Hillman Grad Unveils Mentoring Lab’s Class of 2023

EXCLUSIVE: Hillman Grad the new class for Mentorship Lab 2023.

This year’s emerging creatives, moderated by three different tracks, include AJ Dinsmore, Dralla Aierken, Dylan Correa, Jair Majid Kornegay, MenuEtte Silver, Naki Franklin and Omar Nava for the songwriting track; Elle Yun, Janis Peebles Valdez, Jason Armani Martinez, Josca Moore, Mark Antony Howard, Priscilla Walker, Shawn Roundtree Jr. and Simran Jehani for the acting; and Christine Murrain, Jason Young, Reese Dizon, Sharon Xiang and Victoria Garabedian for the executive track.

Mentoring Lab instructors Carolyn Michelle Smith (Associate Director of Acting Track), Behzad Dabu (Associate Director of Acting Track) and Michael Svoboda (Director of Writing Track) said, “The Hillman Grad Mentoring Lab is different because we believe community comes first, yes, we strive afterwards to help our mentees hone their craft and introduce them to people in the industry, but in the end it’s the people next to them who make the biggest impact on their lives.”

Founded by Lena Waithe and Rishi Rajani and led by Executive Director Lacy Lew Nguyen Wright and Senior Vice President Justin Riley, the eight-month, tuition-free program offers mentees the opportunity to hone their creative skills through personal instruction from industry professionals . Create additional ways to engage more people from all backgrounds, both in front of and behind the camera.

It offers a comprehensive range of workshops and learning resources, as well as networking and professional development opportunities, with guidance on topics such as television writing, film acting and leadership development.

Writing mentees are employed by HBO’s The Sympathizer, Hulu’s We were the lucky onesand game times The L word. This year, acting mentees star in the upcoming Netflix drama Griselda, and game times The Chi. Managers have been hired as managers at Sunny Hostin’s Roots & Wings, Working Bird Inc. and FlynnPictureCo.