Lena Waithe
1984 - Present
Lena Waithe has always been extremely passionate about screenwriting since she was just a little kid. Growing up watching star-studded family shows like the Cosby Show, Good Times, and many more, only fueled her dreams of the endless possibilities awaiting her. Once she graduated college with a degree in Cinema and Television Arts, she swiftly made her move to the world-renowned city of Los Angeles to make her dream a reality.
Lena is now a triple threat: writer, producer, and actress. She is a trail-blazer working her way to the top starting out as an assistant for the hit show Girlfriends to now being a creator of her show The Chi. Her impact on the entertainment industry will be everlasting, and you should expect to see more from Ms. Lena Waithe for years to come. Why?
Not only is Lena an Emmy award-winning role model in the industry, but she is also a massive supporter of mentorship for those following her footsteps. Lena developed an organization named the "Hillman Grad Network", designed to assist emerging artists navigating their way into the entertainment industry. The Hillman Grad Network thrives on three main pillars:
Inclusion - Strive to increase diverse representation in front and behind the camera
Opportunity - Valuable resources are given to mentees to grow their skills through classes, writing groups, networking, and career opportunities.
Success - Each group will feature a limited number of mentees to focus on helping them achieve success.
To cap off why Lena is so valuable to the industry: she was the first openly queer black woman to be featured on the cover of Vanity Fair, and was mentioned as someone who's "disrupting the hell out of Hollywood."