrui…

Today on this podcast we are diving into disability and accessibility and how to invite and manage people and their needs on set. This feels like one of the less often discussed pillars in the work of diversity , equity, inclusion and accessibility, and I’m really happy we have Kiah Amara on the show today to help us start thinking about it and pla…

You can find me and my consulting work at Julieharrisoliver.com and you can find the podcast website at Theotherfiftypercent.com. OR, you can find links to everything I’m doing at linktr.ee/julieharrisoliver. The newest thing I have for you is that I’ve added a link for the books that people keep bringing up on the show. That way, you don’t have to…

Today on the podcast I sat with Becky Morrison. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because she was originally on episode 187 of this show. So, go back to that episode to revisit her origin story, because today we’re going to jump right in to the meat of the work. Becky Morrison is an award-winning film and TV producer and an advocate for production…

Today we are doing a deep dive into studio pipeline programs with Karen Horne. Karen Horne is a senior executive with over 20 years of experience within the entertainment industry. She has been recognized as a Diversity and Inclusion pioneer and pipeline builder. Karen is Senior Vice President, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, North America at Warner…

We are continuing our conversation about inclusion, equity and diversity with Bree Frank, founder of Hue You Know. As an accomplished Television Executive, and advocate for people of color in media, Bree is passionate about creating opportunities for professionals of all backgrounds. With over 20+ years of professional production experience, she ha…

Today I sat down with MyKhanh Shelton, a brilliant DEI practitioner and Attorney. With more than 20 years of experience as a legal and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) advisor in the media and entertainment industry, MyKhanh Shelton has deep expertise in identifying, evaluating and mitigating legal risks and a proven track record of designing …

We are continuing our series of talking with experts who work in various aspects of diversity, equity and inclusion across industries and in entertainment specifically. Today I sat down with Dr. Meghan Burke. We talked about how white people can approach this work without getting hung up on feelings of shame and guilt and centering ourselves. None …

Let's talk about trauma and production. How does the stress affect you over time? Stress affects all people, but it isn't evenly distributed across all people. And what happens when it accumulates without being addressed? (I have a story that was not my finest moment.) Dr. Thelemaque helps us to unpack it and gives us some strategies to cope. Dr. T…

Today we are kicking off our series of talking with experts who work in various aspects of diversity, equity, and inclusion across industries and in the entertainment industry specifically. First up is Dr. Kira Banks. DEI work is "so hard" in entertainment and it's also "not hard at all." What's the deal? And why is it so hard for an industry who s…

It has been awhile since I dug into this podcast, and it's been never since I did a solo episode talking about myself. A lot has happened over the last few years that I want to share with you. Then, I'm rebooting and launching another series of episodes, this time mostly focused on diversity, equity and inclusion work. Come along for the ride.…

This is part two in a series of interviews with the leadership of the Women’s Production Society. The WPS is an organization of physical production executives across the industry. It started as a small cocktail party and has since grown to more than 100 members and is a powerful force of change within the industry with the purpose to fulfill their …

I have a couple of really special interviews to share with you. Both are with the leadership of the Women’s Production Society. The WPS is an organization of physical production executives across the industry. It started as a small cocktail party and has since grown to more than 100 members and is a powerful force of change within the industry with…

This episode is very special and very bittersweet. You may remember when I spoke with Jaret Martino and Pat Branch when they made the short called Stronger than Pretty. Well, they are back because the feature film version, Donna: Stronger than Pretty is about to have its worldwide release on February 23rd, after a great festival run. I also had the…

For this episode, I got to meet the brilliant hosts of the Sista Brunch podcast. Sista Brunch is a podcast about black women+ thriving in entertainment & media careers. My two guests are Fanshen Cox and Anya Adams. Fanshen is an Award-winning playwright, actor, producer & educator She just wrapped up seven years of touring her one-woman show: One D…

Today I got to speak with Sienna Beckman from all the way across the pond. Sienna is the Co-founder & Creative Director of Emergence Films (based in London & LA). Living and working in Los Angeles for 10 years, Sienna has produced for NBC Universal, Scott Free Productions, Verizon go90, Fullscreen Media, Esquire TV, Refinery29, Prettybird Entertain…

Today, I got to catch up with previous guest, Sujata Day. With her infectious personality and unique sense of humor, Pittsburgh native Sujata Day has firmly established herself in Hollywood as a performer, creator, writer, and director. She regularly performs in Upright Citizen Brigade's hit Asian AF show. Sujata is known for her starring role as C…

For this episode, I sat with Cecilia Escobar, Founder and President of Smart Accounting Solutions. With more than 30 years of Entertainment Payroll and Accounting Expertise Cecilia has held executive and senior management roles for multiple entertainment payroll companies like Media Services and Axium, and most recently, she was the Vice President …

For this episode I got to catch up with my friend Kim Gruenenfelder. You may remember her from the podcast when her book, Hangovers and Hotflashes came out. Well she has a brand-new book that I have bought and will be reading over Thanksgiving called, My Ex’s Wedding. I was a fan of Kim’s long before I ever met her, so this is a real treat for me. …

Jennifer Aurianne DaRe is the founder and CEO of ATN Entertainment, a premiere talent management company in Los Angeles that specializes in the representation of artists in entertainment from film, television, music, literature and more. Since founding ATN in 2015, she has grown the roster to over 100 clients under her leadership, including a stron…

For this episode I got to sit with Finnerty Steeves. Now, you know Finnerty as an actor from the shows, Orange is the New Black, Half Life, Louie, House of Cards, Smash, Sopranos – basically everything, including a lot of Broadway credits. What you may not yet know is that she just wrote, produced and starred in her own feature film called Before/D…

For this episode, I spoke with BAFTA and RTS nominated Chloë Thomas who is in the UK and most recently directed all episodes of the psychological thriller The Deceived, created by Lisa McGee of Derry Girls fame and Tobias Beer. Just before that Chloë directed episodes of Harlots and Victoria and she is attached to direct the feature film Making Bab…

For this episode, I got to meet Faiza Kracheni and Carrie Cates of Austin School of Film, which for nearly two decades has provided alternative education programs and workshops for all ages interested in the arts & film. Faiza Kracheni is the Programs & Education Director, and Carrie Cates is the Artist & Community Director. These women have taken …

Kelli is the co-founder of creative studio And/Or, and has worked in motion design and branding for 15 years with brands like MTV, Netflix, and Amazon. She is a graduate of Cranbrook Academy of Art and has taught and lectured at the College for Creative Studies, Pratt, NYU, SVA, Yale, and RISD. Kelli has directed show titles for FX, HBO and Paramou…

For this episode, I spoke with a producer and two stars of Jim Cummings’ much anticipated new film The Wolf of Snow Hollow, which opens October 9th in theatres around the country and streaming in the comfort of your living room. Natalie Metzger, whom you will remember from an earlier episode of this podcast, Produced this movie under her shingle Va…

Stephanie Sanditz is a writer, director, actress and producer from BROKEN HEART, MO - the name of her feature screenplay that won a Tribeca Film Festival All Access Award for New Voices in Screenwriting. She recently optioned feature film DANCE PARTY, a body-positive dance comedy she co-wrote, with Queen Latifah set to star. Recently, Stephanie wro…

As The-Artery’s Managing Director and Executive Producer, Deborah Sullivan channels her extensive background in advertising, production, design, and visual effects into each and every project that she brings to life. Formerly at DDB New York, FCB New York, Berlin Cameron & Partners, RadicalMedia, as well as PeepShow Post Productions (to name a few)…

For this episode, I spoke with Prathi Srinivasan. Prathi is a talented writer and actress, known for “iZombie,” “A Girl's Guide to Her Early 20s,” and “Wasted.” As an immigrant who grew up in the bustling city of Chennai, India, moving to America was a culture shock for Prathi that resulted in her passion for characters who are stuck between where …

Michelle Amor is a screenwriter and professor and last year she sold her show called THE HONORABLE to CBS. A one-hour drama about the city’s third elected Black mayor, a family woman of integrity, and a novice to politics, who rises from childhood poverty to the most powerful seat in the most politically corrupt city in the nation. Her other credit…

For this episode, I spoke with Dr. Nidhi Gupta. Nidhi is a medical doctor with England’s NHS service and a filmmaker. After working in the covid unit, she contracted covid herself and she is still recovering. At the same time, she is a filmmaker and is directing a documentary for which she is currently crowdfunding with the backing of funding platf…

For this episode, sat down with Sonya JF Barnett, Canada’s only IPA-Certified Intimacy Coordinator. Sonya has been working in the field of sexuality for over ten years. She founded Toronto’s esteemed Keyhole Sessions as a safe and welcoming community for artists to experience the union between sex and art. In early 2011, she co-founded SlutWalk as …

For this episode, I got to meet Felischa Marye, a graduate of the MFA screenwriting program at UCLA, who transitioned into the film industry after a successful career in public relations/integrated marketing in Chicago, where she was born and raised. While still in film school, she sold her first comedy pilot to HBO. She most recently created and p…

For this episode, I was lucky enough to meet Lesli Linka Glatter. Lesli is a director of film, network, and premium cable television drama, with both pilots and episodes to her credit. Lesli’s TV work includes Homeland, The Newsroom, The Walking Dead, Justified, Ray Donovan, Masters of Sex, True Blood, Mad Men, The Leftovers, The Good Wife, The Wes…

For this very auspicious episode, I sat down with my friend Saraswathi Balgam, aka Vani. She is a writer, director and creative producer with several award winning shorts and documentaries to her credit. She is currently developing a slate of animation and live action projects based on her original stories. Under the banner of her production compan…

Katica Roy is a gender economist and the CEO and founder of Denver-based Pipeline, an award-winning SaaS company that leverages artificial intelligence to identify and drive economic gains through gender equity. Pipeline launched the first gender equity app on Salesforce's AppExchange. The Pipeline platform was named one of TIME Magazine’s Best Inv…

Lorena is an award-winning writer-director. Hailing from Queens, Lorena began her journey working on sets at the age of eighteen with directors such as: Martin Scorsese, Sam Mendes, and Ben Stiller. The stories Lorena is most passionate about telling are about the human condition and the complicated facets of life. Lorena feels it’s her responsibil…

For this episode, I got to catch up with Paige Henderson and Nicole Murray. Together, they have Svelte Dog Productions, under which they wrote, produced, and star in the webseries called Dead Friends. They both are from the Seattle area and graduated from the University of Washington, and by a weird coincidence moved to LA at the same time, and bec…

I caught up with Naomi McDougall Jones to hear about what she's been up to since we last spoke. She has written a book called THE WRONG KIND OF WOMEN: INSIDE OUR REVOLUTION TO DISMANTLE THE GODS OF HOLLYWOOD, and toured with her movie called BITE ME. She's also teaching online filmmaker classes that you should check out: naomimcdougalljones.com/cla…

Courtney Hope Therond is an award-winning director whose films feature an unapologetically female perspective. She has screened short films at several film festivals and her latest short Rehearsal, which tackles the grey areas of consent, premiered online on Short of the Week and received a Vimeo Staff Pick after playing over a dozen festivals inte…

Sophie Max is an actress, writer and producer based in London and trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. She is the writer, executive producer and lead actress in the film The Whole Truth and previous film work includes writing and starring in the award-winning Callie. As an actress, Sophie has been seen across theatre and fi…

For this episode, I got to speak with Melissa Center, an award-winning filmmaker & actress, and Tanny Jiraprapasuke, a mindful coach, practitioner, & scholar, who met by chance in Los Angeles, at the National Women’s Political Caucus Summer Spritz event. As women in support of other women: they discovered a mutual desire to shift the moral paradigm…

Catch a Break has launched season 2. Here is the first episode of season 2 to get you started, featuring Todd and Earl Richey Jones, who got their start on In Living Color.By The Other 50%

Ashley got her start starring in the critically-acclaimed film, Something, Anything. She was also featured on 2015 IndieWire's year end critics poll best lead actress list. Ashley is a graduate inTheatre from the University of Tennessee and is passionate about telling stories from the heart. Her goals include bringing to life stories that give ligh…

For this episode, I got to speak with the founders of the production company Poison Pictures: Gabriela Ledesma and Callie Schuttera. The pair met in 2015 and have since written and produced countless projects together including comedy specials, feature films, live events, commercials, and documentaries. ​Their work has been featured and acclaimed b…

By The Other 50%