Women's Mentorship Program, an Initiative From NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and Serino Coyne, Goes Virtual For Fall 2020

The NYU Tisch School of the Arts' Department of Drama and the live entertainment advertising agency Serino Coyne have announced the return of the Women's Mentorship Program, an initiative that pairs female students interested in arts management with some of New York's top female cultural leaders. This year's program will be all virtual and, for the first time, will include online workshops and discussions throughout the school year with outside facilitators. Mentorship sessions are set to begin on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020.

Fifteen women are serving as mentors in the program this fall. New members include Molly Barnett, founder, Grapevine PR; Stephanie Klapper, casting director, Klapper Casting; Wendy Orshan, president and general manager, 101 Productions; Diana Salameh, director of marketing and communications, Serino Coyne; Natasha Sinha, associate artistic director, Playwrights Horizons; Rochelle Torres, director of marketing, communication and engagement, Signature Theatre; and Nikki Vera, director of marketing, MCC Theater.

Returning mentors include Leslie Barrett, managing director, Serino Coyne; Lisa Cecchini, vice president of media and analytics, Situation Interactive; Katie Dalton, senior vice president, Audience Rewards; Barbara Davis, chief operating officer, the Actors Fund; Stacey Mindich, producer ("Dear Evan Hansen"); Marla Ostroff, executive vice president of arts and theatre, Ticketmaster; Anne Quart, senior vice president of production and co-producer, Disney Theatrical Group; Catherine Reid, chief financial officer, Serino Coyne; Ilene Rosen, founder and managing partner, RPM; Tara Rubin, casting director, Tara Rubin Casting; and Christina Selby, director of touring and theatrical coordination, The Nederlander Organization.

This virtual round of the Women's Mentorship Program will involve monthly, online one-on-one mentorship meetings with Tisch Drama students and women who have found great success in their careers. Paired students and mentors will discuss communication, organization, leadership, team building, and other management essentials.

"What we're most proud of this fall is that instead of jamming on the brakes, we're putting our foot on the gas," said Leslie Barrett of Serino Coyne. "The mentorship program is not just continuing, but thriving in spite of the deep global and personal uncertainty we're all facing. Women are connecting and helping each other in new ways, and that's the heart that keeps this program vibrant and essential."

To date, the mentorship program has connected 47 students with mentors in fields including management, publicity, advertising and research. Several recent graduates of the program are now working as arts professionals, including Theodosia Arcidiacono, a marketing assistant at Bleeker Street; Kiyomi Calloway, a music trainee at United Talent Agency; and Zena Hinds, the Director of Development and Communications at Tectonic Theatre Company.

"Not only does this program introduce our students to an incredible cohort of mentors but also helps them see the vast career possibilities in the business side of the arts," said Rachel Friedman, the career development program administrator for the NYU Tisch School of the Arts Department of Drama and a co-lead of the mentoring program. "The program creates a shared space of learning for both the mentor and mentee by providing professional development workshops that are beneficial to everyone, no matter how far they are into their careers. I think that in this moment, we are all craving a sense of connection, and I am proud to be able to facilitate a digital space for our community of participants to meet regularly throughout the academic year."

"Seeing the women of this industry reach back and offer a hand up to those who are now starting to make their way is so affirming," said Déja Denise Green, a senior drama major at Tisch and a mentee alumnus of the Women's Mentorship Program.

This formal mentorship effort was created in a collaboration between Tisch Drama's Office of Career Development and Alumni Engagement and Serino Coyne, a leading live entertainment advertising and marketing agency founded by Nancy Coyne in 1977. A female trailblazer in a male-dominated industry, Coyne's entrepreneurial spirit continues to inspire women working in the worlds of advertising, marketing, and live entertainment.