SUMMIT

New York State
Creativity Summit 2025

November 13, 2025

11:30 AM ET

The New York State Creativity Summit will provide a roadmap for diverse content creators to navigate the film, television, and streaming industry.

The Summit features a packed agenda of timely presentations and discussions, including Funding Your Story, Spotlight on Female Film & TV Creative Forces, and New York’s Diverse Workforce Pipeline for the Film Industry, alongside other relevant remarks.

Presented in partnership with Empire State Development and the Tribeca Festival, this collaborative effort is co-hosted by the MPA’s member companies: Amazon MGM Studios, Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Paramount, The Walt Disney Company, and NBCUniversal.

Read interviews with New York-based creators on The Credits.

Learn more about the MPA’s Industry Relations, Workforce Development, and Advocacy work.

Opening Remarks By:

John Gibson

Vice President, Public Affairs and Industry Relations, Motion Picture Association

Greg Saphier

Senior Vice President, Head of Public Affairs, Motion Picture Association

Angela Pinsky

Head of Community Engagement, Amazon New York

Joseph Thomas

Assistant Counsel to Governor Kathy Hochul for Economic Development

Nancy Lefkowitz

Executive Vice President, Artist Relations and Special Events, Tribeca Festival

PANEL

Join the CREW: New York's Diverse Workforce Pipeline for the Film Industry

Featuring:

Kenneth Adams

President, LaGuardia Community College

Mac Cushing

Head Instructor, WCNY Entertainment Academy

Cheyenne Ford

Founder and Program Director, Art Craft NYC

Olivia Cano

Senior Project Manager, Strategic Planning, Partnerships & Programs, Empire State Development

PANEL

Spotlight on Female Film & TV Creative Forces

Featuring:

Cora Atkinson

Producer / Filmmaker

Canella Williams-Larrabee

Producer / Unit Production Manager

Jessica Shaw

Award-Winning Journalist, Radio Host, and Podcaster

Lamonia Deanne Brown

Creative Executive, Filmmaker, and Film Festival Producer / Director

FIRESIDE CHAT

Studio Spotlight - The Gilded Age

Featuring:

Lauri Pitkus

Location Manager, The Gilded Age

Holly Rymon

Producer, The Gilded Age

Bryan Abrams

Editor-in-Chief of The Credits, Motion Picture Association

PRESENTATION

Filmmakers Legal Clinic

Featuring:

Michelle Greenberg-Kobrin

Professor of Law and Director of the Filmmakers Legal Clinic

PANEL

Funding Your Story

Featuring:

Chiquita W. Banks, Esq.

Principal, Bankable Consulting, Inc.

Graham Lee

Vice President, Tax, Paramount Global

Summer Crockett Moore

Managing Partner / Producer / UPM, Choice Films & Theatricals

Yoni Bokser

Executive Director/Vice President, NYS Governor’s Office of Motion Picture & Television Development & New Media

PANEL

Navigating the Film Festival Landscape

Featuring:

Libby Ewing

Director

Guillermo Restrepo

Publicity Manager at IFC Entertainment Group

Casey Baron

Senior Programmer, Film & Games, Tribeca

Valerie Torres

Director of Theatrical Sales & Exhibitor Relations, Shout! Studios

FIRESIDE CHAT

Studio Spotlight: Amazon MGM Studios, Orion Pictures

Featuring:

Alana Mayo

Amazon MGM Studios, Orion Pictures

John Gibson (Moderator)

Vice President, Public Affairs and Industry Relations, Motion Picture Association

PANEL

Stories From Set

Featuring:

Toni Barton

Production Designer

Michelle J. Li

Costume Designer

Santiago Quiñones

Executive Producer, Blue Bloods

Ashley Snyder

Senior Manager, Studio Operations UCANE, Netflix

Bryan Abrams

Editor-in-Chief of The Credits, Motion Picture Association

PANEL

Closing Remarks

Featuring:

Hope Knight

President, CEO, and Commissioner of Empire State Development

John Gibson

Vice President, Public Affairs and Industry Relations, Motion Picture Association

In partnership with:

With support from:

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