MISSION
creativity that empowers a new generation
of aspiring storytellers to connect the
world through the gift of opportunity.
MISSION
creativity that empowers a new generation
of aspiring storytellers to connect the
world through the gift of opportunity.
empowers a new generation of aspiring storytellers to
connect the world through the gift of opportunity.
global creativity that empowers a
new generation of aspiring storytellers
to connect the world through the gift
of opportunity.
OUR PASSION
Through your generous donations, we are able to fund education and projects that meet our mission.
New York film academy
Education & Programs
10 ARTS & NYFA ALLIANCES
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Heidi Wissmiller (Chair of Board)
Heidi Wissmiller was the Chief Growth Officer of Rodan + Fields, the leading skincare brand in North America. Under her leadership the brand experienced unprecedented growth of over $1 billion. During Heidi’s tenure R+F’s powerful community of female entrepreneurs grew to over 300,000 with a customer base of over 1.8 million.
Heidi successfully created the vision for and launched R+F Virtual which is the recipient of an Effie Award. She is the co-inventor of 2 patents and was selected as a Salesforce Convention Keynote for “Winning the Digital Experience Race” and an IBM Think Convention keynote for “R+F Virtual Watson Live Stream”.
Prior to R+F Heidi was the Chief Executive Officer of Micro Analytical Systems and has over 25 years of leadership experience at globally recognized companies such as PepsiCo, E&J Gallo Winery, and RJR Nabisco.
She is a graduate of the University of Portland and holds executive certificates in Finance from the University of Chicago and Board Readiness from Yale University School of Management. Most recently, she has been appointed the Chairman of the Board at Nature’s Sunshine.
Heidi Wissmiller’s LinkedIn can be viewed here.
Colonel Jack Jacobs (Board Secretary)
Colonel Jack Jacobs served in the U.S. military for more than 20 years and is considered a true American hero. Colonel Jacobs is among the most highly decorated soldiers in our Nation’s history, having earned the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest combat honor, two Silver Stars, and three Bronze Stars. After leaving the military in 1987, Colonel Jacobs had a successful career in the financial industry; he currently is the on-air military strategist for NBC and MSNBC News Divisions. Jacobs was nominated for Emmys in 2010 and 2011 and was the recipient of the distinguished Edward R. Murrow Award for his NBC segment “Iraq: The Long Way Out.”
Colonel Jacobs is an author of two non-fiction books and has producing credits for the show “Ten Weeks”. He is a major supporter of veterans interested in education that leads to careers in the film media and entertainment industries. Colonel Jacobs is the Chair of the Veteran Advancement Program at the New York Film Academy (NYFA) and teaches at Rutgers University and West Point Academy.
Colonel Jack Jacobs Wikipedia page can be viewed here.
Jack McColgan (Board Treasurer)
Jack McColgan has been selected to serve on our Board of Trustees due to his experience in the performing arts as well as his business acumen and expertise in the world of finance.
Jack has over thirty years of experience in investment banking and investment management. He is the President of Prospect Hill Management, LLC, an investment advisory firm serving the investment needs of ultra high net worth investors. Prior to the formation of Prospect Hill, Jack worked in various capacities at Salomon Brothers and Blackhill Capital, Inc. Jack studied performance of the French Horn at the Juilliard School and Economics at Skidmore College.
Jack McColgan’s LinkedIn can be viewed here.
ADVISORY BOARD
Shkh. Al-Zain Al-Sabah
Her Excellency Shkh. Al-Zain S. Al-Sabah is the Ambassador of the Government of Kuwait to the United States. Formerly, Al-Zain held the position of Chairperson and CEO of National Creative Industries Group (NCIG) KSCC, a Kuwait-based organization that aids in the facilitation, incubation, and expansion of the creative arts and TMT-based industries in the MENA region.
Formerly the Undersecretary of the Kuwaiti Ministry of State for Youth Affairs, Al-Zain oversaw the creation of a number of regional youth initiatives, as well as the drafting of the country’s first National Youth Policy.
A pioneering film/TV producer, and social entrepreneur, Al-Zain has made it her mission to provide a creative haven for talented regional youths and help spread messages of peace and reconciliation in all her undertakings. Some of her award-winning co-productions include “Journey to Mecca” and “Amreeka”. A vocal proponent for new sector and job creation, Al-Zain serves on the board of a number of media and youth-charged organizations, including UNDP’s Development Advisory Board and Boston University’s COM board.
Prior to her work in the public sector, Al-Zain served as Chairperson and Managing Director of EVMG. Prior to that, she produced a number of TV news shows and worked for ABC News’ World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, in New York City. A MELI fellow at the Aspen Institute, Al-Zain earned an M.F.A. from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts and a B.S. in Journalism from Boston University.
Shkh. Al-Zain S. Al-Sabah’s LinkedIn can be viewed here.
Tony Harris
Tony Harris is an Emmy Award winning journalist and filmmaker. He is currently the host of History Channel’s The Proof is Out There, an exploration of the many sightings of UFOs and the public’s fascination with Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.
Tony has hosted and served as executive producer for several shows and series for Discovery Communication’s ID Channel, including The Murder of George Floyd, Scene of the Crime with Tony Harris and ID’s limited series “Hate In America”. He hosted and reported “Behind Closed Door”, an exploration of domestic violence in America and also narrated the 2014 Discovery Channel documentary “9/11 Rescue Cops.”
For six years, Tony anchored CNN Newsroom w/Tony Harris where he earned George Foster Peabody Awards for coverage of the British petroleum oil spill and Hurricane Katrina. He also earned an Alfred I. duPont Award for coverage of the Southeast Asia tsunami. In a diverse broadcast career, Tony has served as an international news anchor for Al Jazeera English in Doha, Qatar during the 2011 Arab Spring and as New York-based correspondent for Entertainment Tonight.
Tony Harris’s LinkedIn can be viewed here.
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is a journalist and filmmaker most widely known for her Academy Award-winning documentary shorts: SAVING FACE and GIRL IN THE RIVER: THE PRICE OF FORGIVENESS. Obaid-Chinoy has dedicated her filmmaking career to shining a light on some of the most complex sociopolitical issues around the globe and has established herself a reputation for spotlighting the untold stories of women subject to injustice. Obaid-Chinoy’s Oscar win for GIRL IN THE RIVER: THE PRICE OF FORGIVENESS earned her a monumental visit with the Prime Minister of Pakistan in 2016, which ultimately impacted legislation and helped push through the long-stalled honor killing bill, the controversial law subject of her short.
Last spring, Obaid-Chinoy infused her signature style and verisimilitude she brings to her nonfiction projects to her narrative directorial debut for Marvel’s critically acclaimed series, MS.MARVEL. The series chronicled the MCU’s first Muslim character, Pakistani-American teenager, Kamala Khan, who acquires superpowers similar to that of her hero, Captain Marvel, and must navigate conflicts not only amongst supervillains in Jersey City, but at home and in high school. As a Pakistani- Canadian herself, Obaid-Chinoy brought great authenticity to MS. MARVEL’s story of Kamala Khan. Obaid-Chinoy directed two of the series’ most pivotal episodes (4 and 5) in which she set a visually-rich and emotionally-urgent style and tone. The New York Times included her episodes in its annual “Best Episodes of TV” list in 2022 calling them, “ingenious and surprisingly moving.”
More recently, it was announced that Obaid-Chinoy will direct a STAR WARS feature starring Daisy Ridley. She will be the first woman and person of color to direct a STARS WARS movie. She will also direct Paramount’s BRILLIANCE, based on the Marcus Sakey novel of the same name.
Obaid-Chinoy is also the recipient of Four Emmy Awards, a Knight International Journalism Award, the Hilal-e-Imtiaz, the second highest civilian award of Pakistan, and was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. Obaid-Chinoy is the first filmmaker from Pakistan to ever win an Oscar and the first female film director to have won two Oscars by the age of 37.
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s Wikipedia can be viewed here.
Cheryl Uys-Allie
Cheryl Uys-Allie’s background is in journalism as a field producer / director / writer across Africa and the Middle East for documentaries and news working with Sky News, ABC, Reuters, Al Jazeera and TPI International (Washington DC) covering breaking news in Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Afghanistan while based in Beirut, as well as Rwanda, Mozambique, Angola among others. Most recently she managed the Netflix Grow Creative Program for the Middle East, Africa and Turkey and remains committed to developing the industry.
Cheryl is the former Executive Producer of MultiChoice Group and the former Africa Director for the MultiChoice Talent Factory Film Academies where she managed several pay-TV channels across the continent and started three Film Academies for young passionate filmmakers in Nigeria, Kenya and Zambia.
Previously, she was the general manager for M24 lifestyle channels where she launched and managed Via, an Afrikaans lifestyle channel in South Africa. She also led the localization project for the International Emmy nominated Telenovela “The River” in Angola and Nigeria.
Post 9/11 she produced and directed the documentary “Islam: The War Within” while based in Beirut, Lebanon, which had global distribution. Her documentary “A Brazil Prison Story” for Carte Blanche, the anchor investigative program on MNET, received a nomination for a SAFTA and won runner-up at the Webber Wentzel Legal Journalist Awards. She has been a Jury member of the AMVCAs (Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards – the Oscars of Africa!) as well as the International Emmy’s Academy Documentary Awards (2023/4). She was head judge for the Johannesburg Film Festival / Showmax first time directors film pitches (2023) where they selected 10 films for production from over 200 entries across Africa. She is also on the Jury for the GFSA (UK, Global Sustainability Film Awards). Cheryl received her MBA from University of Cape Town and is a Fellow of the Emerging Leadership Program at University of Cape Town and Duke University. She has a PPL and is fluent in Portuguese, French and German.
Cheryl Uys-Allie’s LinkedIn can be viewed here.
Shkh. Al-Zain Al-Sabah
Her Excellency Shkh. Al-Zain S. Al-Sabah is the Ambassador of the Government of Kuwait to the United States. Formerly, Al-Zain held the position of Chairperson and CEO of National Creative Industries Group (NCIG) KSCC, a Kuwait-based organization that aids in the facilitation, incubation, and expansion of the creative arts and TMT-based industries in the MENA region.
Formerly the Undersecretary of the Kuwaiti Ministry of State for Youth Affairs, Al-Zain oversaw the creation of a number of regional youth initiatives, as well as the drafting of the country’s first National Youth Policy.
A pioneering film/TV producer, and social entrepreneur, Al-Zain has made it her mission to provide a creative haven for talented regional youths and help spread messages of peace and reconciliation in all her undertakings. Some of her award-winning co-productions include “Journey to Mecca” and “Amreeka”. A vocal proponent for new sector and job creation, Al-Zain serves on the board of a number of media and youth-charged organizations, including UNDP’s Development Advisory Board and Boston University’s COM board.
Prior to her work in the public sector, Al-Zain served as Chairperson and Managing Director of EVMG. Prior to that, she produced a number of TV news shows and worked for ABC News’ World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, in New York City. A MELI fellow at the Aspen Institute, Al-Zain earned an M.F.A. from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts and a B.S. in Journalism from Boston University.
Shkh. Al-Zain S. Al-Sabah’s LinkedIn can be viewed here.
Tony Harris
Tony Harris is an Emmy Award winning journalist and filmmaker. He is currently the host of History Channel’s The Proof is Out There, an exploration of the many sightings of UFOs and the public’s fascination with Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.
Tony has hosted and served as executive producer for several shows and series for Discovery Communication’s ID Channel, including The Murder of George Floyd, Scene of the Crime with Tony Harris and ID’s limited series “Hate In America”. He hosted and reported “Behind Closed Door”, an exploration of domestic violence in America and also narrated the 2014 Discovery Channel documentary “9/11 Rescue Cops.”
For six years, Tony anchored CNN Newsroom w/Tony Harris where he earned George Foster Peabody Awards for coverage of the British petroleum oil spill and Hurricane Katrina. He also earned an Alfred I. duPont Award for coverage of the Southeast Asia tsunami. In a diverse broadcast career, Tony has served as an international news anchor for Al Jazeera English in Doha, Qatar during the 2011 Arab Spring and as New York-based correspondent for Entertainment Tonight.
Tony Harris’s LinkedIn can be viewed here.
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is a journalist and filmmaker most widely known for her Academy Award-winning documentary shorts: SAVING FACE and GIRL IN THE RIVER: THE PRICE OF FORGIVENESS. Obaid-Chinoy has dedicated her filmmaking career to shining a light on some of the most complex sociopolitical issues around the globe and has established herself a reputation for spotlighting the untold stories of women subject to injustice. Obaid-Chinoy’s Oscar win for GIRL IN THE RIVER: THE PRICE OF FORGIVENESS earned her a monumental visit with the Prime Minister of Pakistan in 2016, which ultimately impacted legislation and helped push through the long-stalled honor killing bill, the controversial law subject of her short.
Last spring, Obaid-Chinoy infused her signature style and verisimilitude she brings to her nonfiction projects to her narrative directorial debut for Marvel’s critically acclaimed series, MS.MARVEL. The series chronicled the MCU’s first Muslim character, Pakistani-American teenager, Kamala Khan, who acquires superpowers similar to that of her hero, Captain Marvel, and must navigate conflicts not only amongst supervillains in Jersey City, but at home and in high school. As a Pakistani- Canadian herself, Obaid-Chinoy brought great authenticity to MS. MARVEL’s story of Kamala Khan. Obaid-Chinoy directed two of the series’ most pivotal episodes (4 and 5) in which she set a visually-rich and emotionally-urgent style and tone. The New York Times included her episodes in its annual “Best Episodes of TV” list in 2022 calling them, “ingenious and surprisingly moving.”
More recently, it was announced that Obaid-Chinoy will direct a STAR WARS feature starring Daisy Ridley. She will be the first woman and person of color to direct a STARS WARS movie. She will also direct Paramount’s BRILLIANCE, based on the Marcus Sakey novel of the same name.
Obaid-Chinoy is also the recipient of Four Emmy Awards, a Knight International Journalism Award, the Hilal-e-Imtiaz, the second highest civilian award of Pakistan, and was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. Obaid-Chinoy is the first filmmaker from Pakistan to ever win an Oscar and the first female film director to have won two Oscars by the age of 37.
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s Wikipedia can be viewed here.
Cheryl Uys-Allie
Cheryl Uys-Allie is the former Executive Producer of MultiChoice Group and the former Africa Director for the MultiChoice Talent Factory Film Academies where she managed several pay-TV channels across the continent and started three Film Academies for young passionate filmmakers in Nigeria, Kenya and Zambia. Most recently she managed the Netflix Grow Creative Program for the Middle East, Africa and Turkey and remains committed to developing the industry.
Previously, she was the general manager for M24 lifestyle channels where she launched and managed Via, an Afrikaans lifestyle channel in South Africa. She also led the localization project for the International Emmy nominated Telenovela “The River” in Angola and Nigeria.
Cheryl’s background is in journalism as a field producer / director / writer across Africa and the Middle East for documentaries and news working with Sky News, ABC, Reuters, Al Jazeera and TPI International (Washington DC) covering breaking news in Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Afghanistan while based in Beirut, as well as Rwanda, Mozambique, Angola among others.
Post 9/11 she produced and directed the documentary “Islam: The War Within” while based in Beirut, Lebanon, which had global distribution. Her documentary “A Brazil Prison Story” for Carte Blanche, the anchor investigative program on MNET, received a nomination for a SAFTA and won runner-up at the Webber Wentzel Legal Journalist Awards. She has been a Jury member of the AMVCAs (Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards – the Oscars of Africa!) as well as the International Emmy’s Academy Documentary Awards (2023/4). She was head judge for the Johannesburg Film Festival / Showmax first time directors film pitches (2023) where they selected 10 films for production from over 200 entries across Africa. She is also on the Jury for the GFSA (UK, Global Sustainability Film Awards). Cheryl received her MBA from University of Cape Town and is a Fellow of the Emerging Leadership Program at University of Cape Town and Duke University. She has a PPL and is fluent in Portuguese, French and German.
Cheryl Uys-Allie’s LinkedIn can be viewed here.