Get Involved
The Skoll Center for SIE employs UCLA work study students year-round. We are always looking for undergrads to assist with in-office tasks part-time as well as graduate students who can take on remote research projects.
The State of SIE
Introduction
Narrative Film
Narrative Film
How Milk captured a watershed LGBT moment in history
Gus Van Sant
Dustin Lance Black
Narrative Film
Dustin Lance Black How Spotlight shows detail is everything when highlighting an issue
Tom McCarthy
Narrative Film
The power of film to show ordinary people doing extraordinary things
Don Cheadle
Terry George
Narrative Film
Terry George How The Day After Tomorrow put climate change on the map
Anthony Leiserowitz
Narrative Film
To move and empower people you need a really good story
David Linde
Narrative Film
The Hidden Figures film campaign shows why it’s worth going the extra mile
Liba Wenig Rubenstein
Narrative Film
Why is it a fight for filmmakers to tell the stories that need to be told?
Gina Prince Bythewood
Narrative Film
For a film to make a real difference weave social impact into the storytelling
Reginald Hudlin
Documentary Film
Documentary Film
How an innovative strategy gave Before the Flood a record-breaking audience
Leonardo DiCaprio
Fisher Stevens
Documentary Film
Fisher Stevens Why is uncomfortable viewing frequently the most impactful?
Joshua Oppenheimer
Documentary Film
Doc Society works to harness the magic of film, but how?
Jess Search
Documentary Film
How Chasing Ice micro-targeted film viewers to affect real change
Samantha Wright
Documentary Film
Why story should always come before entertainment in documentary films
Elise Pearlstein
Documentary Film
Why imagination is the vital component when it comes to social change
Tabitha Jackson
Documentary Film
How documentaries can be used to transform information into inspiration
James Redford
Documentary Film
Impact is important but it needs to be quantified to make a difference
Johanna Blakley
Television
Television
The revolution will be televised via public service broadcasting
Pat Mitchell
Television
Why do producers and writers need to keep a finger on the pulse?
Neal Baer
Television
Why a show needs to join the public zeitgeist to make a lasting difference
Miura Kite
Television
How Will & Grace proved the contact hypothesis of psychological theory
Edward Schiappa
Theater
Theater
How The Vagina Monologues demonstrates the power of theatre
Eve Ensler
Theater
Can theater be considered the most essential artform of democracy?
Oskar Eustis
Theater
Using the immediacy and intimacy of theatre to champion diversity
Dustin Lance Black
Theater
How does storytelling hold a mirror up to society?
Shirley Jo Finney
Emerging Forms
Emerging Forms
Finding a sense of meaning, purpose, and identity in short form content
Rainn Wilson
Shabnam Mogharabi
Emerging Forms
Shabnam Mogharabi Why is less more when it comes to digital short form content?
Carole Tomko
Emerging Forms
Is VR the perfect tool to make people feel and connect to an issue?
Nonny de la Peña
SIE Agenda
SIE Agenda
How can storytelling spark people’s inner activist and inspire change?
Holly Gordon
SIE Agenda
Why social impact campaigns need the right partners behind them
Bonnie Abaunza
SIE Agenda
Far from being a luxury, increased diversity is a business imperative
Dr. Ana-Christina Ramón
Dr. Darnell Hunt
SIE Agenda
Dr. Darnell Hunt Why changing an industry means transforming it from the top down
Cathy Schulman
SIE Agenda
Can we handle conflict and build sustainable peace through media?
Shamil Idriss
The Bigger Picture
The Bigger Picture
How do stories hold infinite power to inspire social impact?
Teri Schwartz
Ellen Scott
Sean Metzger
The Bigger Picture
Ellen ScottSean Metzger Entertainment in its many forms is the great shaper of culture
Caty Borum Chattoo
The Bigger Picture
To create substantial social impact the bigger the idea the better
Michelle Kydd Lee
Natalie Tran
The Bigger Picture
Natalie Tran Why convening and collaborating makes for the greatest impact
Beadie Finzi
The Bigger Picture
Delivering social impact with a community rather than for a community
Richard Ray Perez
The Bigger Picture
How can filmmakers be empowered to tell the stories that matter?
Amy Eldon Turteltaub
Kathy Eldon
The Bigger Picture
Kathy Eldon Focus where the need is greatest and the intervention most strategic
Cara Mertes
The Bigger Picture
Can equity investing provide effective funding for social impact films?
Geralyn Dreyfous
The Bigger Picture
Are a film’s production values just as important as a compelling story?
Diana Barrett
The Bigger Picture
Why collaboration is at the heart of social impact entertainment
Sandy Herz
The Bigger Picture
Built on multiple partnerships an independent film is anything but
Wendy Cohen
Laura Herb
Program Manager
At The Skoll Center for Social Impact Entertainment at UCLA TFT, Laura Herb has been able to combine her years of experience in film development with her desire to make a change in the world through the power of storytelling.
Prior to the Skoll Center, Laura was Director of Development at Imagine Entertainment where she worked on such films as Ron Howard’s In The Heart of the Sea, the James Brown biopic Get On Up starring Chadwick Boseman, and The Dark Tower, adapted from the novels by Stephen King and starring Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba. Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Laura first began her career in the non-profit sector where she served as a coordinator for the Pittsburgh-based Three Rivers Film Festival and Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival before relocating to Los Angeles.
Laura is a graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and holds a B.S. in Television-Radio-Film. She also moonlights as a freelance story analyst and consultant, works with her own alma mater’s LA office on events for west coast-based prospective students, current students, and alumni, and is a judge for the Women in Film finishing fund.
Devon Dansky
Production Coordinator
Devon Dansky currently serves as Project Coordinator at the Skoll Center for Social Impact Entertainment at UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, where she works on event coordination, vendor and partner relations, and social media (@skollcentersie).
A graduate of Loyola Marymount University’s School of Communication and Fine Arts, Devon began her career as a production assistant at The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Before joining the Skoll Center team, she spent two years working in the talent department at The Gersh Agency, where she assisted in covering projects for Netflix, Amazon and independent features.
Outside of work, her interest in social impact coincides with her passion for service, particularly with the issues of homelessness and access to clean water.
If you are eligible for work study and interested in working with The Skoll Center please email your resume and cover letter to skollcenter@tft.ucla.edu
