In the storied 15-year history of The Hollywood Reporter‘s Women in Entertainment Mentorship Program, some mentor/mentee relationships have truly stood the test of time.
One of the most noteworthy is the pairing of Paola Franco and Jennifer Salke in the 2013-14 cohort. At the time they were matched, Salke, now boss of Amazon Studios, was president of entertainment at NBC and Franco was a student at City Honors Preparatory High School in Inglewood. “Getting to see Jen in her element was truly life-changing for me,” Franco says of being paired with Salke in the program, which THR administers in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles. “It’s trite but true: In order to dream it, you first have to see it. Shadowing her through the program gave me a front-row seat to not only a boss lady at work but to an industry I didn’t even know existed.”
With Salke’s example, Franco went on to attend Loyola Marymount University and work at Amazon and UTA, and she’s now an executive on Netflix’s drama development original series team. “I have the privilege of being creative, giving notes on drafts, hearing pitches and meeting with writers,” Franco says of her position at Netflix.
Salke’s mentorship of Franco wasn’t just professional — in 2020, the Amazon exec officiated at Franco’s wedding. “It’s been a true gift for me to be able to see Paola continue to grow and excel,” Salke says. “She shines as an inspiration and role model, and I’m so proud of all her accomplishments.” Franco’s advice to this year’s class of mentors and mentees is to “lift as you climb, always.” She says she hopes “to one day be someone’s Jen.”
THE MENTEES
Andrea
Theodore Roosevelt High School
Elisa
John F. Kennedy High School
Gloria
Roybal High School
Jazlene
Carson High School
Kaylee
John F. Kennedy High School
Leah
John F. Kennedy High School
Michelle
Birmingham Charter High School
Stacy
City Honors High School
Luna
Lawndale High School
Angie
Animo Inglewood High School
Melanie
Lawndale High School
THE MENTORS
Jill Brody
NBCU, executive vp global partnership marketing
Fanshen Cox
California Film Commission, DEIA initiative manager
Zoe Fairbourn
Candle Media/Hello Sunshine, head of branded entertainment
Jordan Jacuzzi
EIF, senior vp operations, communications and governance
Martine McDonald
Practice Wonder LLC/Seed & Spark, film curator
Leah Medrano
California Film Commission, deputy director, tax incentives
Bianca Nepales
Lionsgate, vp diversity, equity and inclusion
Chelsey Summey
Warner Bros., corporate PR executive
Kinga Vasicsek
Lucasfilm Ltd., development executive
Marjorie Williams
Skydance Sports, senior vp/ head of business and legal affairs
Viviana Zarragoitia
TPC, senior vp film/TV finance
This story appeared in the Dec. 4 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
Source: Hollywoodreporter
