Photos + Recap: Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad Mentorship Lab 2022 Showcase

The Hillman Grad Mentorship Lab hosted its 2022 showcase at The Gathering Spot in Los Angeles. This year’s season of the Mentorship Lab included 22 emerging filmmakers, writers and actors all ranging from diverse backgrounds and varying levels of professional experience.

The showcase event invited the mentees, their supporters, industry professionals and media to celebrate the conclusion of the program while witnessing a series of video recordings of monologues, table reads, and introspective interviews from today’s rising creatives.

Hillman Grad Productions, a development and production company founded by Lena Waithe and Rishi Rajani, launched the Mentorship Lab program in 2020, which provides opportunities for marginalized creatives and storytellers to connect, grow and accelerate their careers in television and film.

This year’s mentees included the following participants who celebrated the completion of the roughly 8-month program: (Acting) Donnevan Tolbert, Jonny Williams, Kashayna Johnson, LaNora Terraé Hayden, Lee Hubilla, Lynnese Page, Michaela Obro-ababio, TJ Chester, (Writing) Abi Rich, Blake Williams, Charlene Little, Cydney Fisher, Emily Teerasuphaset, Luveza Mubashar, Rubén Mendive, Van Newman, Victoria George, (Executive Development) Andy Park, Franco Chacon, Geralyn Smith, Jocelyn Waddell, and Wai Wing Lau.

Hillman Grad Executives Lacy Lew Nguyen Wright (Executive Director), Justin Riley (VP of Operations), and Rishi Rajani (CEO)

Hillman Grad will announce applications for the next season of Mentorship Lab before the end of the year.

About Hillman Grad:

Hillman Grad Ventures was founded by actor, producer and Emmy® Award-winning writer Lena Waithe and Rishi Rajani to create art that redefines the status quo by amplifying and celebrating the stories and voices of diverse, historically marginalized communities across all Industries. Verticals include: podcasts, TV & film production, talent, books, publishing, music, branded content, and HG Kids, with more divisions in the works.

To help bring access to the forefront for underserved communities, Hillman Grad launched three groundbreaking, inclusivity focused initiatives over the past year: The Hillman Grad Mentorship Lab, offering opportunities for marginalized storytellers to connect, grow and accelerate their careers in television and film through personalized instruction from industry professionals in writing, screen acting and executive development; the Rising Voices Initiative in partnership with Indeed, which enabled 10 BIPOC filmmakers to create short films with a production budget of $100,000 each; and the Defining Moments initiative in partnership with ID, a paid apprenticeship led by ID’s team of experts, designed for candidates interested in a career in publicity who previously may not have had the industry connections or access to college classes usually required for entry-level programs.

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Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.